fic- "Mei and the Anomaly" Stargate SG-1/Atlantis, PG-13, Complete 4/4
Title: Mei and the Anomaly
Author: CJ aka WritinginCT
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis/Stargate SG-1
Author's note: This story goes back and forth between time lines. An age/year chart is located at the end of each section for clarification.
Part 1 -- Part 2 -- Part 3 -- Part 4
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Two years ago -- 2031
Mei was flitting around their hotel room talking to herself. Most of the phrases Jonathan caught as he was stretched out watching a hockey game on television were along the lines of, "I don't even know why I came to this stupid reunion."
It was her ten-year college reunion and Mei was now stressing out over it.
He glanced at the clock and sat up chuckling to himself. She had worked herself up into a frenzy as she did her hair and makeup.
Jonathan got dressed in his suit and was working on his tie when he heard her say, "Oh, for crying out loud, they're going to think I hired a male escort."
He turned to face her and teased, "Should I be insulted?"
She was back to her normal impish self for a moment and she replied as she adjusted his tie, "No. But no man should look this good in a suit, it's very distracting."
He laughed and shook his head. Seeing that her dress wasn't zipped up in back he stepped around her and deftly slid the zipper up and closed the hook and eye at the top. Some things a man just never forgot how to do no matter how long ago he learned to do them.
---------------
They suffered through the cocktail hour and the stream of people sharing news of their careers and pictures of their children. They made it through dinner and when the band started, Jonathan rescued her from the hordes by pulling her out onto the dance floor.
There was a smile on her face, a fake one he could tell, and there was a brittleness around her eyes. He tried to make her laugh for real by saying, "We could always sneak back up to our room. If anyone asks why we're leaving, you could just tell them you're paying me by the hour and you want to get your money's worth."
Mei had been lost in her own thoughts and it took a second for what he said to register then she dropped her head and laughed. "You are so bad. How do you always know when I need to laugh?"
With a little shrug and a grin he replied, "Probably because I know you better than anybody else and don't you forget it."
She met his eyes and he could see that he smile on her face was genuine this time. "Yeah, you do. But then again, I've got your number, too."
He pulled her in closer and they danced slowly. One song turned into another and Mei was reluctant to leave the dance floor and go back to interacting with the rest of the reunion crowd. Jonathan asked quietly, "Gonna tell me what's bothering you?"
She sighed replied, "They've all got things to share with everyone. I don't. They can talk about their careers and whip out the wedding pictures and pictures of their kids. I can't. I'm back to being that geeky bookworm that had no life in college."
"Yeah. That's about what I figured. The whole work thing never gets any easier unfortunately, it's just the nature of the classified beast. But that other part is something you can fix. My offer still stands you know."
Her brow furrowed as she thought back to the previous summer.
---------------
"Wow, nice house," Mei said as they pulled in the driveway. Nestled in the middle of the wooded property was a large post and beam house.
"Yeah. Grayson did most of the work himself."
"Must have been hard for the Colonel and his wife to leave it when he got reassigned to California."
"Big time. I guess they're listing it with a realtor next week."
"So why are we here?"
"Grayson just asked me to keep an eye on the house until it's sold. And in exchange, we get to use the pool and his amazing stone barbecue."
"Ahhh, so that explains why you told me to bring my bathing suit."
He wagged his eyebrows suggestively, "Unless you want to go skinny dipping. Which, for the record, I have absolutely no problem with." In reality, Jonathan knew that Mei adored the beach and the sun, but hadn't spent a lot of time in a bathing suit since receiving the scars on her back; she was just too self-conscious.
The house, although empty, still had the feeling of being a home. The backyard was beautifully landscaped with a slate patio that wrapped around the in-ground pool. It was quiet and peaceful, and private.
They spent the day enjoying the pool and the sun and just the opportunity to be together in a relaxed setting. As the day wore down Mei was wandering the back yard admiring some of the flowering plants when Jonathan came up behind her and slipped his arms around her waist. She leaned back against him and said, "This was fun."
"Mmm, it'd be great to come home to this everyday."
"Yeah, it would."
He nudged her to turn around and he took hold of both her hands and said, "We could you know."
