In Case You Don't Recall (Sam/John, PG-13)
Title: In Case You Don't Recall
Author: raisintorte
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Samantha Carter/John Sheppard
Warnings: Bad guys being bad. (not graphic)
Spoilers: SGA - Doppleganger, SG1 - New Order parts I and II.
Word Count: 4,402
Written For: dirty_diana
Prompt: "How ever many lies i tell without my tongue/Get twisted into memories 'til i believe them some" --Ryan Adams.
Summary: There's a blurry line between fiction and reality. Especially when there are Replicators involved.
Author's Notes: Thanks to omglawdork for being my sounding board and wojelah and smittywing for betaing.
The first thing thing that Sam felt when she came to was pain. Intense, head-splitting pain. She tried to open her eyes to see her surroundings, but the light just made the feelings more intense. She tried to turn away but a hand grabbed her shoulder, stopping her. She cupped her hand over her eyes to block the light and squinted her eyes open for a second, just long enough to make out Colonel Sheppard crouched next to her.
She felt John move, but didn't want to open her eyes to see where he was going. She thought he was leaving her, but she felt his breath on her neck as he whispered in her ear. "Stay down, I think they're gone, but we don't want to tip them off we're still here."
She turned toward him and whispered back. "Who? Where are we? What happened?" The pain was starting to subside a bit, but it still felt like someone had driven a spike into her temple.
"You don't remember?" Her vision was clearing up a bit and she could make out more of the room. John left her side and crouched by what appeared to be a doorway.
"No, the last thing I remember is gearing up to go through the gate and stepping through the wormhole." Sam rubbed her temples and tried to place where they were. She couldn't remember leaving Atlantis, let alone how they'd ended up hiding from someone.
"That was about ten hours ago. We were looking through a lab on PX3-342. Some not-so-friendly natives found us, you got knocked out, and I dragged us into this storage room. We've been in here a few minutes and we're getting out of here as soon as they're gone so we can get you back to Atlantis." John moved back to her and helped her into a sitting position. "That's a pretty big bump on your head."
"I'm a total blank, so you're going to have to fill me in. What's the situation? Where is everyone else?" Sam ran a quick self-check to verify she wasn't injured anywhere else. Her leg hurt a little, but there was no visible injury.
"We split off from Ronon and Teyla when we got to the lab. I've tried to raise them on the radio, but they haven't responded." John moved back to the door. "It's been a few minutes since we've heard anyone out and about so we should go." He started gathering up their gear and clipped his gun to his vest. He offered his hand to her, but she pushed it away. She wasn't ready to stand up yet.
"But what about Ronon and Teyla? The fact they're not responding is a big red flag. I'm feeling better, so just leave me here with a gun. I'll be fine." Sam reached over to her own P-90 and checked the ammo.
"I'm not leaving you. They'll be fine. We'll send a team once we get back." John offered her his hand again and didn't take no for an answer this time. She wobbled a bit as he pulled her to her feet so he put his arm around her to steady her.
"Colonel, I think that's a really bad idea." Sam removed his arm from around her and leaned against the wall. "Right now we have two of our people out there, possibly stuck in a hostile situation, and we have no idea if we are going to be able to get out of here let alone if we can get back in. We can't leave them." Sam crossed her arms, hoping her posture would back up her words.
"Colonel Carter - Sam - I don't think you realize how badly you've been hurt. We really need to get you back to the gate." Sam noticed a shift in John's tone. He sounded almost - annoyed.
"What's gotten into you, Sheppard?" Something was very wrong about this situation but Sam couldn't place it. She shook her head, trying to clear out the cobwebs.
"What's gotten into me? What's gotten into you? I'm trying to save your life!" John was pacing around the room in an agitated manner. He hadn't tried to grab her again, but it seemed like only a matter of time before he did.
"My life is fine. I have a bump on the head, nothing fatal. But we don't know about Ronon and Teyla. I cannot believe you are arguing with me about going after your team." Sam looked around, wishing she had a stunner, but all she could see were their P90s. Colonel Sheppard was not acting like himself. He would never just leave his team behind.
"We are leaving. Now." John grabbed her arm and pushed her roughly in front of him.
"No." Sam shook her head and pushed him back. She wasn't going anywhere with this man.
"Yes." He tugged at her again.
"Let. Me. Go. What the hell is wrong with you Sheppard?" Sam wrenched her arm back and moved away from him.
John shook his head a bit and took a step forward. "Colonel. You are hurt, and for all we know Ronon and Teyla are fine and just out of radio contact." His voice went very soft, almost like he was placating her. "We need to get back to the gate." Now that she could see more clearly, she looked straight into his eyes and realized what was wrong with him. Those weren't John's eyes.
Sam backed against the wall, trying to get as far away from this man as possible. "You aren't Colonel Sheppard."
The man impersonating Colonel Sheppard walked forward until he was looming in front of her. He reached out and grabbed her shoulders. "Yes, I am. And we're going home."
"No. Stop it. Don't touch me. You aren't taking me anywhere." Sam pushed his arms away again. "You aren't right. You're close, I'll give you that, but you aren't right." Sam felt the splitting pain in her temples return as the scene around her morphed from a storage room to an open field. A Replicator she had never seen before stood in front of her shaking his head.
