Sparky!Bingo Fic: Not A Dream [1/1]
Title: Not A Dream
Author: Jo. R (driftingatdusk)
Rating: FR-13
Pairing: John/Elizabeth
Spoilers: Mild ones for the series as a whole.
Summary: Post-Series. "And if I'm dreaming, I don't want to wake up."
Author's Note: Written for the prompt 'dream' as part of my SparkyBingo. I've got more planned but running out of time in Sparktober to write them! :/ And forgive me if I've not got the characters right; it's been, oh, about a year since I attempted 'lantis fic!
***
After what felt like a decade of tedious meetings and debriefings, and dozens of hard-to-swallow cover story concoctions, Atlantis was finally making its descent on a planet in the Pegasus Galaxy where the Ancient City belonged, and where most of her inhabitants felt they belonged, too. Out of the one hundred and twelve personnel who’d survived Atlantis’s return to Earth, one hundred and seven of them chose to return to the Pegasus Galaxy.
It was a fact that both made him proud to serve as one of their leaders, and a fact that filled him with a bitter disappointment that the woman who’d helped make their people a family in the first three years of the expedition wasn’t around to see it.
Elizabeth.
Two years, six months and three weeks had passed since he’d seen her - the real her, the one he could be absolutely certain was the Elizabeth he’d known and…
Nine hundred and thirty five days.
He hadn’t realised he’d been counting until a member of the IOA asked the person sitting next to him how long it had been since Elizabeth had gone missing, presumed one of the too many fatalities of the Atlantis expedition.
John had bit his tongue so hard he could taste the metallic flavour of his own blood to keep from answering when the number sprang instantly to the forefront of his mind.
Nine hundred and thirty five days since he’d left her on the Asuran homeworld.
Nine hundred and thirty-five days since he’d broken two of his most sacred vows: one never to leave anyone behind, and the other to always protect Elizabeth, no matter what the cost.
He’d broken them because he hadn’t wanted to break the third vow, the one he knew Elizabeth would have wanted him to keep: to always put Atlantis and the safety of their people first, even if by doing so he was breaking his own heart.
Less than an hour after leaving her behind - the fact that she’d ordered him to was of little to no consequence to John - he’d come up with a fourth vow, one he swore to himself he’d keep no matter what the cost: Find Elizabeth or, at the very least, find out exactly what had happened to her.
It was that vow, that promise to himself, that had kept him from hesitating when he’d been asked what he wanted to do. Return to Atlantis as a Lieutenant Colonel, the military half of the command team of the expedition, or stay on Earth and take another step up the ladder of his military career.
He couldn't explain why he still believed Elizabeth was alive somewhere, waiting for him to find her. Even though his mind kept telling him she was gone and that it was time for him to accept he would never see her again, there was something keeping John from doing so, some stray hope keeping him from believing she was either dead or that her conscious mind was frozen in space in a replicator-possessed FRAN.
Well, he could explain it. Just not in a way that didn't make him sound like he'd gone crazy.
John could easily imagine the looks on the faces of his teammates when he told them his belief that Elizabeth was alive came from a dream - a very vivid, very insistent dream, in which a voice he didn't recognise but for some reason knew he could trust kept telling him he had to get Atlantis home, that Elizabeth was waiting for him but time was running out.
As the city came to rest in its ocean, with a little less speed than the last time he'd piloted the city's descent, John opened his eyes and slowly sat up, listening to the radio in his ear as reports began to come in from the city to say the arrival had gone smoothly.
"Everything looks good here in the control room..." Rodney McKay's voice was one of the loudest to come over the ear piece he wore. "Minimal damage to the south tower but we can fix that... Wait... What...?"
His body immediately on alert, John was on his feet and out of the chair room even as he spoke. "What it is, McKay?"
"Ah... Lifesigns..." McKay muttered distractedly. "Two of them."
Slowing his pace a little and giving in to the urge to roll his eyes at the scientist, John shook his head. "Given we've got a city full of people, I'd hope there'd be more than two..."