Mei noticed a little waver in his hands and there was something in his eyes that she couldn't quite decipher. "Could what?"
"Live here. Together. We could buy it."
"You want to buy a house together?"
"Yeah... but that's not all I want. I want to marry you. And I want a family with you."
"Jonathan, we talked about this. I don't want to get married. You know that. I have to find my father. And I can't do that and be someone's wife and mother. Please... if you love me you have to respect that."
She saw the familiar shutters close off the emotions in his eyes but his voice was a little sad as he replied, "I know. I know. And I do respect it, I do. Sometimes I just wish we had something that... connected us, you know. Something that was ours, together."
Mei reached up and stroked his cheek gently and said, "Jonathan, if we got any more connected it would take an entire case of C-4 to separate us. But I understand what you're saying. And maybe... maybe we should get a place together and get rid of the separate apartments. Someplace with room for all our books and a place to work and a big honking king-sized bed. You really like this house?"
"I really like this house."
"Then let's buy it."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah," she said with a smile.
They packed up their stuff and were walking back out to the truck when Mei tugged on his hand to stop in the middle of the driveway. "Jonathan, about the other thing...."
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up again."
"You don't need to apologize. Look, I'm not saying no forever, just not right now. We're so close to being able to go back for my father. After that... I don't know. Does that make any sense?"
He leaned in and kissed her forehead and said, "It does. But I want you to remember that it's an open ended offer, whenever you're ready."
---------------
The music ended and Mei sighed and chided, "Jonathan."
He smiled gently and asked, "So it's still a no then?"
She wrapped her arms around his waist under his jacket and gave him a squeeze, not caring what anyone else at the reunion thought. As she hugged him she said, "Jonathan?"
He pressed his cheek to her hair and replied, "Yeah?"
"Don't ever stop asking, okay?"
"Didn't plan on it."
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'Lantis -- Day 179
Jonathan found Mei sound asleep at a computer terminal with the morning sun streaming into the room. She must have pulled an all-nighter. He chuckled and carefully picked her up and started heading for her quarters to put her to bed.
Mei roused a little and asked, "What are you doing, I was working."
"You were sleeping and maybe even drooling a little, but you definitely were not working. So I'm taking you to bed."
She snuggled her face near his neck and said, "Hmmm, bed. Good idea. Yours or mine?"
He chuckled and said, "Yours, and all by your lonesome I might add. I've got a full day of triple checking all my circuits now that the rewiring is done."
Jonathan tucked her into her bed and gave her a quick kiss before turning to go. Mei squirmed and got comfortable and said sleepily as he reached the door, "Love you."
He paused and looked at her and smiled. She was already out cold.
---------------
"One suggested she go to bed hours ago. One was ignored."
Jonathan chuckled and patted the wall as he walked down the corridor. "Don't take it personally. She doesn't listen to me either."
"You care for her well being."
"Yes. Very much so. But so do you and a bunch of other folks too."
"One wishes her to be happy, as she was as a child."
"Atlantis, children have an innocence that... changes as we grow up and get older. Mei is happy. As happy as I've ever seen her in all the years I've known her."
"One heard your conversations with Sheppard. It was never One's intention that she forfeit a normal life and happiness in the alternate reality where One sent her to search for a means to simply return here."
"I know, Atlantis. I know. It wasn't your fault. It wasn't anyone's fault."
"One comprehends."
---------------
Jonathan was on his back under a console redoing a circuit that wasn't responding properly when Atlantis stated, "You feel you are already wed to Mei."
He dropped the tool he was using onto his chest and scrubbed his face with his hands. "It's complicated, Atlantis."
"A yes or no answer will be sufficient. In your mind she is your wife, correct?"
He sighed and answered, "Yes."
"Yet she will not, by your customs, wed you."
"No. I've asked. But she hasn't said yes yet."
"Why does she refuse?"
"I think partly because she didn't want anything to distract her from getting you home. And then there's the part where I screwed up."
"What error did you commit?"
"She thinks that I see her as some sort of substitute for her mother, and that I see Sam when I look at her."