"This could have been so easy." He gave her a sardonic smile and shook his head a little. "You just had to believe." Sam glared at him. He was about average height, brown hair, brown eyes, everything about him was typical. Except the whole being an evil machine thing.
Sam's head hurt like a bitch, but she didn't want to let him see that. "You failed. Colonel Sheppard doesn't leave people behind."
The replicated snorted a bit at that. "He left Doctor Weir."
Sam said nothing, she wasn't about to debate the loss of Doctor Weir with a Replicator.
"Regardless. You do realize I'm just going to keep going back until I find the right hook? I will get that gate address from you. You know this, yet you still fight me." She hadn't had much personal experience with the Pegasus Replicators but this guy seemed to fit along the same line as the Milky Way Replicators. However, she didn't think she she would be able to manipulate him like she had Fifth.
She opted for bravado instead. "I'm sorry, did you just expect me to give in?"
"No. Your people are surprisingly good at evading and tricking us, but we're learning. And as we learn we get better. Now, where shall we go this time?" Sam saw the smile on his face just before the world went black again.
"Hey there, sleepy-head. How are you feeling?" Sam opened her eyes with a start to find a very naked Colonel Sheppard propped up on his elbows staring at her. Looking down, she realized she was also very naked. She wasn't sure where she was, but looking around they appeared to be in one of the guest quarters. She didn't remember getting there, and she had a splitting headache, almost like a very bad hangover.
"Colonel Sheppard!" Sam grabbed the blanket and pulled it up over her breasts. Moving hurt. Hell, thinking hurt, and she had to think because somehow she didn't remember getting drunk and into bed with Colonel Sheppard, but that appeared to be exactly what happened.
"I think we've moved past ranks at this point, Sam." Sam felt Colonel Sheppard's - John's - hands rub her hip, as if to drive the point home.
"I . . . right. Yes. Sorry, I have a hell of a hangover. I don't even remember drinking that much." Sam had been hungover before, but never like this.
"I'm not surprised." John gave her a playful smirk. "You drank me under the table."
"Of course." Sam pondered what to say next, and coming up with nothing she looked at her empty wrist and said, "Well, look at the time!" Sam wanted nothing more than to get out of this situation, and quickly. Her head was pounding. She couldn't pick out what was right, and what was wrong, but being there, with Colonel Sheppard, felt very wrong.
He wasn't saying anything, so she figured it was up to her to extricate herself from this situation. "I think we should probably get up and go back to our quarters. And oh god. This is so awkward. We'll need to talk about this. Sometime when we aren't naked in bed. Actually, we shouldn't talk about this at all, but then it might get weird. So yes, talk. My office? Two hours?" Sam grabbed the sleeping bag and wrapped it awkwardly around herself while she reached around trying to locate her clothing.
"Sam. Are you okay?" John looked very concerned, so she paused in her hunt for her bra to meet his eyes. She was having trouble meeting his eyes, but he appeared not to be having the same problem.
"Yes, yes, yes. Of course, why do you ask?" Of course she wasn't okay, but she didn't want him to know that.
John grabbed her hand to stop her search. "We're not on Atlantis."
Sam did a double take and almost dropped the blanket. "Excuse me?"
"We're not on Atlantis." Sam stopped her rummaging and sat back against the wall to listen to John. "Don't you remember going off-world? We're on PX3-394, diplomatic relations. We drank the local version of moonshine last night - had a rousing welcoming dinner?"
"No. I don't recall any of that. I'm so sorry Colonel - John - I guess I'm having a reaction to the alcohol." The pain in her head had lessened but the memories were still jumbled. She wished she remembered. Something. Anything.
"Sounds like you are. The locals didn't warn us about anything like that. We should pack up and head out. You might need medical treatment." John moved next to her and put his hand on her forehead, as if he was feeling to see if she had a fever.
"That sounds like an excellent idea. Would you mind passing me my underwear? Thanks." Sam hadn't had to ask someone to 'pass her panties' in a long time. She was just glad she'd managed to get it out while still sounding somewhat professional. John appeared to be totally cool with what happened and just seemed to be concerned about her and not what they did. She wished she could say the same.
They finished putting on their clothing in silence and packed up the rest of their gear. Sam stumbled a bit as they headed out the door and John caught her arm. "Careful there, Sam."
"Thanks." Sam wanted to say more - she probably should have, but she just wasn't sure what was what anymore.
Outside the main building was a village that looked pretty much it like any other village in this galaxy or their own. There was something familiar about it, but it wasn't bringing back any specific memories.
"I guess we aren't the only ones with hangovers from last night." John's remarks pulled Sam out of her thoughts. She took a closer look around the village and realized they were the only people there. No one else was outside and there were no other signs of movement.
"Must have been some party!" Sam said, in what she hoped was a light tone.
"It really was. The gate is just a few minutes up this path." John's smile was bright, but his eyes were worried. "We'll have you back to Atlantis and in the infirmary in no time."
They walked the short distance back to the gate. Sam stumbled a few times along the way; her coordination seemed really off. Every time she bobbled, John was right there to catch her. He seemed to be almost pulling her to the gate.
