Author's notes: I read a news story once about a man who performed CPR on a hurt companion for over six hours. CPR is hard work, but given the right motivation, maybe it is possible to push oneself that hard. Thanks to Spyton for beta-reading the story and his encouragement to submit it. The usual disclaimers apply. Please enjoy.

* * *

TEASER:

Carson's voice was choked. "Were Elizabeth and Rodney onboard that dart?"

John watched in horror as the remnants of the Wraith ship rained down into the ocean below them. "Oh God," he breathed, "What have I done?"

* * *

"So," Doctor Elizabeth Weir clasped her hands on the briefing room table and looked at the two men seated across from her. "What do you make of this discovery?"

Major John Sheppard and Doctor Radek Zelenka looked at each other. An exploratory team had uncovered a cache of Ancient-made artifacts the previous day. The objects were now sitting in boxes in Zelenka and McKay's laboratory. Zelenka shrugged. "We don't know yet, Doctor Weir. We haven't had a chance to try to activate any of the devices. We want to be methodical about it; we don't want to repeat the mistake we made with the personal shield."

The door slid open and Rodney McKay strolled in, frowning down at a small, smooth rectangular pad. "Sorry I'm late," he mumbled as he slid into his chair.

"Doctor McKay?" Elizabeth said sharply.

He looked up. "Hmm?" He glanced around. "Oh, yes, terribly sorry. I just got involved in trying to activate this device. Lost track of the time."

Major Sheppard leaned over to peer at the pad. "What is it?"

"I don't know exactly. But it's fascinating." He flipped it back and forth in his hand and smiled at it. "The size of a credit card, but it's self-powered. It seems to have a variety of functions. I've been walking all over the city with it, and everywhere I go it causes different messages to appear."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "All over the city?"

John looked skeptically at the card. "I hope none of the messages were things like, 'I am a grenade'." He glanced up at Rodney, who waved his hand dismissively.

"Please, do you think I'm an idiot? No, mostly the readouts say things that loosely translate as 'All Clear' or 'No Danger'...or possibly 'No Data'," he grimaced to himself and then looked around the table. Zelenka was glowering at him.

"I thought we had decided not to try to activate any of the devices except under controlled conditions."

Rodney huffed, "This is just a little one, and it specifically says it isn't dangerous. Besides, it's so..." he motioned at the gently glowing symbols on the surface.

"Pretty?" Elizabeth offered.

"Cool?" John said with a smirk. He reached out for the card. Rodney hesitated and then passed it to him. John turned it over in his hands. "Yeah, cool."

Elizabeth sighed. "I'm glad you are both excited about the...whatever it is, but let's try to keep in mind that we've gotten in trouble before by activating devices without knowing their full purpose." She raised an eyebrow at them and was rewarded with a sulking glare from Rodney.

John handed the card back to Rodney, straightened his jacket and leaned back in his chair. "I promised I'd go pick up Beckett and Teyla."

Rodney sniffed. "Anything to get out of trouble."

Elizabeth sighed again and looked at John. "I'm still not entirely sure I'm comfortable with our head medical doctor running off to the mainland every time one of the Athosians gives birth."

"He insisted, and Teyla wanted to be there." John shrugged. "We've been flying back and forth anyway. Ford and I were scheduled to do another survey this morning, so we'll pick them up on our way back. "

She nodded and then looked at the two scientists. "Please be careful when you are fiddling with these new artifacts."

Rodney made a face. "We don't 'fiddle'."

She held up her hand, "Just be careful."

Zelenka cleared his throat and glanced at McKay with annoyance, "Doctor Weir, why don't you come by the lab later this morning to see what we discover."

Elizabeth suppressed a smile. Radek obviously wanted the threat of an inspection to help rein in Rodney's exuberant curiosity. "That would be fascinating, Doctor Zelenka, thank you. That is all, gentlemen. As always, keep me informed."

*

Elizabeth hesitated a moment before entering the lab. She heard Rodney's voice through the door, "Come in, Elizabeth."

She smiled and entered as the door slid open.

Radek was looking intently at his laptop, and Rodney was turning a round dinner plate-shaped object over and over in his hands. Rodney sighed, "No, still nothing."

Elizabeth folded her arms and looked at the large disc he was holding. "What can you tell me?"

Rodney let out a breath and put the disc down on the bench. "Well, nothing much so far. We've only been looking at the cards and then this..." he motioned at the artifact in disgust "...whatever it is."

Zelenka looked up in sympathy. "We've been very methodical about it, but it does not have any seams or joints or buttons, and it does not respond to Doctor McKay's touch. It has no energy signature whatsoever."

"What if we got Major Sheppard..." Elizabeth started.

"No, no, no," Rodney said with impatience. "Even my... modest... abilities with the Ancient gene should have some effect. Maybe it's just broken."

Zelenka sighed, "Or maybe it's just a frisbee."

Rodney scowled. "You know, maybe it would be a good time to break for lunch."

Radek sighed and shook his head. "That is an excellent idea." He looked at Elizabeth apologetically, "If you will excuse me." She nodded and he took his leave.

"Rodney," Elizabeth said, "You really should lighten up on Doctor Zelenka."

"Oh, he loves me," Rodney said dismissively, picking up the metallic card again and grinning as it glowed to life at his touch. "I need to figure out how this thing works. There was a whole stack of these cards in the storage bin Nielsen's team found."

She took it from his hand gently and examined it. "Could it be like a floppy disk? Data storage?"

Rodney snatched the card back and then looked up at her curiously. "No, but that isn't a bad idea."

Elizabeth smiled with satisfaction. "Lunch?"

Rodney nodded. They headed toward the transporter. He shook his head, "See, the symbols are changing again. I don't think it's a blank data disk."

"I'm confident you'll figure it out."

"Ah!" Rodney suddenly looked back down at the card in surprise. "It's vibrating. It hasn't done that before." He sucked in a sharp breath. "That is not good."

He ran his hand over the symbols on its surface, now glowing orange.

"What is it?" Elizabeth leaned in to stare down at the markings with concern.

"The message has changed again. If I'm reading this right, and I probably am, it's a warning. Sort of a proximity alert."

"For what?"

Rodney studied the symbols and swallowed, "I think for the Wraith." He looked up at her in anxiety.

Elizabeth whipped her head around, and she caught a blur of movement behind them. She shouted into her communicator. "Bates! We've got Wraith in the city!"

*

In the control room, Sargeant Bates looked up with alarm. "Doctor Weir? Please repeat."

McKay's voice sounded over the speaker, "Wraith, she said, can't you hear? There's a Wraith intruder down by my lab."

Bates punched at his console. "Get out of there now."

"Yes, thank you for the brilliant suggestion."

Bates nodded at his second, who took off at a run. "I'm sending backup to your location. I'm calling Major Sheppard in." He paused, listening. He heard the sound of a Wraith stunner and a muffled shout. "Doctor Weir? Doctor McKay!"

There was no response.

*

John Sheppard yawned and scratched his neck. He glanced over at Lieutenant Ford. "How much longer is he going to take?"

Ford shrugged. "I don't know, sir. I don't know much about babies."

John checked his watch. Doctor Beckett had called for pickup while they were finishing their survey. He'd sounded happy. Twins, evidently.

John leaned back and stretched. He itched to be back at Atlantis. He wanted to get to McKay's lab to look at the gear Sergeant Nielsen's team had discovered. John loved toys and there looked to be a whole batch of new ones if they could be activated. The last time he'd checked in, Rodney said he hadn't been able to get anything but the little card to work yet, and John was looking forward to the expression on Rodney's face when John got the other gadgets to light up. He always did. "I got the magic touch," he thought smugly.