"Two additional lifesigns," McKay interrupted, an edge of irritation in his voice. "They're in an unpopulated part of the city... South tower, sub-section twenty-three B. One the shield didn't stretch to while we were in space. No one should've been in that area, and no one could've survived the descent without the shield being in place so..."
"So we have some unexpected stowaways." John ignored the increase in his heart rate, blaming it on adrenaline as he changed direction. "Lorne, get a security team and meet me at the South tower. "
***
He wasn't at all surprised to see Ronon Dex alongside Major Lorne when the small group of men arrived and gave a nod of acknowledgement when his teammate immediately took up a defensive position alongside him.
"We've accounted for every member of the expedition," Lorne advised, falling into step with John as they made their way along the darkened corridor towards the room McKay had specified. "The lifesigns McKay spotted are unaccounted for."
"Maybe they heard Atlantis was back and wanted to throw us a welcome home party."
"Whoever they are, they're not on the guest list." Ronon tightened his grip on his energy pistol, tensing his shoulders.
"I thought party crashers were supposed to wait till the party had started," John heard Lorne mutter under his breath before the team lapsed into silence, reaching the doorway of the room McKay had pinpointed.
Touching his head set, John kept his voice low. "Any sign of movement, McKay?"
There was a small pause. "No. No movement. They're just... sitting there."
"Then let's go and say hello." John swiped his hand over the panel keeping the door to the room closed, readying his P-90 as it opened slowly.
Leading his men into the room, the hello John had planned died on his lips.
A stranger stood before them, shielding a second figure from view. The man, dressed in the manner of the Ancients who'd returned to Atlantis some years ago and taken the city back under their control before being attacked by the replicators, held his hands out in a universal gesture.
"I mean you no harm, Colonel Sheppard. I have merely come to return to you what was lost." When the men in front of him continued to aim their weapons at him, the Ancient sighed and shook his head. "I do not blame you for being wary. If I were in your position, I am sure I would be, too. Please. Allow me to introduce myself."
"That'd be a good start," John muttered, wanting to crane his neck to get a better look at the person behind him but unwilling to take his eyes off the Ancient in case it was a trick. The replicators, like the Wraith, were no longer the threat they'd once been but John wasn't naive enough to think the danger they posed had entirely passed.
"My name is Janus," the Ancient introduced himself. "As much as I would like to stay and answer all of your questions, I am afraid my time here is short. I am already risking the wrath of my people by being here."
Ronon made a soft noise in response, which could've been a snort or a warning growl. "Then why are you here?"
"As I said, I am returning what was lost to your possession." A troubled look crossed over Janus's features and he glanced behind him at the person on the floor. "I have healed her as much as I was able to do in such a short space of time but regret that I was unable to intervene sooner."
"Her?" Not wanting to hope but unable to keep his heart from pounding in anticipation, John took a step forward, lowering his P-90 a fraction.
Janus met his gaze and moved aside, revealing the unconscious form of the woman lying on the floor behind him. "My people would not allow her to ascend or I would have helped her sooner. When they finally agreed to let me help, I believe it was only because Elizabeth was near death and they did not believe she would survive otherwise. Still, I had to wait until Atlantis had returned to this galaxy to ensure there was a safe place to bring her."
"We were told she was dead." His voice sounded strained, even to his own ears. John took another step towards her, unable to tear his gaze away from her pale face and still form. "We were told..."
"They more than likely believed she was dead. The Replicators are not entirely to blame for her current condition, Colonel Sheppard." A shadow passed over Janus's face. "It is Elizabeth's story to tell but I can say she has not been with the Replicators the entire time she has been lost to you. The Wraith, the Asgard and a people called the Malarians have all played a role in bringing her here." His expression soft, his eyes regretful, Janus tilted his head slightly, as though listening to something the others couldn't hear. "I must leave now. I have done my part. The rest is up to you."
The Ancient left in a flash of white light but John didn't notice. His attention was firmly fixed on the unconscious woman he moved to kneel beside, his hand trembling as he reached out to check she had a pulse.
From a distance, he heard Lorne call for a med team and Ronon answer McKay's insistent demands to know what was happening. All he could focus on was Elizabeth and the knowledge that she was home.