When they got to the DHD, Sam expected John to start dialing, but instead he paused next to it and looked at her expectantly. "I usually make McKay dial, but he's not here. How about you do the honors?"
"Uhh. Sure." Sam was starting to get a very bad feeling, she just couldn't place it. She touched the first chevron and waited for it to light up. There was something a little off about the situation. She reached out to touch the second button, but something stopped her. "Wait. This. This isn't right."
"Nothing is wrong, Sam. Just dial the gate and we can go home." John smiled at her in what he probably thought was a comforting manner, but it just made her more uncomfortable.
"I think I need to sit down." Sam backed away from the DHD.
"Sam. Dial the gate." John narrowed his eyes and took a step toward her; she instinctively took a step back.
Nope, not right at all. "Why are you being so insistent? Why don't you dial the gate?"
"Colonel Carter, I'm not going to ask you again. Dial the gate."
It all came back to Sam in a flash: the Replicator catching her and his desire for the new gate address for Atlantis. She had to stop him. "Get. Out. Of. My. Head." Sam snapped each word out as the scene changed and she was once again back in the same open field.
"And we were so close that time!" The Replicator raised his eyebrows and smiled. "I can do this for days."
Sam rubbed the center of her forehead and glared at him. "No. We weren't. Shouldn't you be off fighting the Wraith?"
"Who says I'm not? We need Atlantis. I was sent to get it. And I will win, Colonel Carter. I just haven't found the perfect scenario yet. You're stubborn, which is good. Makes this a bit more fun."
Something must have happened for them to suddenly switch from 'destroy Atlantis' to 'need Atlantis'. "What do you mean you need Atlantis?"
"Tsk, tsk. Distracting me isn't going to work. This is my interrogation. Not yours. Now, where shall we go next?" The Replicator moved his hand forward, preparing to put it in her head again.
"How about to hell?" Sam whipped her head about at the sound of Colonel Sheppard's voice. Relief ran though her body as he pulled out an A.R.G. and fired.
"Nice to see you in one piece, Colonel. I was starting to worry I'd lost another commanding officer." Sam almost did a double take at John's words - they sounded so macabre. He walked over to where Sam was kneeling on the ground and offered her some help up. She took it and looked around as she dusted off her legs to see a full tactical team waiting, along with Ronon, Teyla, and McKay.
"Thank you, Colonel Sheppard. It's good to see you. How long have I been gone?"
"You were three hours overdue when your escort showed up without you. Said you got snatched right up by something that looked like a hybrid dart. You're just lucky they didn't take you off this planet." Colonel Sheppard handed her a canteen and she took a long drink of water.
Once she was on her way to being hydrated, she muddled around her mind a bit, trying to find support for what Colonel Sheppard was telling her, but it just wasn't there.
John must have noticed her struggling; he put his arm around her shoulder and squeezed. "It's okay, let's get you out of here. I think Dr. Keller is going to recommend a few days stay in the infirmary. Looks like that guy did a number on your head." John left his hand on her arm and started guiding her to the path.
"Yeah. I guess." Sam looked over to where Rodney was standing with Ronon and Teyla. She was surprised he hadn't said anything yet. That was unusual for McKay. "What's up with Rodney? He's not his usual chatty self."
John looked a little surprised. "Nothing's wrong with McKay. He was just worried, and this is how he's expressing his worry. He'll talk to you soon, I'm sure."
If Samantha Carter knew one thing to be universally true, McKay never acted like that. Never. "I - " She started to speak but then the world went topsy turvy and the woods winked out of existence. When her eyes could focus again, the Replicator was still lying in the grass, but this time only John, Teyla, McKay, and Ronon were there with her.
Sam rubbed her head and felt the world about to go fuzzy. "Not again." She felt John grab her arms before she slumped to the grass.
She felt Colonel Sheppard shaking her gently. "Colonel Carter, Carter. You have to wake up. We have to go now. This guy might have friends looking for him."
Sam tried to push Colonel Sheppard away from her, she remembered everything this time. "No. I'm not going anywhere with you." Sheppard was still holding her arm and she grabbed his hand and pulled it off.
John let go of her arm but didn't move away. "Colonel, I have no idea what the hell happened or what they put you through, but we have to get you out here. Now."
"No." Sam shook her head in denial. "I am not falling for this again. No. I am not dialing the gate. If you want to go, you have to dial Atlantis."
"Sam, it's me, John. I am not a Replicator, and I am getting you the hell out of here. I'll dial the gate, but we've got to get there first."
"Right, and as soon as we do, you'll try to get me to dial it. Not. Falling. For. It." Sam snapped out each word, trying to stay in control. She was about to lose it and it wasn't going to be pretty.
"Well, this time it's really me." John reached out for her arm again and she slapped his hands away. "Okay, okay. Last time, how did you figure out it was a Replicator and not me?"
Sam stepped back a few steps, to put a little distance between John and herself. "Colonel Sheppard. I am not debating this with you. Leave me alone!" This was just like the last scenario and she was not falling for it again.
"Sheppard." John turned his attention from Sam to Ronon, who had walked over to stand next to John. He leaned up and said something in John's ear that Sam couldn't hear. John shook his head in the negative and Ronon grunted and stepped back. The Replicator must have decided to play musical teammates to mess with her this time, because Rodney stepped forward and took Ronon's place next to John.