His musings were interrupted by the sound of the back hatch swinging shut. Teyla Emmagan and Carson Beckett fell into their seats behind the pilots. "Finally!" John turned to greet them. "What was the holdup?"

Beckett sighed, "There were complications after I called you, Major. I apologize."

Teyla slung off her pack and stowed it. "The mother experienced some bleeding. Doctor Beckett was able to save her." She smiled at Carson. "He was very heroic."

John grinned up at Carson. "Good job, doc."

Carson looked tired. "Thanks. It was close. I wanted to bring her back to the city with the wee babies but she wouldn't come."

"Let's go get 'em."

Teyla shook her head. "She is very proud. But Doctor Beckett promised to return tomorrow."

"Did he?" John looked over at Ford. Ford shrugged again.

Carson started to apologize again but the communicator crackled, cutting him off. John whirled to his console at the sound of Bates' panicked voice. "Jumper One! Please respond. Jumper One, we have an emergency."

"This is Sheppard."

"We have Wraith in the city."

John slapped his hands on the controls and took off immediately. "I'm on the way. What is your status?"

Bates sounded strained. "Uncertain, sir. Weir and McKay spotted at least one down by the labs. We haven't been able to track it down yet. No other aggressors have been identified inside the city so far. There was no warning, and we haven't picked up anything on our long-range scanners."

Teyla murmured in disbelief. "How could Wraith get into the city without warning?"

John brought up a scan of the airspace over Atlantis. "They had to have had a ship." He frowned at the screen.

Ford started in his seat and pointed at a blue blip rising over Atlantis. "There!"

John nodded. "Sergeant, we've got one Wraith dart circling the city."

Bates voice was tense. "We see it now. A scout?"

Ford nodded. "That would explain why it's alone."

Teyla leaned forward, "They do not travel alone; this makes no sense."

"I don't see any other ships near the city. It must have been hiding. Maybe a cloak." John gritted his teeth. "Damn it, we do not need them doing surveillance on us right now."

"Or ever," Teyla added.

"Well," John said grimly, "we better not let this one get home to report. Bates, this ship hasn't made any transmissions, right?"

"None that we have detected, sir."

As the jumper neared the city, the Wraith dart abruptly pulled away from them and shot towards the stratosphere.

"Not so fast, buddy," John muttered and brought the jumper's weapon systems online.

Ford nodded and looked at the console. "Weapons are fully armed."

"Right." John fired upon the Wraith, urging more speed into the jumper. The dart dodged and weaved as it sped away from them, and his first volley missed. He held his breath and concentrated, setting off another pair of Ancient missiles. This time his shots hit true and the dart exploded into a blast of wreckage. John pulled back on the controls and looked at the display. "What else?"

Ford shook his head. "Nothing, sir."

John keyed his communicator again. "Sergeant, the Wraith dart is destroyed, and we don't see any others... yet. What is your status?"

There was a pause.

"Bates?"

The sergeant stammered. "I've sent several teams down to the labs, and we haven't been able to locate the Wraith intruder Doctor Weir reported seeing."

"Let me talk to her."

"You can't, sir."

"What do you mean?" John didn't like the way Bates sounded. It wasn't like him to get rattled.

"We can't locate her... or Doctor McKay. Their last communication... I thought I heard a Wraith stunner go off. The teams are spread out looking for them."

Teyla put her hand on the back of John's seat and leaned forward. "Is it possible they were abducted by the Wraith they encountered?"

They all sat in silence for a few moments and then Ford shook his head. "If I was going to kidnap someone from Atlantis, I would take those two, and maybe you, sir." He looked up at Major Sheppard with concern.

John pondered Ford's words. "It might explain why the ship was flying solo. A stealth mission, in and out." He shook his head in disbelief. "Sneaky-like."

Teyla said softly, "That would make sense."

John had a sudden, terrible thought. He turned the jumper and looked back out toward the smoke and debris of the destroyed ship still hanging in the air.

Carson cleared his throat softly, but when he spoke his voice was choked. "Could Weir and McKay have been onboard that ship?"

John watched in evolving horror as the remnants of the Wraith ship rained down into the ocean below them. "Oh God," he breathed, "What have I done?"

*

When Elizabeth saw the flitting blur of the Wraith behind her, her first thought was of an invasion force. She shouted into her communicator. "Bates! We've got Wraith in the city!" She grabbed Rodney's arm and started at a run for the doors of the transporter.

Sergeant Bates' voice sounded confused over the communicator, "Doctor Weir? Please repeat."

"Oh God," she panted as she looked behind her again. "Rodney, did you see it?"

He nodded and pounded toward the doors alongside her. He shouted into his communicator, "Wraith, she said, can't you hear? There's a Wraith intruder down by my lab."

She glanced behind them and saw the Wraith more clearly now. It was a male warrior, in dark blue armor, padding quickly after them, catlike.

Bates' voice crackled as they neared the transporter doors, "Get out of there now."

"Yes, thank you for the brilliant suggestion." Rodney looked at Elizabeth as the door slid open. "We have to warn the rest of the..."

Elizabeth nodded and opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by a blast of the Wraith's stun weapon. It hit her in the hip and she toppled toward Rodney, dead weight. He caught her, grunting, and backed into the transporter pulling her with him. "Oh, this is lovely," he muttered to himself, and mentally urged the doors to close on the advancing figure of their assailant. "Come on, come on," he begged silently. But as the doors slid to close, the Wraith's hands jutted into the small space and pushed the doors open.

Rodney pulled Elizabeth's limp body against his chest and backed up as far away from the door as he could. Over his terror he noticed two things. First, the card he had been holding was now lying on the floor of the transporter, and it was making a high-pitched buzzing noise. Second, the walls of the transporter had suddenly come alive with the same orange symbols that the card had displayed. "Well," Rodney thought with annoyance, "nice to know what that thing's purpose was, now that I'm going to die."

He looked at the Wraith that had entered the transporter. The door slid shut behind the creature and Rodney turned his body to shield Elizabeth's with his own. He turned his head to gaze back at the looming alien in defiance. "Congratulations, you've got us cornered. Hope you're happy, you big... jerk." He tensed his body in fear, hoping he could stall the monster long enough for help to come, if for nothing else but to save Elizabeth.

The Wraith grinned and hissed, its sharp teeth glinting in the light of the glowing symbols. The grin turned into a snarl as the orange symbols on the wall suddenly flared bright red. The Wraith threw out its arms and began to emit a keening howl.

Rodney slid down the wall, keeping Elizabeth protected, covering her head with his arms and ducking his own head down. The symbols' glow turned from red to yellow, and then white, and the screaming of the Wraith increased. Rodney cringed and turned his head away from the piercing sound of its cries. Bright gusts of light shot out from the walls and into the Wraith and its body seized and twisted. Rodney risked a glance at the Wraith, which was blackened and crisping when it finally shuddered to the ground, flakes and chunks of charcoaled flesh shattering as they hit the floor. Then all the lights went out in the little compartment and Rodney was left in darkness, Elizabeth hanging limply in his arms.

*

John leapt up the stairs to the control room to confront Sergeant Bates. "Tell me some good news, Sergeant."

"I'm afraid there has been no change in the situation..."

"You've got all the short and long-range scanners working."

"Yes, sir."

"Let's stay alert. There might be more hiding out there." He narrowed his eyes. "What about Weir and McKay?"

Bates shook his head. "No sign of them, sir."

John roared in anger, making Bates jump slightly, "You knew there was a possibility that they were on that dart, and you didn't warn us?"

"I didn't know that, sir, and I am still not convinced that was the case."

"Well, what is the case, Sergeant?"

Bates cleared his throat. "I have teams spread out all over the lab complex, armed with life sign detectors. We haven't found evidence of Doctors Weir or McKay or the Wraith intruder. We've been slowed down a little, because the lab wing transporter is offline."