"That is illogical. Mei is an amalgam of John Sheppard and Samantha Carter. She, unlike you, is not a clone. Her appearance is unique and not a duplicate of her mother. No one should logically mistake the two."
"Logically, no. In moments of pure stupidity, yes. I've done it twice. But in my own defense I wasn't exactly clear headed either time."
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One year ago -- 2032
The dust settled and Mei slowly roused to consciousness. The entire tunnel and cave opening that they had been exploring had collapsed. There was a little light coming from further down the tunnel that seemed to be reaching the tunnel through a fissure in the mountainside.
Mei did an internal check of herself. Nothing felt broken outside of the lump on the side of her head from where Jonathan practically threw her further into the tunnel when the cave had first started to collapse. She sat up and looked around in the dim light for Jonathan. With a cry she saw him lying unconscious with some suitcase-sized boulders pinning his left side.
She quickly went to his side and moved the boulders off of him. "Jonathan. Wake up, Jonathan. Wake up." His left leg was definitely broken. And his left wrist was questionable. She was more worried about internal injuries and bleeding though, but she needed him to wake up to determine if he had any.
With a low moan he opened his eyes. When he tried to move to sit up Mei's hand on him kept him prone. "Easy. Your leg is broken and I'm pretty sure your wrist is too. Can you breathe okay? I couldn't tell if your ribs are broken, but you took a heavy hit with a falling rock."
He could definitely feel the broken leg and wrist and he took a tentative deep breath and found out immediately that at least one or two of his ribs were broken. He let the breath out slowly and whispered, "That would be an affirmative on the broken ribs. You okay?"
"Yeah. I got a little bump on the head when you pushed me out of the way but other than that I'm okay. I'm not getting anything on the radio but static. I think the mountain's electromagnetic properties that we detected earlier are interfering with the radio signal. But once we miss check in, they'll come looking for us. We've got water and there's a fissure up ahead letting in light and plenty of air."
"Okay. So we wait."
"Yeah. But I think I should wrap your ribs and splint that leg the best I can."
He groaned and said, "How did I know you were going to say that?"
Her brow was furrowed with worry and she said, "I've got three doses of morphine in my pack. We'll give you one before I do anything, okay? It'll help."
Even with the morphine the pain was excruciating. When it was done he was lying back down and gasping. He managed to get out, "You're better at that than your mother," before he passed out.
Mei was confused and made a mental note to ask him what he meant when he regained consciousness.
---------------
The light in the fissure faded as the sun set outside. And the temperature also started dropping in the tunnel. There had been no indication from the outside that anyone knew they were alive beyond the collapsed section of the tunnel.
Jonathan was in bad shape and Mei suspected that he had internal injuries beyond the broken ribs. The thin, silvery emergency blankets in their day packs didn't provide much warmth, but she got them both underneath them and had lain as close to Jonathan as she could to keep him warm.
She was falling into a doze when she heard a weak whisper from Jonathan, "It's my sidearm, I swear."
Mei leaned up on her elbow. "Jonathan?"
He didn't reply and she found his forehead in the dark with her hand, he was burning up. She found her flashlight and took a good look at him. He was flushed with fever but had an underlying greyish pallor. He wasn't doing well.
She tried to stow away her panic and said, "Jonathan, you have to stay with me. Do you hear me? You stay with me. They're coming for us."
Mei didn't sleep the rest of the night.
---------------
The next morning the sun through the fissure once again illuminated the tunnel. Mei managed to get Jonathan to drink a little water but he wasn't lucid and was barely conscious. She left him for a few minutes to investigate the fissure. The widest part was only a foot or so wide, not even close to being big enough for her to get through.
Even though he was completely out of it Mei gave him report on their situation as she sat beside him. "I can't make it through that fissure. And there are several branches off this tunnel but there isn't any light that I can see and there's no air movement. I think we're just going to have to wait for them to find us."
She saw his mouth move in response but didn't catch what he said and asked, "Jonathan?"
He licked his dry lips and whispered, "It's time to go to plan B."
"And what exactly is plan B?"
"You take the rest of the supplies and climb out of here. Take your chances up on the planet, head towards daylight."
Mei's expression was that of total confusion. She managed to get out, "What are you talking about?" before he lost consciousness again. But she mulled his words over as she sat beside him; it just made no sense.