Sam was surprised McKay had stayed silent this long, but fake Rodney in the last bit hadn't talked at all. This Rodney looked extremely concerned and flustered. "Carter, Sam, it's McKay, and for a smart lady, you are being stupid. We killed the Replicator, and now it's time to go. Stop fighting us, we're here to help you."
Clearly the Replicator had learned from his last foray into her head and had McKay talking this time, but she still wasn't falling for it. "No. Not buying it! Just leave me alone."
"Sheppard." Ronon sounded more insistent this time.
John shook his head. "Not yet."
"John, I really believe that Ronon's idea might be the best course of action. We should really leave now." Sam guessed it was Teyla's turn to try because now she was standing next to Sheppard, trying to reason with her. "Colonel Carter, we are truly here, and we mean to get you home, you just need to come with us." Teyla's eyes looked like Teyla, but Sam wasn't sure of anything anymore.
Sam wasn't going to fall for team imitation part two. She could, and would, fight this. "I am not going anywhere with you people."
"Sheppard, let's go." Sam saw Ronon pull his gun and that was the last thing she saw before the world went black again.
"I can't believe you shot her!" John glared at Ronon. The man had gotten a little too trigger happy with the stun function of his weapon.
"Doesn't matter now." Ronon picked Carter and put her over his shoulder and headed to the stargate. "Let's go."
"Welcome back to the land of the living, Colonel!" Sam opened her eyes to Dr. Keller's cheerful voice. She appeared to be back in the infirmary on Atlantis.
"How long have I been out?" Sam lifted her hand up. She had an IV running in, but that appeared to be the only machine she was hooked up to.
"Almost 24 hours. Between your drained energy from the head messing and the stun, you've been out a while. You don't have any other injuries though."
Sam still wasn't sure she wanted to believe this was real, but she was on Atlantis, and Dr. Keller was being her usual cheerful self, and Colonel Sheppard wasn't trying to get her to dial a gate. Eventually she was going to end up back in the real world, and it would do her no good to continually believe she was being tricked. This scenario was different enough and she wasn't fuzzy. She was a little groggy, but it was a different feeling. She would go along with it until they started trying to get her to tell them where they were.
Keller checked her vitals poked around a bit until she declared Sam to be 'doing just fine.' "Are you ready for visitors? Colonel Sheppard would like to see you." Sam had to think about that for a moment. If this was the real Atlantis, Sam would have to deal with seeing Colonel Sheppard at some point, and now seemed like as good a time as any. "Send him in." Dr. Keller nodded and walked out of the curtained-off area.
Clearly the Replicator had chosen to manifest himself as Colonel Sheppard for a reason. He could have been anyone in her life, and he picked John. That said something right there, something she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to confront at this moment.
A few minutes later Colonel Sheppard pulled the curtain aside and sat in the chair next to her bed. "Hey there." John smiled a bit warily at her.
"Hey there." Sam gave him a smile in return. It probably looked extremely weak, but it was the best she could manage.
"How are you feeling?" John sat down in the chair next to her bed.
"Like someone shoved their hand in and out of my brain for hours."
"That good eh? Been there, done that." John smiled at her softly. They'd both been to this party before, and he truly did understand what she was going though. Having your mind messed with was never a pleasant thing. "They wanted our gate address, huh?"
"Yeah. He was obsessed with finding out the gate address for Atlantis. Said they needed Atlantis to win the war."
John leaned back in the chair and crossed his ankles. "Did he say why?" John looked thoughtful.
"No. I tried to get more information out of him, but he wasn't being forthcoming. We have to assume they broke Dr. Weir and learned something about Atlantis that will give them a tactical advantage."
"Yeah, we do." Colonel Sheppard took a deep breath and leaned forward. "So, he, uh, messed with your head a bit?"
"Yes, he did. He kept appearing as you and trying to force me to dial the gate."
"Me. Right. It's not bad enough I'm showing up in every one's nightmares, now the Replicators are imitating me." John averted his eyes and shook his head. When he raised his head again, he looked thoughtful. "I wonder why he didn't pick McKay?"
"I don't know. He probably saw something in my head that led him to believe I would be more persuaded by you." That was probably more than she should have said, but if she was being honest, it was perfectly true.
"Something you want to tell me, Colonel Carter?" Sheppard had a laughing tone to his voice, but his eyes were a little more serious.
Sam knew there was more to the Replicator's choice as well, but she didn't want to examine those feelings now, especially not out loud with the object of them. Her feelings for John, whatever they worked out to be, and any he might have for her, raised a whole bunch of implications she didn't think either of them were prepared to deal with at the moment. "Well, you could probably talk me into more stuff if you wanted to."
"That's what I'm thinking." John grinned and squeezed her hand. "So, now would probably be a good time to repeat my request for a soccer tournament in the gateroom?"
"Nope. Still not letting you do that. Now, seeing as I'm stuck in here for a bit, one of us needs to be running this base."
John looked like he wanted say something else, but instead he just squeezed her hand again and walked out of the cubby. One of these days they might sit down and have that talk, but for now, everything was good.