"What was their last known position?"

"By that transporter."

John turned and nodded to Ford and Teyla, who had come up behind him. "Let's go take a look."

*

Elizabeth slowly awakened, and her legs screamed in discomfort. Her whole lower body tingled. She realized she was on the floor, propped up in someone's embrace. She opened her eyes, but she couldn't see. She patted the jacketed chest her cheek was pressed against with uncertainty. "Major?"

She felt the arms holding her stiffen. "No, sorry, it's Rodney."

"Rodney..." Elizabeth blinked her eyes and tried to sit up straighter. She felt his arms tighten around her. "What happened? I can't see. My whole body is..."

"Tingling, yes, I know. You were shot by a Wraith stunner."

Elizabeth suddenly remembered the Wraith warrior that she had seen behind them in the corridor. She tensed. "Are we... did the Wraith take us?"

"No, no, he's been... taken care of." She felt him rub his hand on her shoulder. "And you're not blind, it's just very dark in here."

"What happened?" Elizabeth relaxed in his arms slightly and then wrinkled her nose. "What's that smell?"

"Oh that. I was getting used to it. Yes, that lovely aroma would be barbecued Wraith."

"What?"

"It seems we've stumbled into what is the equivalent of a mousetrap for Wraith. The transporter sensed the Wraith's presence and incinerated it."

Elizabeth paused to ponder Rodney's words and grimaced, suppressing a wave of nausea. "Okay. That's good news, but disgusting."

"I tend to agree."

"Where are we?"

"The transporter."

"We're still in the transporter?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"It seemed the wise thing not to move and risk making the transporter... upset." Rodney sighed. "Anyway, I was hoping someone from the outside would make their way here. One would have thought someone would notice we're missing." He grunted in annoyance. "Besides, you were unconscious and I didn't want to risk tripping over... anything."

"So you've just been sitting here in the dark."

Rodney hesitated and then said, "Right. It seemed the wisest course of action."

"Hmmm." Elizabeth reached up to feel her ear. "My communicator is gone."

"No, I have it. I tried to use yours when mine wouldn't work." Elizabeth felt Rodney pat her arm and then fumble the communicator back into her hand. "Listen, now that you're awake I'm going to try for the door. Can you sit up on your own?"

Elizabeth nodded and then realized he couldn't see her. "Yes, I think so." She pushed the communicator into her ear. "Atlantis control?"

She listened, but heard nothing.

Rodney grumbled with impatience. "I told you the communicators don't work."

"I just thought I'd try."

"Alright," Rodney gently extricated himself from underneath Elizabeth and she felt him push himself to his feet with a grunt. "I'm going to head for the door. If you see a panel of orange lights go on, then cover your head and hit the floor."

"Why? What would that mean?"

"Ah, well, that would be bad. The lights went on right before the Wraith warrior got blasted." He sighed, "I'm hoping this room isn't interested in turning me into toast as well."

"Be careful."

"Yes, right, thank you."

Rodney inched his hand along the wall, edging towards the door slowly, alert for any change in the wall illumination. He wrinkled his nose in disgust as he felt his foot crunch on the dried remains of the Wraith. His hand felt for the door and it slid open, but no light greeted him. What he was greeted with was moist air rich with the smell of the ocean. "That's odd."

"What?" Elizabeth's voice was strained. She groaned softly.

"Are you alright?"

"I just feel like I hit my funny bone... over my entire body. What's odd?"

"I can smell the ocean. I shouldn't be able to smell it from here." He took a tentative step through the now open door and the space in front of him slowly lit up in series, like stop lights on a city street late at night. He heard the whir of ventilation fans start suddenly and he could feel air moving on his face. He gasped. "Elizabeth, you should see this."

Elizabeth struggled to her feet, squinting into the light. She maneuvered her way slowly around the blackened chunks of Wraith on the floor and came up next to Rodney. He pushed an arm around her waist and she leaned heavily on his shoulder. She looked out into the sparkling blue light of the enclosure. "Wow."

"Yes, exactly."

*

John looked at the blackened edges of the transporter door in frustration. "Tell me again what the hell happened here?"

Sergeant Nielsen shifted his P90 on his shoulder. "Sergeant Bates got a distress call from Doctors Weir and McKay; they had identified a Wraith intruder."

John frowned at the door and ran his hand along the edges. A black oily film had seeped out through the seam between the door and the wall and it came off on his fingertips. "Right." He scowled and looked back at Ford and Teyla, who were standing silently behind Nielsen.

"We got down here in less than two minutes, but there was no sign of them. We found the transporter doors stuck shut and that... substance on the outer surface. We've already taken a sample down to the lab."

John grimaced at the black residue on his fingertips and rubbed it between his fingers. "Right."

"We've searched the corridors and the labs room by room. There's no sign of Weir, McKay or the intruder."

John rubbed the soot off onto his jacket, "Analysis?"

Nielsen nodded his head to the door. "I figure they must have tried to escape the intruder through there. The wraith must have followed."

"Have you searched the other transporter locations?"

"Yes, sir, we've got men searching all known transporter locations, doing sweeps in those areas. No sign yet though, sir."

John swallowed heavily. "We need to get into this transporter. They might be still in there." He activated his communicator. "Doctor Zelenka, would you come down to the lab transporter?"

Nielsen shifted his weight uncomfortably. "We aren't picking up any life signs inside, sir."

John tensed and bit his lip. He didn't want to take his frustration out on Nielsen. He pressed his palm against the door and tried counting to ten. He only made it to three before calling again. "Doctor Zelenka? I need you to come and help me get this door..." he jumped back from the door as it suddenly slid wide. His voice faltered, "...open."

John looked into the open transporter and glanced back at Ford and Teyla. He met eyes with Nielsen and they stepped together into the brightly lit cubicle. The interior was spotless. The door closed behind them and they turned to look at the door. It was completely clean. There was no trace of the black oily film on the inside of the door.

"What the hell happened here?" John clenched his fists in frustration.

Sergeant Nielsen shook his head. "I don't know, sir."

*

Elizabeth pushed her hair behind her ear. "Rodney, what are we looking at here?"

Rodney shook his head. "It looks like an indoor marina." He gazed up at the vaulted ceiling and back down at the edge of the water. What had once been a magnificent indoor harbor had been damaged with time and violence. At least eighty percent of the docks were underwater, the floor dipping violently downward from a huge crack that ran through the floor ten meters or so in front of the door to the transporter. The far side of the room was completely submerged.

Elizabeth let out a breath. "It must be the size of a football stadium."

Rodney nodded. "A little annoying that most of it is flooded." He looked down in irritation at the water. It was brightly illuminated and a clear blue.

"Why did the transporter send us here?" Elizabeth squinted up at the light above them. "For that matter, where is here?"

They both moved forward and the transporter door slid shut behind them. Rodney gently let go of Elizabeth. She nodded and he stepped toward the near wall. He waved towards the water. "I would guess that we're somewhere in the substructure of the city. It stands to reason that a city in the middle of an ocean would have some sort of marine harbor or dock."

There were several capsules of various sizes imbedded partially in the wall that Rodney approached. He ran his hand over the surface of one of the smaller ones. It was only about three meters high, a meter and a half across. Ancient symbols glimmered to life under his touch and he jumped back.

"Rodney?" Elizabeth limped towards him.

"Stay back for a second, Elizabeth." He held up his hand and looked at the flashing lights in wonder. "Ten thousand years and these devices still light up automatically. Think about the capacitance of these batteries." He smirked at Elizabeth, and then turned back toward the capsule. He studied at the symbols and then whirled to face Elizabeth. "Of course! These," he waved his hands at the capsules, "these are escape pods. Emergency escape pods. I should have realized immediately."