---------------
A couple of hours later Mei was contemplating the pros and cons of using their C-4 to widen the fissure. Jonathan was still feverish she tried to get him to drink a little more. She wiped his brow and whispered, "I'm sorry I haven't gotten you out of here yet."
His reply was hoarse and whispered, "Not your fault."
"They should have come for us by now. I don't understand why they haven't."
"Captain, plan B, go."
"What? Jonathan...."
"Sam, I'm dying. Follow my order, please."
Mei was so poleaxed at his words that she almost missed the rhythmic tapping sound coming from the rock pile blocking the entrance. For the second time since she'd known him, he called her Sam.
The insistent tapping finally got her attention and she quickly responded in kind. The rest of their team had finally found them.
She went back over to Jonathan, not quite sure exactly what to think or feel, and saw his feverish cold shivering start up again. Without hesitation, she crawled underneath the emergency blanket with him and held him as tightly as she dared.
If Jonathan calling her Sam had surprised her, what would come out of his mouth next simply turned her entire understanding of him upside down and inside out.
His hand latched onto hers and he held it tightly to his chest, and through chattering teeth he whispered, "Sara...."
---------------
Jonathan was safe and sound in the infirmary. His leg was in traction, his wrist cast, and he had had emergency surgery to repair a near ruptured spleen and some other internal bleeding. He had a fairly long haul to complete recovery, but recover he would.
Once she was satisfied that he was going to be okay, Mei sequestered herself in her lab and tried to sort out her thoughts and emotions. And it wasn't working. Finally she called the one person she hoped might help her make sense of any of it: Sam.
---------------
Sam sat across from Mei at the kitchen table, a cup of coffee in hand as she listened to an obviously upset Mei explain about what had happened in the cave-in.
"Deja vu," Sam commented.
"What? What am I missing?"
"That sounds identical to things Jack said to me when we were trapped down in Antarctica. Literally word for word. Jonathan must have been, I don't know, flashing back I guess."
"He called you Sara?"
A little flash of an old hurt crossed Sam's face and she answered, "Yeah..." and explained the whole thing.
Mei sighed, "I guess I can forgive him this time under the circumstances."
Sam raised and eyebrow and asked, "This time?"
Mei sighed again and replied, "He called me Sam once before."
"When?"
"It was a long time ago. It doesn't matter."
"Apparently it does if this is bothering you enough for you to call me and have me come down here."
"You can't ever say anything about this to him or Uncle Jack. You have to promise me."
"I promise. What happened?"
Mei could, even after all the years, still see Jonathan lying on his back in his rumpled bed in a post-coital, boneless lump. She had leaned up on her elbow next to him and had gently traced his mouth with her finger before leaning in to kiss him, and just as her mouth was a hair's breath away from his, he had reached up and stroked her cheek and breathed out softly, "Sam...."
Sam winced as Mei told the story. But then her mind quickly added up a few things and she asked, "Wait, this was before Christopher?
"Yeah."
"But I thought Christopher was your first..." Sam let the thought trail off.
"No. You sort of assumed, Mom, and it was easier than explaining the truth."
"Yeah. Apparently you forgave Jonathan somewhere along the way though. So why is this still bothering you after all these years?"
"He wants to marry me."
"Really?" Sam replied excitedly with a wide smile. But seeing the doubtful expression on Mei's face asked, "And want do you want?"
"There's a part of me thinks I've already been married to him for about a decade. But then there's this other part that is scared to death that I'm just some sort of available substitute for the person he really wants to be with, and that's the part that wins out."
Sam sipped her coffee and thought for moment. "Mei, how much do you know about the type of black ops training that Jack and ergo Jonathan received?"
"Not much. And we don't talk a lot about his memories before the split."
"Okay. Here's the thing..." Sam explained all the techniques that Jack/Jonathan had had ingrained into them to withstand enemy interrogation and torture.
"So what? You're saying he imprinted on Sara, then you? Like a duckling?"
Sam laughed, "In a way. They need to have something in their mind that they can escape to, for some it's a place, for others it's a person. It took me a while after that misadventure in Antarctica to understand that. For Jack it was Sara initially. Then it became me somewhere along the line I guess."