Author: raisintorte
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Samantha Carter/John Sheppard
Warnings: Bad guys being bad. (not graphic)
Spoilers: SGA - Doppleganger, SG1 - New Order parts I and II.
Word Count: 4,402
Written For: dirty_diana
Prompt: "How ever many lies i tell without my tongue/Get twisted into memories 'til i believe them some" --Ryan Adams.
Summary: There's a blurry line between fiction and reality. Especially when there are Replicators involved.
Author's Notes: Thanks to omglawdork for being my sounding board and wojelah and smittywing for betaing.
The first thing thing that Sam felt when she came to was pain. Intense, head-splitting pain. She tried to open her eyes to see her surroundings, but the light just made the feelings more intense. She tried to turn away but a hand grabbed her shoulder, stopping her. She cupped her hand over her eyes to block the light and squinted her eyes open for a second, just long enough to make out Colonel Sheppard crouched next to her.
She felt John move, but didn't want to open her eyes to see where he was going. She thought he was leaving her, but she felt his breath on her neck as he whispered in her ear. "Stay down, I think they're gone, but we don't want to tip them off we're still here."
She turned toward him and whispered back. "Who? Where are we? What happened?" The pain was starting to subside a bit, but it still felt like someone had driven a spike into her temple.
"You don't remember?" Her vision was clearing up a bit and she could make out more of the room. John left her side and crouched by what appeared to be a doorway.
"No, the last thing I remember is gearing up to go through the gate and stepping through the wormhole." Sam rubbed her temples and tried to place where they were. She couldn't remember leaving Atlantis, let alone how they'd ended up hiding from someone.
"That was about ten hours ago. We were looking through a lab on PX3-342. Some not-so-friendly natives found us, you got knocked out, and I dragged us into this storage room. We've been in here a few minutes and we're getting out of here as soon as they're gone so we can get you back to Atlantis." John moved back to her and helped her into a sitting position. "That's a pretty big bump on your head."
"I'm a total blank, so you're going to have to fill me in. What's the situation? Where is everyone else?" Sam ran a quick self-check to verify she wasn't injured anywhere else. Her leg hurt a little, but there was no visible injury.
"We split off from Ronon and Teyla when we got to the lab. I've tried to raise them on the radio, but they haven't responded." John moved back to the door. "It's been a few minutes since we've heard anyone out and about so we should go." He started gathering up their gear and clipped his gun to his vest. He offered his hand to her, but she pushed it away. She wasn't ready to stand up yet.
"But what about Ronon and Teyla? The fact they're not responding is a big red flag. I'm feeling better, so just leave me here with a gun. I'll be fine." Sam reached over to her own P-90 and checked the ammo.
"I'm not leaving you. They'll be fine. We'll send a team once we get back." John offered her his hand again and didn't take no for an answer this time. She wobbled a bit as he pulled her to her feet so he put his arm around her to steady her.
"Colonel, I think that's a really bad idea." Sam removed his arm from around her and leaned against the wall. "Right now we have two of our people out there, possibly stuck in a hostile situation, and we have no idea if we are going to be able to get out of here let alone if we can get back in. We can't leave them." Sam crossed her arms, hoping her posture would back up her words.
"Colonel Carter - Sam - I don't think you realize how badly you've been hurt. We really need to get you back to the gate." Sam noticed a shift in John's tone. He sounded almost - annoyed.
"What's gotten into you, Sheppard?" Something was very wrong about this situation but Sam couldn't place it. She shook her head, trying to clear out the cobwebs.
"What's gotten into me? What's gotten into you? I'm trying to save your life!" John was pacing around the room in an agitated manner. He hadn't tried to grab her again, but it seemed like only a matter of time before he did.
"My life is fine. I have a bump on the head, nothing fatal. But we don't know about Ronon and Teyla. I cannot believe you are arguing with me about going after your team." Sam looked around, wishing she had a stunner, but all she could see were their P90s. Colonel Sheppard was not acting like himself. He would never just leave his team behind.
"We are leaving. Now." John grabbed her arm and pushed her roughly in front of him.
"No." Sam shook her head and pushed him back. She wasn't going anywhere with this man.
"Yes." He tugged at her again.
"Let. Me. Go. What the hell is wrong with you Sheppard?" Sam wrenched her arm back and moved away from him.
John shook his head a bit and took a step forward. "Colonel. You are hurt, and for all we know Ronon and Teyla are fine and just out of radio contact." His voice went very soft, almost like he was placating her. "We need to get back to the gate." Now that she could see more clearly, she looked straight into his eyes and realized what was wrong with him. Those weren't John's eyes.
Sam backed against the wall, trying to get as far away from this man as possible. "You aren't Colonel Sheppard."
The man impersonating Colonel Sheppard walked forward until he was looming in front of her. He reached out and grabbed her shoulders. "Yes, I am. And we're going home."
"No. Stop it. Don't touch me. You aren't taking me anywhere." Sam pushed his arms away again. "You aren't right. You're close, I'll give you that, but you aren't right." Sam felt the splitting pain in her temples return as the scene around her morphed from a storage room to an open field. A Replicator she had never seen before stood in front of her shaking his head.