She frowned. "When the transporter detected the Wraith, it took us here."

"Right!" He held up a finger in excitement. "The transporters must serve a dual function. Transporting within the city, and then in case of emergency..."

"...evacuation." Elizabeth finished.

Rodney looked around the marina. "The transporter assumed there was a Wraith invasion and transported us here for the sake of safety. That is really..."

"...amazing." Elizabeth nodded her head. "I agree."

"I was going to say efficient."

Elizabeth sighed. "We should get back; the staff is going to be wondering what became of us." She glanced at her watch and looked up at Rodney in surprise. "Do you realize you were sitting there in the dark with me for over an hour?"

"Really?" he muttered, his attention back on the illuminated module, "It seemed much longer than that."

Elizabeth shook her head in exasperation and turned back to limp towards the transporter. She stopped short when the door didn't open as she neared. "Rodney, the transporter isn't opening for me."

"What?" Rodney walked quickly over to the door and put his hand against it. He waved his hand in front of the sensors with no response. "Well, that is perfect."

Elizabeth bit her lip. "A one-way trip?"

Rodney keyed his communicator. "Atlantis control, this is Rodney McKay." There was still no response. Elizabeth frowned and tried her own radio without effect.

Rodney heaved a sigh. "Of course it's a one-way trip. This day just gets better and better." He motioned up at the ceiling. "This area must be shielded in some way."

Elizabeth pulled off her communicator and looked at it, pensive. "I hope that's the reason no one is answering."

He frowned and then hastened to reassure her. "We only saw one Wraith. We would have detected an entire invasion force ahead of time. I'm sure they're safe up there. Besides," he sighed and rolled his eyes, "they've got Major Sheppard up there to save the day. Nothing to worry about."

Elizabeth looked speculatively at Rodney, and then shook her head. "Okay. We have a huge room full of escape pods here. We should be able to get out, right?"

He rubbed his forehead. "That depends on whether these pods will do more than just light up. If I can get one to work then the next question becomes, where do the pods escape to?"

"Let's focus on one problem at a time."

"Right, of course." Rodney went back to the bank of capsules. He moved to the larger capsules and grunted in annoyance when he couldn't get them to open. He moved back to the illuminated capsule and ran his hand along its surface. The front swung open to reveal a one-man compartment inside. He considered the interior. He and Elizabeth could probably squeeze in together if they had to. He looked over the control panel. "Okay, I think I can figure this out. It looks like the other ones are too damaged or corroded to activate. Or maybe..." he turned back to Elizabeth, who was standing with her arms folded, looking at him skeptically. "...maybe only one activates per person."

She raised an eyebrow. "See what you can do."

"Right." He turned back to the controls and started to decipher the symbols. Elizabeth wiped her forehead with the back of her hand and sank down to the ground. Rodney turned back towards her. "Elizabeth?"

"Just a little tired."

Rodney turned back to work on the capsule, masking his concern. He needed to get them both back to the city proper.

*

John leaned over the balcony and watched the sunset, remembering the many times he and Elizabeth had looked out over the water together. He glanced back as Teyla came up behind him. "Major Sheppard?"

John turned back to face the ocean and let out a deep breath. He swiped at his eyes, clearing his throat. "Teyla. This isn't a good time..."

She leaned over the rail beside him and sighed, looking at the ocean. "It is very difficult to lose comrades, people you care about, people who are like family."

He glanced over at her and then back at the water. "Yeah."

"The pain will lessen with time."

"Yeah, I don't know about that." He shuddered a sigh. "Don't get me wrong. I've lost people close to me before, and I've lost friends. But..."

"You blame yourself for their deaths."

"It's not the first time I've been to blame for..." his voice trailed off and he clenched his jaw, resolutely watching the remaining sunlight shimmering over the water of the ocean.

They stood in silence for several minutes.

Teyla stirred. "If Doctor Weir and Doctor McKay were indeed onboard the Wraith ship, its destruction may have been a blessing."

John glanced at her in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Teyla took a deep breath. "If they had been taken prisoner, the Wraith surely planned to torture them for information, and then they would certainly have fed off of them." She shuddered. "For all we know they might already have fed from them. Destroying the ship may have been the most merciful thing you could have done."

John shook his head. "I don't buy it, Teyla. I wish I could. If I'd known they were aboard maybe I could have found a way to force the dart to land, or... something." He waved his hand aimlessly in the air in frustration.

She moved her hand towards his shoulder, and then hesitated, seeing him tense. She let her hand drop. "They were good friends. I am sure that they would understand and forgive your actions." She stepped back from the rail and turned to go. She paused, and added, "You will forgive yourself, in time."

John listened to her move away from him and he turned his attention to the darkening night sky. He muttered to himself, "I'm not so sure."

*

Elizabeth woke with a start and pushed herself up on her elbow. She had fallen asleep on her side on the smooth floor of the indoor pier. Rodney's jacket was draped over her. She pushed it aside, stifled a yawn and glanced at her watch. She'd been sleeping for almost nine hours. She looked up at the capsule. Rodney had the control panel open and fiber optic wires were spread out in a fan around him. He was frowning at the panel, turning his Swiss army knife around in his hand. "Rodney."

He started and looked down at her. "How are you feeling?"

She sat up and raked her hand through her hair. "Better. I'm so sorry for falling asleep on you, Rodney. Have you rested?"

He shook his head. "I lost track of the time." He sighed and put his knife to the side. He walked over to her, knelt and then sat down next to her on the floor. He pulled out two power bars from the jacket lying next to her and handed one to her. "I expected you to fall asleep sooner, actually. That Wraith stun weapon really sucks the life out of you." He cringed. "Not literally. I mean it's very enervating."

"I knew what you meant. Thank you." Elizabeth peeled open the power bar and bit off a corner. She looked down at the bar with distaste and chewed without enthusiasm. "How are the repairs going?"

Rodney swallowed a large bite of his bar. "I'm getting there. I'm trying to figure out the internal navigation system. I don't want to get into the thing and have it bury us in the ocean floor and/or drop us into hibernation." He yawned and tore off another chunk of his bar. "Then we need to clear away some of the debris in the water. It looks like the structure collapsed a while ago, but when we powered the city back up it must have set up thermal currents underneath the city. There is an entire ecosystem that's grown up on the girders that have fallen into the water. You'd like it, it's very..."

Elizabeth sighed, "...pretty?"

"Yes, right." He took another bite, and chewed it quickly. "Anyway, there is a railed slide from the capsule into the water. It needs to be cleared away."

"Good," she said putting her food bar down on the floor. "Now finally there is something I can physically do to help." She stood up and stretched, working the kinks out of her muscles.

He looked at her anxiously, swallowing his food. "What do you mean?"

"Underwater work. Swimming. I'm good at it." She grinned at him and unzipped her jacket. "Regional champion in high school."

"Well," he stammered, watching her pull off her shirt to reveal a tank top underneath. "I don't know how safe it is."

"I'll take a look, and if there is something too heavy for me you can help."

He swallowed the last of his bar and sucked at his teeth. "I'm not really what you would call a swimming enthusiast."

"No?"

"Not so much. I mean, I can swim. But..." He watched as she folded her shirt and jacket and laid them on the floor beside her. "Shouldn't you wait? I mean, you just ate." He looked hungrily down at her food bar, which had a miniscule bite taken out from the corner.

"I only ate a tiny amount." She bent over to pull off her shoes and socks and then stood up again, unzipping her pants. "Let me take a look. You'll be right here if I need help."