Mei fiddled with her cup and tried to digest what Sam was saying. Sam reached over and put her hand on top of Mei's and said gently, "And for Jonathan it's you."
Mei's eyes were sad as she met Sam's and asked, "How can you be so sure?"
Sam smiled and said, "Because he called me Mei...."
---------------
Jonathan woke up and felt someone holding his hand. He looked over and saw Mei and smiled. She hadn't been by the infirmary much and he had a suspicion that he had once again done something stupid that she wasn't sharing with him.
His voice was low as he squeezed her hand and asked, "Gonna tell me what I did this time?"
Mei had a bemused look on her face and she reached over with her free hand to brush his hair out of his eyes. "Let's just say you're a duckling."
"Huh?"
She shook her head and said lightly, "You had a little flashback to an old Antarctic adventure while we were in the cave. You called me Sam... and Sara."
Jonathan closed his eyes and dropped his chin to his chest and said, "Just shoot me."
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'Lantis -- Day 198
They were assembled in the dining area having what would be their last working lunch in this reality. All systems were a go to return the next day.
Mei, Jonathan, and John were lingering over another cup of coffee after the rest of the team had left and Jonathan was frowning at his tablet.
Mei asked, "What's wrong?"
"There's a small power drain in one of the labs we're not using. I could have sworn that lab was completely shut down when I made my initial sweeps months ago."
John asked, "Which lab?"
Jonathan handed John the tablet and he and Mei watched as John visibly paled. He quickly got up and they heard him address the city, "What have you done?"
Mei glanced quickly at the tablet and her shock matched John's and she said, "C'mon. That's the lab were I was made, it was supposed to have been permanently shut down years ago."
---------------
When they arrived at the lab they found that Atlantis wouldn't open the door for John, no matter how much yelling he was doing.
Mei put a calming hand on her father's arm and said, "'Lantis, please open the door."
The city was silent, but complied and the three cautiously entered the lab.
John knew what to expect but seeing it again was altogether different. The large clear tank illuminated in the center of the room was the incubator where they had found Mei. As they approached it now, they saw not just one, but two, developing infants floating safely in it.
"'Lantis, what have you done?"
The city steadfastly refused to answer Mei.
Jonathan had a sneaking suspicion that he wanted an answer to however and asked, "Atlantis, who...?"
"Vestri," came the city's one word answer.
Mei thought for a moment and clarified, "Yours."
"Mine?" Jonathan asked in disbelief.
John swallowed hard and asked the city the question all three of them already knew the answer to, "Atlantis, whose DNA did you use this time?"
"Mei and the Anomaly's."
Jonathan's hand reached out to the tank of its own accord. The smooth surface was warm under his fingers. Those were his children in there. His and Mei's. Jonathan's face took on a horrified look of awe as he thought more about that.
Mei was standing beside him trying not to hyperventilate and pleaded with Jonathan, "Please tell me you didn't put her up to this."
Jonathan ripped his eyes away from the tank and met hers. "What? How could you even think that?"
"I just... I know how badly you want children," the tears that had welled in her eyes flowed freely as she continued, "Tell me you didn't ask her to do this. Not now. We're almost home."
Jonathan simply pulled her into his arms and cradled her head, "I didn't ask her, baby, I promise. Yeah, I want a family. And I want that family with you, but not this way."
John went to the control panel and checked the readouts there. He cleared his throat and once he had their attention he said, "Looks like this was initiated about three months ago," he looked at the ceiling and asked, "Am I right, Atlantis?"
"Yes."
Mei asked the city sadly, "'Lantis, why did you do this?"
"When One discovered the scars on your back and how they were obtained, One realized that you could expire without reproducing. That is unacceptable. One took steps to correct that possibility."
It was Jonathan that asked, "Why are there... two, Atlantis?"
"Unlike Carter and Sheppard, One could not determine which gender offspring you would prefer and as such, One created an offspring of each gender."
John looked at Mei and Jonathan, all three sharing the same disbelief. He shrugged and said flatly, "Congratulations. You're having twins."