"This could have been so easy." He gave her a sardonic smile and shook his head a little. "You just had to believe." Sam glared at him. He was about average height, brown hair, brown eyes, everything about him was typical. Except the whole being an evil machine thing.
Sam's head hurt like a bitch, but she didn't want to let him see that. "You failed. Colonel Sheppard doesn't leave people behind."
The replicated snorted a bit at that. "He left Doctor Weir."
Sam said nothing, she wasn't about to debate the loss of Doctor Weir with a Replicator.
"Regardless. You do realize I'm just going to keep going back until I find the right hook? I will get that gate address from you. You know this, yet you still fight me." She hadn't had much personal experience with the Pegasus Replicators but this guy seemed to fit along the same line as the Milky Way Replicators. However, she didn't think she she would be able to manipulate him like she had Fifth.
She opted for bravado instead. "I'm sorry, did you just expect me to give in?"
"No. Your people are surprisingly good at evading and tricking us, but we're learning. And as we learn we get better. Now, where shall we go this time?" Sam saw the smile on his face just before the world went black again.
"Hey there, sleepy-head. How are you feeling?" Sam opened her eyes with a start to find a very naked Colonel Sheppard propped up on his elbows staring at her. Looking down, she realized she was also very naked. She wasn't sure where she was, but looking around they appeared to be in one of the guest quarters. She didn't remember getting there, and she had a splitting headache, almost like a very bad hangover.
"Colonel Sheppard!" Sam grabbed the blanket and pulled it up over her breasts. Moving hurt. Hell, thinking hurt, and she had to think because somehow she didn't remember getting drunk and into bed with Colonel Sheppard, but that appeared to be exactly what happened.
"I think we've moved past ranks at this point, Sam." Sam felt Colonel Sheppard's - John's - hands rub her hip, as if to drive the point home.
"I . . . right. Yes. Sorry, I have a hell of a hangover. I don't even remember drinking that much." Sam had been hungover before, but never like this.
"I'm not surprised." John gave her a playful smirk. "You drank me under the table."
"Of course." Sam pondered what to say next, and coming up with nothing she looked at her empty wrist and said, "Well, look at the time!" Sam wanted nothing more than to get out of this situation, and quickly. Her head was pounding. She couldn't pick out what was right, and what was wrong, but being there, with Colonel Sheppard, felt very wrong.
He wasn't saying anything, so she figured it was up to her to extricate herself from this situation. "I think we should probably get up and go back to our quarters. And oh god. This is so awkward. We'll need to talk about this. Sometime when we aren't naked in bed. Actually, we shouldn't talk about this at all, but then it might get weird. So yes, talk. My office? Two hours?" Sam grabbed the sleeping bag and wrapped it awkwardly around herself while she reached around trying to locate her clothing.
"Sam. Are you okay?" John looked very concerned, so she paused in her hunt for her bra to meet his eyes. She was having trouble meeting his eyes, but he appeared not to be having the same problem.
"Yes, yes, yes. Of course, why do you ask?" Of course she wasn't okay, but she didn't want him to know that.
John grabbed her hand to stop her search. "We're not on Atlantis."
Sam did a double take and almost dropped the blanket. "Excuse me?"
"We're not on Atlantis." Sam stopped her rummaging and sat back against the wall to listen to John. "Don't you remember going off-world? We're on PX3-394, diplomatic relations. We drank the local version of moonshine last night - had a rousing welcoming dinner?"
"No. I don't recall any of that. I'm so sorry Colonel - John - I guess I'm having a reaction to the alcohol." The pain in her head had lessened but the memories were still jumbled. She wished she remembered. Something. Anything.
"Sounds like you are. The locals didn't warn us about anything like that. We should pack up and head out. You might need medical treatment." John moved next to her and put his hand on her forehead, as if he was feeling to see if she had a fever.
"That sounds like an excellent idea. Would you mind passing me my underwear? Thanks." Sam hadn't had to ask someone to 'pass her panties' in a long time. She was just glad she'd managed to get it out while still sounding somewhat professional. John appeared to be totally cool with what happened and just seemed to be concerned about her and not what they did. She wished she could say the same.
They finished putting on their clothing in silence and packed up the rest of their gear. Sam stumbled a bit as they headed out the door and John caught her arm. "Careful there, Sam."
"Thanks." Sam wanted to say more - she probably should have, but she just wasn't sure what was what anymore.
Outside the main building was a village that looked pretty much it like any other village in this galaxy or their own. There was something familiar about it, but it wasn't bringing back any specific memories.
"I guess we aren't the only ones with hangovers from last night." John's remarks pulled Sam out of her thoughts. She took a closer look around the village and realized they were the only people there. No one else was outside and there were no other signs of movement.
"Must have been some party!" Sam said, in what she hoped was a light tone.
"It really was. The gate is just a few minutes up this path." John's smile was bright, but his eyes were worried. "We'll have you back to Atlantis and in the infirmary in no time."
They walked the short distance back to the gate. Sam stumbled a few times along the way; her coordination seemed really off. Every time she bobbled, John was right there to catch her. He seemed to be almost pulling her to the gate.