***
Four days had passed since both events had occurred and John was still struggling to believe it was true.
Doctors Keller and Beckett ran every test they could think of on the unexpected arrival and soon pronounced her to be human and nanite-free. Their reports were dutifully sent to the SGC but, surprising everybody, Richard Woolsey, the expedition leader, had refused the IOA's demands that Elizabeth be sent through, too.
"Between Doctors Keller and Carson, she's getting the best medical care both galaxies could provide," Woolsey had told his fellow IOA members, earning what looked to be an approving grin from General Jack O'Neill, who stood in the background in the SGC's control room watching over the proceedings. "And I truly believe that this is where Doctor Weir will need to be when she awakes."
They were still waiting for that to happen.
Carson and Jennifer had both assured him that she was just sleeping, that her body had recovered from the worst of its physical traumas and she would wake up when she was ready. Though neither Doctor would explain what evidence of physical injuries they had found, John knew them both well enough to work out that they were both troubled by what Elizabeth had been through.
Various members of the expedition volunteered to take it in turns to sit with her after news spread that the doctors believed talking to her might help her wake up a little earlier. Teyla spent an hour every day with her son, telling the sleeping Elizabeth all about the events that had taken place in her absence.
Both McKay and Zelenka took time out from their labs to tell her about the inventions and discoveries they'd made since she'd left the city, the conversation turning into a bragging match between the two scientists that grew a little too heated, resulting in Ronon escorting them out of the infirmary, while a bemused John watched on.
The Satedan also took a turn sitting at the former leader's bedside, though what he said to her wasn't known. He fell silent whenever anyone else approached the bed and when John arrived to relieve him, he stood without a word and left the military commander alone with the woman they'd all thought lost to them.
"You've got to wake up soon, Elizabeth, you hear me?" John murmured, lacing his fingers with hers. Only the sound of her breathing and the gentle beeping of the machines around them answered him. "We've missed out on so much time already. I really don't wanna waste a single second more. Not when I thought we'd never get this chance."
He stroked the back of her hand with his thumb, closing his eyes as he leaned back in the uncomfortable plastic chair beside her bed.
Time passed; he wasn't sure how long. He suspected he might have fallen asleep but not very deeply as the smallest of movements caused him to jolt awake, a protest on his lips.
"'m not sleeping..." He looked around for a moment, surprised that neither Carson or Jennifer stood beside him. He'd been expecting to have one or both of them order him out of the infirmary so he could get some sleep in his quarters but neither of them were anywhere in sight. "What...?"
"John?" Her voice was hoarse from days of disuse but to John, it was still one of the most beautiful things he'd heard. A grin broke out across his face as he clasped her hand in both of his, leaning closer as she gazed at him through confused green eyes.
"It's me, Elizabeth. You're safe now."
Her eyes didn't leave his, almost as if she were afraid he'd disappear if they did. "Where...?"
"You're in the infirmary, on Atlantis." He brought her hand to his lips, pressing an impulsive kiss to her palm. "I don't know how much you remember but Janus brought you back."
"Janus...? He... He told me he would take me home."
"Yeah. He kept his promise." He gave her a lopsided smile that fell after a few moments, his expression unguarded as guilt shone in his eyes. "I've missed you, Elizabeth. I should've come back for you but they told us... It doesn't matter. I should've never left you behind."
"Not your fault." She held his gaze for a long moment, waiting until he gave a small, reluctant nod to show he'd heard her. Breaking eye contact, she looked around her for the first time, her brow furrowing as she took in her surroundings. "Atlantis." She exhaled softly. "Feels like I'm dreaming."
"If you are, so am I." His words brought her attention back to him, his eyes earnest. "And if I'm dreaming, I don't want to wake up."
Elizabeth smiled softly but said nothing. Her eyelids slowly closed and her features relaxed as sleep took over her once more. Leaning back in the chair, his hands wrapped around hers, John felt some of the tension he'd been carrying around with him ease.
Atlantis had come back to the Pegasus Galaxy, and Elizabeth had come back to him.