Rodney turned his head away. Elizabeth glanced at him and hesitated. "Rodney, I'm sorry, I don't mean to make you uncomfortable, and I usually don't undress in public. But I can't jump in the water with all my clothes on."

Rodney fought to keep his eyes averted. "No, no, we're all adults here. I'll just, uh... go work on the capsule." He pushed himself to his feet as he heard her pulling off her trousers.

"Rodney, I'll leave on my underwear." He could hear the amusement in her voice.

"Right. Okay." He waved his hand in her direction. "Go ahead and have fun."

"Shouldn't you keep an eye out for me?"

"Okay," his voice squeaked and he cleared his throat. He willed himself to turn around and tried to sound casual. "Get in the water and I'll be play 'lifeguard'."

Elizabeth smiled and moved over to the side of the pier. She looked down into the clear water and tentatively dipped in a toe. "Be right back," she grinned at him and dove in. Rodney moved to the edge and looked down in concern. Elizabeth surfaced a moment later. He heaved a sigh of relief and motioned toward the underwater area that needed to be cleared.

She nodded and dove again. He watched her move fluidly between the colorful fronds that decorated the silvery wreckage in the water. She moved the fallen debris and plant life easily. Rodney yawned again and rubbed at his eyes. At this rate she'd have the debris cleared fairly quickly. He stood and went back to work on the control panel, glancing up at Elizabeth every minute or so. She looked like she was having a good time. She would bob to the surface every minute or so, waving at him, and then dive back down. He bit his lip, staring at the control panel, and began to separate the fibers again. He pulled out the small screwdriver on his pocketknife and made a few connections. Thirty connections later he thought he might be getting near completion. He looked up at Elizabeth's splash. She called out.

"I think I have it cleared away."

"Good, I think I'm about ready to test the capsule's navigational system."

She smiled. "There's just one pipe left here that's a little heavy for me."

Rodney sighed. He really didn't want to undress in front of Elizabeth and he hated the water. He put his knife down again, making note of where he had left off.

She grinned up at him, treading water, as he stood by the edge. "The water is nice and warm."

"Wonderful, I can't wait," he said without enthusiasm, pulling his tunic over his head and kicking off his shoes.

She edged nearer to the wall of the pier. "You'll like it." She looked down suddenly. "Ow." She looked up at Rodney in confusion, and then her eyes rolled back and she sank back into the water.

"Elizabeth?" Rodney looked frantically down at the cloud of her hair floating several centimeters below the surface. "Elizabeth!" He jumped without hesitation into the water beside her. She was floating limply, her face slack. He grabbed her waist and pushed her upwards. Her body jerked just shy of the surface and he squinted down through the water. Her foot was enclosed by a spiny vivid pink gelatinous mass attached to the wall of the marina. Rodney reached down and pulled her free with effort, grimacing at the gash in her foot. He grabbed her waist again and pushed her up out of the water and onto her stomach. He heaved himself out of the water and then pulled her completely onto the dock.

"Oh no, Elizabeth," he spat water out of his mouth, "no, no, no." He turned her limp body onto her back, water pouring out of her mouth as he did so. She wasn't breathing. "Come on, Elizabeth, you were only under the water for a few seconds." He looked with panic down at her foot. It wasn't bleeding very much, but the edges of the wound had already swollen up to a frightening degree. "Poison," he thought and looked frantically back at her face. Her eyelids were half open but her eyes were rolled upward. He whipped out a sodden handkerchief from his pocket and tied it around her ankle as a venous tourniquet. He moved back upwards and pushed his ear against her chest. He could hear her heart beating.

"Okay, I can do this." He tilted Elizabeth's head back and pulled her jaw forward with one hand. He pinched her nose with the other hand. He watched her chest for a few moments, but it remained motionless. He drew in a deep breath, and latched his mouth over hers, blowing into her lungs slowly, counting out two seconds in his head, watching her chest rise. He pulled away and her chest sank back down. He breathed again into her, counting in his head. After several minutes of breathing for her he paused and listened to her chest. Her heart was still beating.

He looked down at her face and spoke to her between breaths. "Elizabeth, I think that you've been poisoned..." "...given the size of the plant..." "...I'm hoping this paralysis is temporary..." "...I'll just keep breathing for you..." "...until you can breathe on your own..." After the next breath Rodney panted to catch his own breath, and then spoke again, "...just let me know..." "... when you can breathe again..." "...I think I'll stop talking now."

He drew in a deep breath and took off his watch, laying it down beside Elizabeth's head where he could use it to count between breaths. He vaguely remembered from the first aid refresher class he'd taken in Russia that he should give her about twelve breaths per minute. He just hoped she woke up before he ran out of steam. This had been easier to do on the practice dummy.

He stopped after another few minutes and fetched his jacket and Elizabeth's, covering her lifeless form as best he could to keep her warm. He folded his shirt into a pillow and put it under her head and then settled in for the long haul.

*

John leaned back in his seat and looked with misery at the chair that Elizabeth usually sat in. He looked up at Zelenka, Beckett, Ford, Bates and Teyla as they silently took their places around the conference table. He doubted any of them had slept last night.

He looked in turn at the sorrowful faces around the room. "I don't need to tell you all," he began, "that losing Weir and McKay is a major blow to Atlantis."

Zelenka nodded and looked down at his hands.

"I want to know how this happened. I want to know how a Wraith got into the city without us detecting it, and where that ship had been hiding. I want to know what happened inside that transporter that left scorch marks at all the seams but left the inside untouched. I want to know for certain if Weir and McKay were onboard that dart when I... when it was destroyed."

Zelenka cleared his throat. "I've been studying the transporter and I've analyzed the residue outside the door. It's burnt organic tissue."

Beckett nodded. "Aye, totally carbonized. It's possible it came from human tissue."

John grimaced and Ford shook his head.

"But not likely," Beckett continued. "It contained a high level of copper, as we see in the blood of the Wraith. I think it's fairly safe to say that whoever the Wraith assailant was, he was severely wounded, if not killed in that transporter."

John rubbed his forehead. "Can you rule out for certain whether there was any...uh, human tissue in that stuff?" He winced.

Zelenka and Beckett shook their heads. John chewed his lip. "We still don't know how it happened. Can you figure it out? A weapon that can turn a Wraith into a black smear would be pretty useful."

Zelenka nodded. "We will keep working on the problem."

John turned to Bates. "Have the teams finished the sweeps around the transporters?"

"Yes, sir, the immediate areas have been covered. But, obviously, there is still an enormous amount of territory to explore."

"Well, spread the teams out and load them up with life signs detectors. Let's just be sure the transporter didn't take them somewhere new. If that wraith was killed they might have escaped. If they're still alive they could be injured and unable to get to us."

Bates nodded. John turned to Ford. "You and I are going to go back to the site of the explosion and look for remains."

Ford's face was carefully neutral. "Yes, sir."

John looked at back Teyla and Beckett. "You need to go check on the new mother on the mainland, right?"

Teyla glanced at Beckett, "We said we would return this afternoon."

"We'll drop you both off on our way out to the crash site."

Beckett nodded in resignation.

John sighed and pushed his chair back from the table. "Let's get to work."

*

Rodney pulled off his tee shirt. It was cold against his skin and only partially dried. He'd worked up a sweat and had shed his sodden pants an hour ago. He felt for Elizabeth's pulse at her wrist and felt its strong and steady beat. "I'll be a medic in no time at this rate," he thought. He worried that Elizabeth might be conscious, since the paralysis only seemed to affect her motor functions and breathing. He'd had an uncle who had sworn he'd been conscious during a gallbladder operation. Evidently the chemicals that knocked you out and the ones that paralyzed you were two different classes of compounds. He leaned in to give Elizabeth another breath and watched the seconds tick by.