When they got to the DHD, Sam expected John to start dialing, but instead he paused next to it and looked at her expectantly. "I usually make McKay dial, but he's not here. How about you do the honors?"
"Uhh. Sure." Sam was starting to get a very bad feeling, she just couldn't place it. She touched the first chevron and waited for it to light up. There was something a little off about the situation. She reached out to touch the second button, but something stopped her. "Wait. This. This isn't right."
"Nothing is wrong, Sam. Just dial the gate and we can go home." John smiled at her in what he probably thought was a comforting manner, but it just made her more uncomfortable.
"I think I need to sit down." Sam backed away from the DHD.
"Sam. Dial the gate." John narrowed his eyes and took a step toward her; she instinctively took a step back.
Nope, not right at all. "Why are you being so insistent? Why don't you dial the gate?"
"Colonel Carter, I'm not going to ask you again. Dial the gate."
It all came back to Sam in a flash: the Replicator catching her and his desire for the new gate address for Atlantis. She had to stop him. "Get. Out. Of. My. Head." Sam snapped each word out as the scene changed and she was once again back in the same open field.
"And we were so close that time!" The Replicator raised his eyebrows and smiled. "I can do this for days."
Sam rubbed the center of her forehead and glared at him. "No. We weren't. Shouldn't you be off fighting the Wraith?"
"Who says I'm not? We need Atlantis. I was sent to get it. And I will win, Colonel Carter. I just haven't found the perfect scenario yet. You're stubborn, which is good. Makes this a bit more fun."
Something must have happened for them to suddenly switch from 'destroy Atlantis' to 'need Atlantis'. "What do you mean you need Atlantis?"
"Tsk, tsk. Distracting me isn't going to work. This is my interrogation. Not yours. Now, where shall we go next?" The Replicator moved his hand forward, preparing to put it in her head again.
"How about to hell?" Sam whipped her head about at the sound of Colonel Sheppard's voice. Relief ran though her body as he pulled out an A.R.G. and fired.
"Nice to see you in one piece, Colonel. I was starting to worry I'd lost another commanding officer." Sam almost did a double take at John's words - they sounded so macabre. He walked over to where Sam was kneeling on the ground and offered her some help up. She took it and looked around as she dusted off her legs to see a full tactical team waiting, along with Ronon, Teyla, and McKay.
"Thank you, Colonel Sheppard. It's good to see you. How long have I been gone?"
"You were three hours overdue when your escort showed up without you. Said you got snatched right up by something that looked like a hybrid dart. You're just lucky they didn't take you off this planet." Colonel Sheppard handed her a canteen and she took a long drink of water.
Once she was on her way to being hydrated, she muddled around her mind a bit, trying to find support for what Colonel Sheppard was telling her, but it just wasn't there.
John must have noticed her struggling; he put his arm around her shoulder and squeezed. "It's okay, let's get you out of here. I think Dr. Keller is going to recommend a few days stay in the infirmary. Looks like that guy did a number on your head." John left his hand on her arm and started guiding her to the path.
"Yeah. I guess." Sam looked over to where Rodney was standing with Ronon and Teyla. She was surprised he hadn't said anything yet. That was unusual for McKay. "What's up with Rodney? He's not his usual chatty self."
John looked a little surprised. "Nothing's wrong with McKay. He was just worried, and this is how he's expressing his worry. He'll talk to you soon, I'm sure."
If Samantha Carter knew one thing to be universally true, McKay never acted like that. Never. "I - " She started to speak but then the world went topsy turvy and the woods winked out of existence. When her eyes could focus again, the Replicator was still lying in the grass, but this time only John, Teyla, McKay, and Ronon were there with her.
Sam rubbed her head and felt the world about to go fuzzy. "Not again." She felt John grab her arms before she slumped to the grass.
She felt Colonel Sheppard shaking her gently. "Colonel Carter, Carter. You have to wake up. We have to go now. This guy might have friends looking for him."
Sam tried to push Colonel Sheppard away from her, she remembered everything this time. "No. I'm not going anywhere with you." Sheppard was still holding her arm and she grabbed his hand and pulled it off.
John let go of her arm but didn't move away. "Colonel, I have no idea what the hell happened or what they put you through, but we have to get you out here. Now."
"No." Sam shook her head in denial. "I am not falling for this again. No. I am not dialing the gate. If you want to go, you have to dial Atlantis."
"Sam, it's me, John. I am not a Replicator, and I am getting you the hell out of here. I'll dial the gate, but we've got to get there first."
"Right, and as soon as we do, you'll try to get me to dial it. Not. Falling. For. It." Sam snapped out each word, trying to stay in control. She was about to lose it and it wasn't going to be pretty.
"Well, this time it's really me." John reached out for her arm again and she slapped his hands away. "Okay, okay. Last time, how did you figure out it was a Replicator and not me?"
Sam stepped back a few steps, to put a little distance between John and herself. "Colonel Sheppard. I am not debating this with you. Leave me alone!" This was just like the last scenario and she was not falling for it again.
"Sheppard." John turned his attention from Sam to Ronon, who had walked over to stand next to John. He leaned up and said something in John's ear that Sam couldn't hear. John shook his head in the negative and Ronon grunted and stepped back. The Replicator must have decided to play musical teammates to mess with her this time, because Rodney stepped forward and took Ronon's place next to John.