***
End.
Author: Jo. R (driftingatdusk)
Rating: FR-13
Pairing: John/Elizabeth
Spoilers: Mild ones for the series as a whole.
Summary: Post-Series. "And if I'm dreaming, I don't want to wake up."
Author's Note: Written for the prompt 'dream' as part of my SparkyBingo. I've got more planned but running out of time in Sparktober to write them! :/ And forgive me if I've not got the characters right; it's been, oh, about a year since I attempted 'lantis fic!
***
After what felt like a decade of tedious meetings and debriefings, and dozens of hard-to-swallow cover story concoctions, Atlantis was finally making its descent on a planet in the Pegasus Galaxy where the Ancient City belonged, and where most of her inhabitants felt they belonged, too. Out of the one hundred and twelve personnel who’d survived Atlantis’s return to Earth, one hundred and seven of them chose to return to the Pegasus Galaxy.
It was a fact that both made him proud to serve as one of their leaders, and a fact that filled him with a bitter disappointment that the woman who’d helped make their people a family in the first three years of the expedition wasn’t around to see it.
Elizabeth.
Two years, six months and three weeks had passed since he’d seen her - the real her, the one he could be absolutely certain was the Elizabeth he’d known and…
Nine hundred and thirty five days.
He hadn’t realised he’d been counting until a member of the IOA asked the person sitting next to him how long it had been since Elizabeth had gone missing, presumed one of the too many fatalities of the Atlantis expedition.
John had bit his tongue so hard he could taste the metallic flavour of his own blood to keep from answering when the number sprang instantly to the forefront of his mind.
Nine hundred and thirty five days since he’d left her on the Asuran homeworld.
Nine hundred and thirty-five days since he’d broken two of his most sacred vows: one never to leave anyone behind, and the other to always protect Elizabeth, no matter what the cost.
He’d broken them because he hadn’t wanted to break the third vow, the one he knew Elizabeth would have wanted him to keep: to always put Atlantis and the safety of their people first, even if by doing so he was breaking his own heart.
Less than an hour after leaving her behind - the fact that she’d ordered him to was of little to no consequence to John - he’d come up with a fourth vow, one he swore to himself he’d keep no matter what the cost: Find Elizabeth or, at the very least, find out exactly what had happened to her.
It was that vow, that promise to himself, that had kept him from hesitating when he’d been asked what he wanted to do. Return to Atlantis as a Lieutenant Colonel, the military half of the command team of the expedition, or stay on Earth and take another step up the ladder of his military career.
He couldn't explain why he still believed Elizabeth was alive somewhere, waiting for him to find her. Even though his mind kept telling him she was gone and that it was time for him to accept he would never see her again, there was something keeping John from doing so, some stray hope keeping him from believing she was either dead or that her conscious mind was frozen in space in a replicator-possessed FRAN.
Well, he could explain it. Just not in a way that didn't make him sound like he'd gone crazy.
John could easily imagine the looks on the faces of his teammates when he told them his belief that Elizabeth was alive came from a dream - a very vivid, very insistent dream, in which a voice he didn't recognise but for some reason knew he could trust kept telling him he had to get Atlantis home, that Elizabeth was waiting for him but time was running out.
As the city came to rest in its ocean, with a little less speed than the last time he'd piloted the city's descent, John opened his eyes and slowly sat up, listening to the radio in his ear as reports began to come in from the city to say the arrival had gone smoothly.
"Everything looks good here in the control room..." Rodney McKay's voice was one of the loudest to come over the ear piece he wore. "Minimal damage to the south tower but we can fix that... Wait... What...?"
His body immediately on alert, John was on his feet and out of the chair room even as he spoke. "What it is, McKay?"
"Ah... Lifesigns..." McKay muttered distractedly. "Two of them."
Slowing his pace a little and giving in to the urge to roll his eyes at the scientist, John shook his head. "Given we've got a city full of people, I'd hope there'd be more than two..."