---------------
They were all a little shell-shocked when they left the lab. Mei's concern was how the power drain from the lab was going to affect the trip home the next day and she and Jonathan were going to run some simulations to see.
Atlantis was silent.
---------------
Mei and Jonathan worked efficiently to complete their simulations. Mei said quietly, "I'm sorry."
Jonathan looked over and said, "For what?"
"Thinking you asked Atlantis to do that. I know you would never do that. I don't know why I said it."
He reached over and took her hand and replied gently, "Mei, you've been working towards this moment since you've been nine years old. I know what you've given up to get here, remember? And I also know how tightly wound your emotions are right now. Finding out like that that we've got two children growing in an incubator was not exactly stress either of us needed right now and I just happened to be in your blast radius when you blew. You and I have got a lot to talk about. But for now I think we need to see if this stops our countdown for tomorrow or not. Then we go from there. Okay?"
"Okay."
---------------
The lab's power drain had no repercussions in any of the scenarios they simulated. It was decided that the countdown was on as planned. With everything done the team broke up early for the day, everyone wanting some down time to mentally prepare for the momentous task of moving the city across time and realities.
Mei couldn't find Jonathan and asked Atlantis for his location.
"The Anomaly is with his offspring."
Mei sighed and headed for the lab.
The lab was dark except for the illumination coming from the tank and it took her a moment to find Jonathan. He was sitting on the floor against the far wall with his arms resting on his bent knees, just staring at the tank. Homer lying by his side, his tongue hanging out of his mouth.
Mei went and sat beside Jonathan and with a little smile he said, "Shhh, just listen."
She gave him a confused look but did as he asked. It only took a second before she heard it. The sound of two heartbeats.
His grin got wider and he said, "That's a beautiful sound."
Mei leaned her head on his shoulder and asked, "What are we going to do?"
He put his arm around her and leaned his head towards hers, "Looks to me like we're going to be parents in about six months."
"Yeah. I guess so."
"Mei, we've never talked about the future past getting this city to our reality. But once that's done, life is still gonna go on. You and me and those babies? We can be a family. We can do all the normal things families do, and still have all this. We can make it work. Together."
"I'm just..." she started to say then stopped.
"Scared. I know. I'll let you in on a little secret- so am I."
---------------
The next morning their countdown began. Everyone held their breath as John used the control chair to lift Atlantis from the ocean and up into a particular orbit. A satellite beacon was released to remain in orbit after the city left that contained detailed information about the plague and its cure just in case anyone came looking.
Next, a series of ten large buoys was released to form a large orbiting circle. Jonathan freely admitted that he shamelessly stole the idea from the Ori and modified it for their needs.
Everything was in place, and all that was left was to initiate the process itself. Before they did that, Mei took a moment to address the team.
"Regardless of how this turns out on the other side, I just wanted to personally thank you all for volunteering to come on this mission. I couldn't have asked for a better team to make this happen."
John had joined them in the control room and Mei met his eyes briefly before asking the city, "'Lantis, are you ready?"
"Affirmative. Calculations are complete, initiating process."
The city started pulling power from every corner and pushed it to the new specially designed transfer station out on the foremost pier. The transfer station funneled that power into a device at the top, which in turn converted all of that siphoned energy into a beam that fired towards the top buoy in the floating circle. It seemingly just absorbed the beam for a moment before two similar beams shot out of its sides to the buoys on either side of it starting a chain reaction. It took about ten minutes for all of the buoys to be charged, and once the last one had an adequate charge Atlantis halted the beam from the pier. Everyone in the control room held their breath and didn't release it until the familiar sight of a wormhole backwash filled the view in front of them. For all intents and purposes, it looked like a simple wormhole that formed out there among the floating buoys, but it was anything but simple.
"Event is stable. Proceed or abort?"
Mei and Jonathan were side by side, checking readings. She looked sideways at him and he teased with a grin, "Now or never."
She nudged him with her elbow playfully and said to the city, "Proceed 'Lantis. Let's go home."
The city fired a small burst of the maneuvering thrusters that sent itself gently through the event horizon before them.
---------------
Seconds later the city reappeared through a second set of floating buoys. A moment after they appeared a familiar voice came from the communications system, "Hail, Dorothy, I see you found your Emerald City."