He was getting tired. Really, really tired. The pit of his stomach ached and his lungs burned with the effort of inflating her chest every five seconds. It had been almost ninety minutes and he had already had to skip breaths every minute or so just to relieve the burning in his chest. He wiped the sweat from his brow and leaned in again to blow into Elizabeth's mouth. Her lips were still cold. He pulled away slightly and looked at her eyes. They were cracked open. He breathed again for her and pulled one of her lids up. The pupil shrank down in response to the light, and her green eye swerved towards him.

"Whoa." He jerked back. "Oh no, Elizabeth, you're awake." He leaned back down and pulled her lid up again. Her eye rolled up and looked back at him. Her face remained completely slack. He leaned in again listened for breath. None came. He hesitated, and then tilted her head back again and gave her another breath. "Just hang on."

His resolve renewed, he shifted his weight and adjusted her head on the makeshift pillow of his shirt. He closed her eyelid with his hand and looked at the watch. He puffed in another breath. At least there was a change. He couldn't bear the thought that she was awake and unable to draw her own breath. It must be torture for her. He grimaced.

The minutes stretched into forty and Rodney was starting to lose hope again when he felt resistance against one of his breaths. "That's it," he panted, "keep trying."

Within ten minutes, Elizabeth was drawing in shallow breaths on her own. She still wasn't moving otherwise but at least Rodney was able to rest his own screaming rib cage. He stretched out next to her and watched in relief at the movement of her chest up and down.

He moved down slightly and buried his face against her side in exhaustion, pressing his torso against her to help keep her warm. "Keep breathing, Elizabeth. You can do it." He could feel her ribs moving with her breaths. He grasped her hand with his own and squeezed it. His heart leapt when he felt her squeeze his hand weakly in response. "That's it. Save your strength. Just breathe."

After an eternity he heard her cough. "Elizabeth," he pushed himself up on an elbow and looked at her face. Her eyelids fluttered. He leaned in and she whispered painfully, "I can breathe."

He looked down at her with relief. "Good, keep doing that. Just rest. Breathe."

She nodded her head slightly and Rodney sank down again against her side. Her breathing became more regular and he felt her sigh. He gave up his own struggle and succumbed to his own exhaustion.

*

Rodney jerked awake with a start. He opened his eyes and pushed himself up on his elbow. "Elizabeth?"

Elizabeth looked back at him, her face pale. "I'm here. Thanks to you."

He pushed himself up and leaned over her. "I'm sorry, I fell asleep."

"Now we're even." She smiled weakly at his stricken expression. "You were exhausted. I know how hard you were working."

"How long?" He looked over at his watch sitting next to her head on the floor and grabbed it.

"Not long."

He grunted in disgust at himself. "How do you feel?"

She grimaced. "Cold. Weak. Everything hurts. My chest... and I can't feel my left leg... but I can breathe."

Rodney licked his lip in distress. "We have to get you back to the city." He looked at her clothes, still folded neatly by the waterside. "You're cold. Let me help you get dressed."

He helped her shrug out of her damp tank top, leaving her bra, and pushed himself up to fetch her clothes. When he returned he found her with her arms folded limply over her chest, smiling self-consciously. He kneeled next to her and pulled her up to sit, leaning her against his chest. "No need to be suddenly shy, Elizabeth." He pulled her shirt over her head and helped push her arms through the sleeves. "I just spent two hours with my mouth plastered to your face."

"Some make-out party."

Rodney grunted grimly and zipped up her shirt. He turned to grab her jacket. "You said there was still a pipe or something in the way of the capsule."

Elizabeth looked at him sharply. "I won't have the strength to keep you alive..." she took a shaky breath, "...for two hours if you get hurt."

He pulled her arm into the jacket sleeve. "I got a look at the thing that stung you. I think I can avoid it. We have to get out of here. If Sheppard knew where we were he'd be here by now. There's no way they're going to stumble upon us at this point." He zipped her up and leaned over to grab her trousers. He grimaced at her left foot. It was even more swollen than before, but there was still no sign of external bleeding. He didn't think that was necessarily a good sign. He felt her toes. They were cool to the touch but he thought he could still feel a pulse through the swelling. Elizabeth hissed as he pressed on the swollen tissue.

"That I can feel."

"Sorry." He gingerly slipped the leg of her pants over the foot. He had to tear the fabric near the hem to get the pant leg to slip over the swelling. He heard Elizabeth hiss again and he winced in sympathy. He slipped the other trouser leg over her right leg and he rolled Elizabeth onto him, pulling up the waistband. She fumbled with her hands and pulled up the fly.

"Thanks."

"Warmer?"

She nodded. He stood up and was suddenly aware of his own state of undress. He decided to brazen it out. "Alright, I'm going to go finish clearing the path for the capsule. I should be able to get us going within the hour."

"That was quick."

"Right," he muttered with distraction. "Everything is going along just splendidly." He leaned over the edge of the water. Elizabeth had done a good job clearing out their escape path. He jumped into the water unceremoniously and swam slowly to the remaining shaft blocking their way. He dived under the surface and was able to lift the pole with effort and heave it out of the way.

Rodney pushed himself out of the water, and found Elizabeth sitting up, looking anxiously towards the water. "I'm fine." He waved his hand towards her and then slicked his hair back, flicking the dampness off of his hands. "It was a little heavy, but I got it clear." He paused and caught his breath. "You did a good job down there."

She nodded weakly at him and rolled back to lie down again, panting.

Rodney pulled his hand over his hair again in anxiety. He shook his arms and legs, trying to get rid of the majority of the water. Then he plodded wearily back toward the control panel, shivering slightly, and set about to finishing his repairs.

*

John pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes. Ford stood in the door of his office, looking at him anxiously. "Sir, Teyla and Doctor Beckett are ready to go."

John looked at his watch and sighed. "Any news from Zelenka?"

Ford shook his head. "Not that I've heard, sir."

"Okay, let's go find McKay and Weir's bodies. Maybe we can bring them home."

"Yes, sir."

John pushed himself out of his seat and strode past Ford, his jaw set.

*

Rodney zipped up his jacket and looked at down at Elizabeth. She was sitting up again, rubbing at her neck. She looked a little less pale, but she was still weak. She was clutching her shoes. "Maybe you should just go by yourself and bring back help."

Rodney straightened his jacket. "No, that's not a good idea. For all we know the only reason the lights are on in here is because the room senses the Ancient gene I'm carrying. If I leave, you could be left in the dark with no air."

She looked skeptically at the capsule. "Will there be air and light for us inside that pod?"

"Uh," he looked uncertainly back at the capsule. "Well, there's a little window..." he stammered. "Look, I'm reasonably certain that this capsule will take us to the mainland. There is some kind of secondary base or evacuation station there."

"There is?"

"Well, according to the onboard computer, I think." He blinked several times. "I'm almost positive. I've managed to shut off the cloaking technology of the capsule, so I'm hoping that Atlantis Control will notice us once we leave this shielded harbor. Anyway," he shook his head, "your foot is getting worse. It's time to go." He looked down at her pleadingly. "Let's go now, before I lose my nerve."

Elizabeth nodded and pushed her flattened shoes into her jacket pocket.

"Oh, good grief, Elizabeth, leave your shoes."

"I love these shoes."

Rodney shook his head, "Women."

"Hey!" Elizabeth frowned at him.

He rolled his eyes and reached down, pulling her to her feet. She leaned against him heavily, hopping on her right foot, gritting her teeth. He bent and lifted her up into his arms, and walked over to the open capsule. He set Elizabeth back down and she steadied herself, hanging onto the door of the module.

Rodney leaned back into the one-man cradle, pulling down the harness. The system glowed to life as he reached out his arms and pulled Elizabeth towards him. She hopped into the cradle, stepping between his feet. She pressed her face against his neck.