Sam was surprised McKay had stayed silent this long, but fake Rodney in the last bit hadn't talked at all. This Rodney looked extremely concerned and flustered. "Carter, Sam, it's McKay, and for a smart lady, you are being stupid. We killed the Replicator, and now it's time to go. Stop fighting us, we're here to help you."
Clearly the Replicator had learned from his last foray into her head and had McKay talking this time, but she still wasn't falling for it. "No. Not buying it! Just leave me alone."
"Sheppard." Ronon sounded more insistent this time.
John shook his head. "Not yet."
"John, I really believe that Ronon's idea might be the best course of action. We should really leave now." Sam guessed it was Teyla's turn to try because now she was standing next to Sheppard, trying to reason with her. "Colonel Carter, we are truly here, and we mean to get you home, you just need to come with us." Teyla's eyes looked like Teyla, but Sam wasn't sure of anything anymore.
Sam wasn't going to fall for team imitation part two. She could, and would, fight this. "I am not going anywhere with you people."
"Sheppard, let's go." Sam saw Ronon pull his gun and that was the last thing she saw before the world went black again.
"I can't believe you shot her!" John glared at Ronon. The man had gotten a little too trigger happy with the stun function of his weapon.
"Doesn't matter now." Ronon picked Carter and put her over his shoulder and headed to the stargate. "Let's go."
"Welcome back to the land of the living, Colonel!" Sam opened her eyes to Dr. Keller's cheerful voice. She appeared to be back in the infirmary on Atlantis.
"How long have I been out?" Sam lifted her hand up. She had an IV running in, but that appeared to be the only machine she was hooked up to.
"Almost 24 hours. Between your drained energy from the head messing and the stun, you've been out a while. You don't have any other injuries though."
Sam still wasn't sure she wanted to believe this was real, but she was on Atlantis, and Dr. Keller was being her usual cheerful self, and Colonel Sheppard wasn't trying to get her to dial a gate. Eventually she was going to end up back in the real world, and it would do her no good to continually believe she was being tricked. This scenario was different enough and she wasn't fuzzy. She was a little groggy, but it was a different feeling. She would go along with it until they started trying to get her to tell them where they were.
Keller checked her vitals poked around a bit until she declared Sam to be 'doing just fine.' "Are you ready for visitors? Colonel Sheppard would like to see you." Sam had to think about that for a moment. If this was the real Atlantis, Sam would have to deal with seeing Colonel Sheppard at some point, and now seemed like as good a time as any. "Send him in." Dr. Keller nodded and walked out of the curtained-off area.
Clearly the Replicator had chosen to manifest himself as Colonel Sheppard for a reason. He could have been anyone in her life, and he picked John. That said something right there, something she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to confront at this moment.
A few minutes later Colonel Sheppard pulled the curtain aside and sat in the chair next to her bed. "Hey there." John smiled a bit warily at her.
"Hey there." Sam gave him a smile in return. It probably looked extremely weak, but it was the best she could manage.
"How are you feeling?" John sat down in the chair next to her bed.
"Like someone shoved their hand in and out of my brain for hours."
"That good eh? Been there, done that." John smiled at her softly. They'd both been to this party before, and he truly did understand what she was going though. Having your mind messed with was never a pleasant thing. "They wanted our gate address, huh?"
"Yeah. He was obsessed with finding out the gate address for Atlantis. Said they needed Atlantis to win the war."
John leaned back in the chair and crossed his ankles. "Did he say why?" John looked thoughtful.
"No. I tried to get more information out of him, but he wasn't being forthcoming. We have to assume they broke Dr. Weir and learned something about Atlantis that will give them a tactical advantage."
"Yeah, we do." Colonel Sheppard took a deep breath and leaned forward. "So, he, uh, messed with your head a bit?"
"Yes, he did. He kept appearing as you and trying to force me to dial the gate."
"Me. Right. It's not bad enough I'm showing up in every one's nightmares, now the Replicators are imitating me." John averted his eyes and shook his head. When he raised his head again, he looked thoughtful. "I wonder why he didn't pick McKay?"
"I don't know. He probably saw something in my head that led him to believe I would be more persuaded by you." That was probably more than she should have said, but if she was being honest, it was perfectly true.
"Something you want to tell me, Colonel Carter?" Sheppard had a laughing tone to his voice, but his eyes were a little more serious.
Sam knew there was more to the Replicator's choice as well, but she didn't want to examine those feelings now, especially not out loud with the object of them. Her feelings for John, whatever they worked out to be, and any he might have for her, raised a whole bunch of implications she didn't think either of them were prepared to deal with at the moment. "Well, you could probably talk me into more stuff if you wanted to."
"That's what I'm thinking." John grinned and squeezed her hand. "So, now would probably be a good time to repeat my request for a soccer tournament in the gateroom?"
"Nope. Still not letting you do that. Now, seeing as I'm stuck in here for a bit, one of us needs to be running this base."
John looked like he wanted say something else, but instead he just squeezed her hand again and walked out of the cubby. One of these days they might sit down and have that talk, but for now, everything was good.