"Two additional lifesigns," McKay interrupted, an edge of irritation in his voice. "They're in an unpopulated part of the city... South tower, sub-section twenty-three B. One the shield didn't stretch to while we were in space. No one should've been in that area, and no one could've survived the descent without the shield being in place so..."
"So we have some unexpected stowaways." John ignored the increase in his heart rate, blaming it on adrenaline as he changed direction. "Lorne, get a security team and meet me at the South tower. "
***
He wasn't at all surprised to see Ronon Dex alongside Major Lorne when the small group of men arrived and gave a nod of acknowledgement when his teammate immediately took up a defensive position alongside him.
"We've accounted for every member of the expedition," Lorne advised, falling into step with John as they made their way along the darkened corridor towards the room McKay had specified. "The lifesigns McKay spotted are unaccounted for."
"Maybe they heard Atlantis was back and wanted to throw us a welcome home party."
"Whoever they are, they're not on the guest list." Ronon tightened his grip on his energy pistol, tensing his shoulders.
"I thought party crashers were supposed to wait till the party had started," John heard Lorne mutter under his breath before the team lapsed into silence, reaching the doorway of the room McKay had pinpointed.
Touching his head set, John kept his voice low. "Any sign of movement, McKay?"
There was a small pause. "No. No movement. They're just... sitting there."
"Then let's go and say hello." John swiped his hand over the panel keeping the door to the room closed, readying his P-90 as it opened slowly.
Leading his men into the room, the hello John had planned died on his lips.
A stranger stood before them, shielding a second figure from view. The man, dressed in the manner of the Ancients who'd returned to Atlantis some years ago and taken the city back under their control before being attacked by the replicators, held his hands out in a universal gesture.
"I mean you no harm, Colonel Sheppard. I have merely come to return to you what was lost." When the men in front of him continued to aim their weapons at him, the Ancient sighed and shook his head. "I do not blame you for being wary. If I were in your position, I am sure I would be, too. Please. Allow me to introduce myself."
"That'd be a good start," John muttered, wanting to crane his neck to get a better look at the person behind him but unwilling to take his eyes off the Ancient in case it was a trick. The replicators, like the Wraith, were no longer the threat they'd once been but John wasn't naive enough to think the danger they posed had entirely passed.
"My name is Janus," the Ancient introduced himself. "As much as I would like to stay and answer all of your questions, I am afraid my time here is short. I am already risking the wrath of my people by being here."
Ronon made a soft noise in response, which could've been a snort or a warning growl. "Then why are you here?"
"As I said, I am returning what was lost to your possession." A troubled look crossed over Janus's features and he glanced behind him at the person on the floor. "I have healed her as much as I was able to do in such a short space of time but regret that I was unable to intervene sooner."
"Her?" Not wanting to hope but unable to keep his heart from pounding in anticipation, John took a step forward, lowering his P-90 a fraction.
Janus met his gaze and moved aside, revealing the unconscious form of the woman lying on the floor behind him. "My people would not allow her to ascend or I would have helped her sooner. When they finally agreed to let me help, I believe it was only because Elizabeth was near death and they did not believe she would survive otherwise. Still, I had to wait until Atlantis had returned to this galaxy to ensure there was a safe place to bring her."
"We were told she was dead." His voice sounded strained, even to his own ears. John took another step towards her, unable to tear his gaze away from her pale face and still form. "We were told..."
"They more than likely believed she was dead. The Replicators are not entirely to blame for her current condition, Colonel Sheppard." A shadow passed over Janus's face. "It is Elizabeth's story to tell but I can say she has not been with the Replicators the entire time she has been lost to you. The Wraith, the Asgard and a people called the Malarians have all played a role in bringing her here." His expression soft, his eyes regretful, Janus tilted his head slightly, as though listening to something the others couldn't hear. "I must leave now. I have done my part. The rest is up to you."
The Ancient left in a flash of white light but John didn't notice. His attention was firmly fixed on the unconscious woman he moved to kneel beside, his hand trembling as he reached out to check she had a pulse.
From a distance, he heard Lorne call for a med team and Ronon answer McKay's insistent demands to know what was happening. All he could focus on was Elizabeth and the knowledge that she was home.