"I hope this works." She mumbled into his collar.

He folded his left arm around her and reached down with his other hand to activate the control panel. The door swung shut and he felt his ears pop as the capsule pressurized. "So far so good," he swallowed and then said a silent prayer as the capsule slid into the water.

*

John hovered over the gently rippling water of the open ocean. He turned on the heads up display, which revealed pieces of the destroyed Wraith ship scattered widely over the ocean floor.

Ford surveyed the highlighted blips. "Can we go down and look at the debris?"

John frowned at his console. "I'm not sure how deep we can go in the jumper. Some of those pieces are about two miles down."

Ford grunted, "So, no life signs."

"Well," John sighed, "there are a lot of fish. But I thought we'd look for their communicators. And Rodney used to carry around his PDA...maybe we can find a trace..."

The display changed color. Ford looked at it blankly. "Anything?"

"No," John sighed again, his heart heavy. "But their gear could have been destroyed in the explosion." He raked his hand through his hair. He had to find out if Elizabeth and Rodney were lying at the bottom of the ocean. He had considered that the destroyed Wraith dart might have been a decoy. That would mean that they were still prisoners, which would be bad, but better than the alternative. "Let's see how deep we can take the jumper." He poised to dive the ship into the water.

"Major Sheppard!" Zelenka's voice cut in over their communicators and John hesitated. "We're tracking an object leaving the underside of the city."

John looked sharply over at Ford. "What kind of object?" He turned the nose of the jumper back towards Atlantis.

"We're not sure, but it's moving very fast, underwater...it's headed directly toward the mainland."

John pulled up the navigational map. "Underwater?"

A bright pinpoint suddenly appeared on the screen. It had already almost reached the coastline.

Ford whistled, "It's moving really fast. Another dart?"

John shook his head. "No, but it's some kind of ship. Maybe submarine. Think about it, why would a dart fly underwater? It would move faster above ground."

"Right, sir. Wait, it's over land now."

"No it isn't." John nodded toward the screen. "See, it's still below sea level. Atlantis?"

Zelenka answered. "We see it. Wait, we just lost the signal."

"What the hell?" John leaned in and the display zoomed in on the last position of the unknown vessel.

Bates broke in. "A self-destruct?"

John shook his head, "I don't think so."

"Could there be a stargate under the water?"

"No, we should have seen the activation on our instruments here."

Zelenka's accented voice sounded again. "Possibly an underground cove? The rock might be shielding the signal."

"I'm going to be pretty upset if the Wraith have been hiding out under our noses."

Bates' voice was tense. "Shall I send back-up?"

John shook his head as he hovered the jumper over the water. "Stand by with that. Let's see if I can be sneaky too. I'm going to take a look."

"Yes, sir."

John looked at Ford, who nodded back at him. "Here goes." He cloaked the jumper and then eased it into the water, following the trail the blip had left on their screen. "Look, there's a channel in the wall of the mainland."

Ford peered out at the perfectly circular entrance to the underwater cave. "That's not a natural formation."

"No it isn't. Let's just hope someone friendly carved it out." He eased the jumper cautiously into the rift, activating the ship's running lights. He cut them off again when he saw light coming from ahead.

"What is that?"

John looked back at his heads up display. "It looks like an underground cove. Five points to Zelenka." The display changed and Ford looked at the two blinking blue lights curiously.

"Life signs?"

"Life signs. Two life signs."

"Even odds, sir." Ford grinned.

"Yeah," John looked at the display pensively, "as long as there isn't a squad of hibernating Wraith squatting up there." He made a decision. "Atlantis?" There was no answer. "Oh, for Pete's sake." He turned the ship around and headed for the mouth of the cave.

"Sir?" Ford asked.

John didn't answer. His throat was tight with sudden hope that he had found his missing companions. But he could almost hear Elizabeth telling him to be cautious. In a moment they were back in the open ocean. "Atlantis?"

"Atlantis here, Major," Bates said. "We lost you there for a second."

"Sergeant, let's go to high alert. I'm picking up two life signs in a shielded underwater cove here. I'm going to check it out but I can't do that without revealing our presence. Just in case we've got a bunch of sleeping Wraiths here, I want to be ready. Get the jumpers manned. I'll surface in one-five minutes."

"Yes, sir."

John looked at his watch and then over at Ford as he turned the jumper back towards the cave. "Let's be ready."

*

"Rodney?" Elizabeth's voice was slightly muffled, with her face buried in his neck.

"Yes, Elizabeth?"

"What's happening?"

Rodney watched the blue water of the ocean rush past the view port in front of him. His leg was cramping slightly, but in the tight quarters it was impossible for him to shift enough to get relief. He ran his left hand slightly over Elizabeth's back, in a way he hoped was reassuring. But he couldn't help tightening his hold on her slightly when the blue water was suddenly replaced by blackness.

"What?"

"Ah, well," he patted her nervously, "it seems we aren't in the shallow water anymore...we're either underground or we suddenly went very deep."

He felt Elizabeth stiffen in alarm. "What does that mean?"

"It means we are either underground or very deep in the water," he said impatiently.

"Rodney."

Rodney was starting to feel real panic. He willed himself to calm down for Elizabeth's sake but wasn't quite able to manage it. "What do you want me to say? This was a questionable idea to begin with." He clenched his teeth. "We're stuck now, one way or another."

Elizabeth didn't say anything for a moment. She could feel Rodney's heart pounding through the fabric of his jacket. She said softly, "Well, at least if I'm going to die I'll be in good company."

Rodney caught his breath, and felt ashamed of his own fear. He hugged Elizabeth gently. "Right. Me too." He sighed. "Anyway, it's not over yet. Let's just wait a little longer before we panic."

Abruptly, he panicked as he heard the hiss of escaping air from the pod. Then he sighed in relief as the front panel swung away from his face and he and Elizabeth weren't immediately drowned or smothered. Elizabeth lifted her head and looked up at Rodney. She cocked an eyebrow at him. "You always time things just to be dramatic, don't you?"

He shrugged, "I have many skills." Rodney released his hold on Elizabeth and she pushed herself up gingerly. He eased out of his straps and they clambered out of the capsule, which had lodged itself solidly into a dock at the edge of the water.

Elizabeth straightened and looked around. "Wow." She wavered slightly on her right foot, gripping his jacket for balance as her knee buckled.

Rodney agreed, slipping his arm around her for support. "Yes, again, I would have to agree with 'wow'."

The small dock the capsule had berthed in was part of a pier in a cove that housed a variety of small ships and capsules like the ones they had seen submerged back in the under-city harbor. Scattered lights hung from the cave's ceiling overhead and glowed blue. Only a third of them were working but they lit the cave enough for Rodney and Elizabeth to survey what had also once been a magnificent harbor. The scattered ships were rotted and broken apart, destroyed by time and by a partial collapse of the ceiling. But what had captured Elizabeth and Rodney's attention was the object at the far end of the cave.

Elizabeth breathed in amazement. "Another stargate."

Rodney shook his head in agitation. "Of course, of course! They had to have a back-up gate. They built the stargates, of course they would have a back door!" He grimaced in self-disgust. "Why didn't I realize this before?"

"Can we dial out?"

Rodney glanced around the cove. "I don't see a DHD." He sighed. "We should look through the rubble, those DHDs are usually pretty durable."

Elizabeth wobbled again and reached out her other hand to steady herself on his shoulder. Rodney turned his head towards her with worry. "Are you alright?"

"No, actually."

"Why don't we sit you down somewhere?" He picked her up again and moved towards a low bench set in the floor of the cave. He lowered her onto the bench as gently as he could manage. "Here, stay here and rest. Let me go look around."