A cheer went up in the control rooms of both cities and Mei replied, "Yes, I did, Uncle Jack. It's good to be home. Initiating splash-down."
---------------
Once the city was safely settled on the ocean and was slowly maneuvering to meet up with the other Atlantis, Mei slipped out of the control room without a word to anyone. Jonathan found her in the lab, standing in front of the incubator.
He stepped up beside her and placed a gentle hand on her back and said lightly, "Hey."
She turned towards him with an odd, peaceful smile on her face and replied, "Hi."
"You okay?"
"Yeah, just... thinking. It's been sort of a big day."
"That's an understatement. You did it, Mei. You got your dad and the city home, safe and sound."
The odd, thoughtful look was back on her face as she replied, "No, Jonathan. We did it. I would never have been able to make this happen without you."
He shrugged and replied, "I don't know about that. There are better engineers than me."
She nudged his elbow and said, "That's not what I meant and you know it. All these years you've been right beside me. Even when I push you away you always come back."
"Yeah, well...."
She turned back towards the incubator and placed a hand on the tank.
"One transmits your bio-signals to the offspring when you touch the incubator."
"So they know we're here?"
"Yes. It builds a bond between you and the offspring not dissimilar to that of an offspring in its mother's womb.
"Interesting," Jonathan said as he placed his own hand on the tank next to Mei's.
"Sheppard spent many hours bonding with Mei as she developed."
Mei smiled, "I didn't know that."
Jonathan said lightly, "He's a good dad."
A quiet moment stretched out in the room and the city filled it with the sounds of the infants' heartbeats.
Mei dropped her head to Jonathan's shoulder and said softly, "You're going to be an awesome dad, Jonathan." She turned her head a little to look up at him and added, "And a great husband, too."
He met her eyes and grinned. "Just so we're clear. This is your version of finally saying yes?"
She playfully blew her bangs out of her eyes with exaggerated exasperation and teased, "Yep."
He had seen that before, and her actions were all Carter. Then he realized that no, they weren't. They were all Mei.
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Epilogue -- 2037
"Grampa, watch me!" a little voice piped up from near the pool.
Three sets of eyes turned to see the little boy jump fearlessly into the pond as he tried to make as big a splash as he could.
It was the Fourth of July and everyone was gathered at Jack's cabin for a family gathering. It was work to bundle up the two exuberant four-year olds and truck them from their home in Pegasus all the way to Earth and Minnesota, not to mention that they left a sulking sentient city behind when they did it. But, although it was never discussed out loud, everyone knew that Jack was eight-six years old and though his health was excellent, they needed to let the children spend as much time with their Grampa Jack as they could manage before the inevitable happened.
It was an odd sort of gathering. Jack and Sam were there obviously, as were Mei, Jonathan, and the twins. It was the three other Pegasus visitors that made it an odd tableau.
The older John Sheppard, from this reality, had finally accepted his first invitation to the cabin and was enjoying the fresh air and tranquility as he spent time with his family. He had never married; his job and protecting Atlantis had taken priority. He had settled almost happily into the role of "Grampa" though and was enjoying watching the twins grow up and being part of their lives.
The younger John Sheppard had been to the cabin before; he had enthusiastically accepted when he first arrived in this reality, and Jack had shared photo albums, home movies, and lots of stories about Mei growing up. He was glad to see that Mei had a fairly normal childhood thanks to Jack. Sam had made sure that Mei had had challenging schools and scholastic opportunities, but Jack had made her just be a kid. She had a well-rounded upbringing and John couldn't have been happier. He was still mentally adjusting to the idea of going from being a dad to a nine-year old to being "Grampa" but he adored his grandchildren and the longer he knew Jonathan, the more he liked him and John couldn't have asked for a better man to marry his daughter or to count as a friend.
The third visitor was a surprise to everyone. Well, everyone except Mei, she had seen it coming even if no one else had.
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Colonel Laura Cadman had retired to Atlantis a year after the arrival of the second city. That privilege was granted only to those Atlantis personnel that had lived through the war with the Wraith, they had more than earned it. She had requested to be housed on the second city and the request had been granted without hesitation.