***
Four days had passed since both events had occurred and John was still struggling to believe it was true.
Doctors Keller and Beckett ran every test they could think of on the unexpected arrival and soon pronounced her to be human and nanite-free. Their reports were dutifully sent to the SGC but, surprising everybody, Richard Woolsey, the expedition leader, had refused the IOA's demands that Elizabeth be sent through, too.
"Between Doctors Keller and Carson, she's getting the best medical care both galaxies could provide," Woolsey had told his fellow IOA members, earning what looked to be an approving grin from General Jack O'Neill, who stood in the background in the SGC's control room watching over the proceedings. "And I truly believe that this is where Doctor Weir will need to be when she awakes."
They were still waiting for that to happen.
Carson and Jennifer had both assured him that she was just sleeping, that her body had recovered from the worst of its physical traumas and she would wake up when she was ready. Though neither Doctor would explain what evidence of physical injuries they had found, John knew them both well enough to work out that they were both troubled by what Elizabeth had been through.
Various members of the expedition volunteered to take it in turns to sit with her after news spread that the doctors believed talking to her might help her wake up a little earlier. Teyla spent an hour every day with her son, telling the sleeping Elizabeth all about the events that had taken place in her absence.
Both McKay and Zelenka took time out from their labs to tell her about the inventions and discoveries they'd made since she'd left the city, the conversation turning into a bragging match between the two scientists that grew a little too heated, resulting in Ronon escorting them out of the infirmary, while a bemused John watched on.
The Satedan also took a turn sitting at the former leader's bedside, though what he said to her wasn't known. He fell silent whenever anyone else approached the bed and when John arrived to relieve him, he stood without a word and left the military commander alone with the woman they'd all thought lost to them.
"You've got to wake up soon, Elizabeth, you hear me?" John murmured, lacing his fingers with hers. Only the sound of her breathing and the gentle beeping of the machines around them answered him. "We've missed out on so much time already. I really don't wanna waste a single second more. Not when I thought we'd never get this chance."
He stroked the back of her hand with his thumb, closing his eyes as he leaned back in the uncomfortable plastic chair beside her bed.
Time passed; he wasn't sure how long. He suspected he might have fallen asleep but not very deeply as the smallest of movements caused him to jolt awake, a protest on his lips.
"'m not sleeping..." He looked around for a moment, surprised that neither Carson or Jennifer stood beside him. He'd been expecting to have one or both of them order him out of the infirmary so he could get some sleep in his quarters but neither of them were anywhere in sight. "What...?"
"John?" Her voice was hoarse from days of disuse but to John, it was still one of the most beautiful things he'd heard. A grin broke out across his face as he clasped her hand in both of his, leaning closer as she gazed at him through confused green eyes.
"It's me, Elizabeth. You're safe now."
Her eyes didn't leave his, almost as if she were afraid he'd disappear if they did. "Where...?"
"You're in the infirmary, on Atlantis." He brought her hand to his lips, pressing an impulsive kiss to her palm. "I don't know how much you remember but Janus brought you back."
"Janus...? He... He told me he would take me home."
"Yeah. He kept his promise." He gave her a lopsided smile that fell after a few moments, his expression unguarded as guilt shone in his eyes. "I've missed you, Elizabeth. I should've come back for you but they told us... It doesn't matter. I should've never left you behind."
"Not your fault." She held his gaze for a long moment, waiting until he gave a small, reluctant nod to show he'd heard her. Breaking eye contact, she looked around her for the first time, her brow furrowing as she took in her surroundings. "Atlantis." She exhaled softly. "Feels like I'm dreaming."
"If you are, so am I." His words brought her attention back to him, his eyes earnest. "And if I'm dreaming, I don't want to wake up."
Elizabeth smiled softly but said nothing. Her eyelids slowly closed and her features relaxed as sleep took over her once more. Leaning back in the chair, his hands wrapped around hers, John felt some of the tension he'd been carrying around with him ease.
Atlantis had come back to the Pegasus Galaxy, and Elizabeth had come back to him.
***
End.