"Rodney, just sit here with me for a second."

Rodney looked at her and wrinkled his brow in concern. "Yes, of course. I think I could use a minute myself."

He settled beside her and they sat in silence for several minutes. She slipped her hand into his and he looked into her eyes. She licked her lips. "You know, Rodney, I never got a chance to..."

They both jumped when the silence of the cave was disturbed suddenly by the sound of rushing water.

Rodney whirled around. "Now what?"

Elizabeth turned her head towards the surface of the water. A large shape emerged, water streaming from its surface. They both leapt up in shocked surprise. Rodney tightened his arm around Elizabeth.

He started in recognition at its shape, outlined in the water pouring from its surface. "It's a jumper!"

The jumper hovered over the water for a moment, de-cloaked, and then slowly landed on the ground twenty feet in front of them. The back hatch opened and Major Sheppard burst out, running toward them.

He skidded to a halt before them, looking back and forth between them, grinning madly. "You're alive!"

Rodney couldn't help but to grudgingly smile back. "Yes, thanks..." He was cut off as John pulled the two of them into a bear hug. Rodney struggled to support Elizabeth and grimaced, "Yes, okay, ow. Your radio is digging into my face..."

John cut him off. "I thought I'd killed you!"

Elizabeth choked, "What?"

John pushed them back away and looked at them intently, his smile fading, his eyes filling with emotion. "Are you both okay?"

Elizabeth shrugged at him, her own eyes suddenly moist. She cleared her throat. "Rodney saved my life."

John looked back at Rodney, "Rodney, I could kiss you."

Rodney grimaced again and waved his free hand in front of his face. "Oh, please don't. Kiss Elizabeth if you need to channel your emotions."

Elizabeth looked at Rodney sharply, "What?"

John grinned and grabbed Elizabeth's head, and gave her an enthusiastic kiss, full on the mouth. He pulled back beaming and looked at Rodney as Elizabeth sputtered, "Major!"

Rodney's mouth gaped. "I didn't mean it literally."

John reached out and grabbed Rodney's head and, hesitating for a moment, planted a kiss solidly on his forehead.

Rodney pushed him away in disgust. "Ah! Never, ever do that again. Honestly, you'd think after all the times..."

"Holy cow, is that a stargate?" John was looking past them now at the rubble behind them.

"Well, we just got here so we haven't..."

"Can we use it to dial out?"

"I just said we haven't had a chance..."

"What was that transport you used to get here?"

"Actually that's a really interesting..."

John's expression darkened, "Are there any Wraith here?"

Rodney gritted his teeth. "No, we're completely alone, and I don't think they even..."

"What about the Wraith that attacked you?"

"It's dead, and it turned out that little card..."

"What happened?"

"If you'll shut up for a minute I'll tell you!" Rodney hesitated, expecting to be interrupted again. John looked back at him, his grin returning. Rodney put his hand out defensively. "No more kissing." John's smile broadened. "You're... crazy. Besides, we need to get Elizabeth back to the city. She's been badly hurt."

John glanced back at Elizabeth with sudden concern, looking down at her foot and then up at the arm Rodney was using to support her. "Right. I'll take her. I left Ford back in the ship. We'll pick up Beckett on the way back to Atlantis and he can look at her in the jumper. Let's go."

Elizabeth looked mildly annoyed. "You know, I'm right here."

John beamed. "I know, isn't it great?" He bent slightly and swung Elizabeth into his arms and away from Rodney.

She rolled her eyes as she settled her arms around John's neck. She looked back at Rodney. "He's like a kid."

"Yes, I've commented about that many times."

John chuckled, turned on his heel, and strode back towards the ship.

Rodney looked back at the stargate wistfully and then followed John, suddenly feeling exhaustion creep over his body. He watched as Elizabeth tightened her grip around John's shoulders and he muttered under his breath, "He always has to swoop in to save the day." He reconsidered, jutted out his lip and straightened his jacket. "I didn't do so bad myself."

*

Elizabeth smoothed the sheets of the infirmary bed over her lap. She looked back up at her audience.

Carson had examined her and wrapped her foot on the way back to the city, and he'd ordered a protesting Rodney off to bed as he was wheeling Elizabeth toward the infirmary. He'd hovered over her all night.

The next morning, John, Teyla and Rodney had crowded around her bed the moment Carson had finally allowed them in.

Elizabeth nodded, continuing her story. "So, Rodney saved my life... again." She smiled at him. "He breathed for me for hours. He never gave up, although I know he was exhausted."

John grimaced at Elizabeth. "You were awake the whole time, jeez. That must have been scary." He remembered what it was like to be paralyzed when the Wraithlike insect had attacked him. It had been terrifying. He looked over at Rodney speculatively. He got the mental image of Rodney with his mouth on Elizabeth's for hours on end. Lucky dog.

Teyla looked at Rodney with admiration. "We all owe you our gratitude, Doctor McKay."

Rodney was blushing furiously. He stammered, "I'm sure you would have done the same."

John punched him in the arm. "Good job, Rodney."

"Ow," Rodney rubbed his arm and looked at John with reproach.

John grinned at him and turned his attention back to Elizabeth. "So, about the underground stargate..."

Rodney straightened. "Yes, we need to go back there and see if we can find a working DHD."

John nodded, "Or try dialing it up with a jumper."

"Exactly," Rodney pointed at John without looking at him, "or dial it up with a jumper."

Elizabeth sighed. "It would be very helpful to have access to a second stargate. But..." She held up a finger and looked at John and Rodney sternly, "let's be careful, shall we? I want that cove checked for stability before we start digging around in there. I don't want anyone trapped underwater... again." She shivered. "What about the underwater bay Rodney and I were transported to?"

John nodded. "I'd like to check that out too."

Elizabeth looked at him with unease. "Just be careful."

John rolled his eyes. "Yes, mom." She glanced at him sharply as he feigned innocence. "What? I said, yes, ma'am." He studied her with affection as she shook her head at him in exasperation. "I'm really glad you're okay. Both of you." He glanced at Rodney and nodded. "Well, time to get to work. Teyla?"

Teyla gazed at Elizabeth and Rodney in turn. "I am also very glad you have both returned safely. We were all very distraught when we thought you lost." She bent her head slightly and turned to follow John out of the infirmary.

Elizabeth watched them leave and then settled her gaze on Rodney. "So, Rodney. I never really got to thank you."

Rodney looked at her intently and then moved forward to sit on the edge of her bed. "That isn't necessary."

"I do remember everything."

He winced. "I'm sorry about that. You must have been very frightened." He hesitated and then grasped her hand.

"I was," she looked up at him earnestly, squeezing his hand back. "You're making a habit of saving my life."

"Well," he shrugged uncomfortably, "everyone needs a hobby."

Elizabeth smiled. She reached up with both hands and drew his face towards hers. "Thank you." She leaned up to kiss him.

Rodney didn't resist. He slid his hand behind her head and sank against her mouth, reveling in the warmth of her lips. They had been so cold before.

As they parted he met her gaze. "You're welcome."

Elizabeth sank back onto her pillows and Rodney released her with reluctance.

After a moment Rodney swallowed deeply, and cleared his throat. "I should go help Major Sheppard." He gestured toward the door.

"Right," she nodded, the corner of her mouth quirking upward.

He swallowed again, and stood. "So, uh, I'll just go do that." He backed up a few steps and then walked briskly out of the room.

He stopped in the corridor, and slapped himself in the forehead. "Very suave, McKay," he muttered, "really smooth." He shook his head in self-reproach, sighed and then resolutely headed for his lab.

Behind him, Elizabeth smiled, sank back under the covers of her bed, closed her eyes, and fell asleep.

*END*