John had been on his morning run when someone fell into step beside him. He looked over and it took him a moment to recognize Laura. The fact that everyone here was almost fifteen years older still threw him for a loop occasionally. This was one of those times. The woman jogging effortlessly next to him wasn't the younger, married major from his reality. This Laura was now his age. She was still cocky and confident but now with a maturity that only time brought.
They became friends. Laura had also gotten married in this reality, and divorced. The war with the Wraith had left its mark on her and her Earth-side husband just couldn't understand. She told John that she had wanted to be with someone that understood, that had been there, but she also didn't want to try dating anyone that she had served with, it was just too weird. So instead, she had thrown herself back into her career after that and hadn't remarried or had a family.
Folks around both cities thought that the friendship that had sprung up between the two of them was a little odd; no one could remember their Sheppard being that friendly with Cadman. Mei saw something that the rest of them didn't though, that being that her father wasn't alone and that made it perfectly okay in her book.
Laura had slowly became a part of their little family over the past couple of years. And as things often do, their relationship evolved into more than friendship. They kept it under wraps, not wanting it to become scuttlebutt fodder, but of course 'Lantis knew which in turn meant Mei knew.
When the plans for the Fourth of July started being made, John surprised them all by asking Jack if he minded if John brought a guest along.
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They were all sitting down to eat, Jonathan had, with running commentary from Jack, successfully charred enough food on the grill to feed everyone. The twins were happily sitting over at their own kid-sized picnic table with its very own umbrella that Jack had insisted that they needed, eating their hotdogs. Mei and Jonathan both seemed to be anxious about something, and had been since before they left Atlantis.
Jonathan met her eyes across the picnic table and said lightly, "Sullivan's coming over to our cabin tomorrow to give us an estimate on an addition."
Jack raised an eyebrow and asked, "An addition? What for?"
Jonathan tried for casual, "Just looking for a little more space inside."
Jack passed the potato salad and replied, "There's just the four of you, how much more space do you need?"
Jonathan grinned and said to Mei, "You wanna tell them or should I?"
Mei bit her lip then said, "We're having another baby."
Sam's eyes grew wide and she worriedly asked, "I thought that lab in Atlantis was permanently shut down?"
Jonathan almost spewed the beer he had just sipped when Mei said with a beaming smile, "It was. We sorta did this one the old fashioned way."
The congratulations went around the table. Jack was the oddly quiet one. When Jonathan's eyes met his, one side of Jack's mouth quirked up and he nodded once. No one save the two men would ever know what actually passed between the two men in that silent moment. They had come full circle, Jack's life nearing its end and Jonathan's just truly beginning. And it was in that moment that they both finally accepted both of those things.
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Back in Pegasus, 'Lantis waited.
She waited for her Sheppard to return home.
And she waited for the twins.
But most of all, she waited for Mei... and the Anomaly.
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the end.
Age table for those interested:
Mei
2008- 09 (Mei arrived in this reality)
2021- 22 (Mei & Jonathan meet)
2033- 34 (Mission to go to other reality)
2037- 38 (Epilogue)
Jonathan (physical age)
2003- 15 (Jonathan created by Loki)
2021- 33 (Mei & Jonathan meet)
2033- 45 (Mission to go to other reality)
2037- 49 (Epilogue)
Jack
2003- 51 (Jonathan created by Loki)
2008- 56 (Mei arrived in this reality)
2021- 69 (Mei & Jonathan meet)
2033- 81 (Mission to go to other reality)
2037- 85 (Epilogue)
Sam/John (this reality)
2008- 41 (Mei arrived in this reality)
2021- 54 (Mei & Jonathan meet)
2033- 66 (Mission to go to other reality)
2037- 70 (Epilogue)
Sam/John (alternate reality)
2010- 43 (Mei born)
2014- 47 (Sam dies)
2019- 52 (Mei sent away, arrival of 2033 mission)
2037- 56 (Epilogue)
Laura Cadman (this reality)**
2008- 27 (Mei arrived in this reality)
2037- 56 (Epilogue)
**I am basing her age on personal opinion
given her appearance and rank in "Duet"