SGA Fic: Distance From Here to Wherever You Are (1/4)
Title Distance From Here to Wherever You Are
Author abyssinia4077
Fandom Stargate Atlantis
Characters Mainly John Sheppard, Rodney McKay, Elizabeth Weir. Substantial appearances by Radek Zelenka, Carson Beckett, Teyla Emmagan, Ronon Dex, Sam Carter
Genre/Rating Gen (some peripheral mention of Teyla/Ronon and Carson/OFC), PG. References to events through "Phantoms" but no major spoilers.
Note This was written with canon knowledge up through "3x10 - The Return I" but takes place in the undefined future so any canon beyond that point will make it an AU. One of my betas described it as a tragedy interspersed with flashes of humor.
Word Count 28,130
Disclaimer MGM owns the Stargate universe and its characters. I play in their sandbox.
Acknowledgments irmelin for an early read through of the first section and encouragement.
hiyacynth for keeping me from flipping out when it got too long and helping solve my problems with the ending.
damson for introducing me to the fandom and her beta to catch any character inconsistencies. Also for making suggestions to massively improve the ending.
likethesun2 for being there every step of the way, reading the early draft while riding the El, general encouragement, and a detailed beta job in which she taught me endless grammar tricks.
Summary “You always have a bad feeling about something," Sheppard scoffed at him.
“Not like this," Rodney informed him. "Usually I have a bad feeling because I’m, I don’t know, trapped in a broken puddle jumper sinking to the bottom of the ocean or in a cocoon on a Wraith hive ship. This is just a sense of impending doom."
“I wouldn’t think a man of science like yourself would believe in premonitions,” Sheppard said, raising an eyebrow in Rodney's direction.
Rodney dignified that comment with a disgusted snort. “I’m not talking about hocus pocus like voodoo or astrology here. I’m talking about noticing something is just a little out of whack but not knowing what. It isn’t until after it goes wrong that you know you’ve been seeing it all along. But I’m sure whatever it is you’ll be able to save everyone by blowing it up.”
Distance From Here to Wherever You Are (part 1)
( part 1) ( part 2) ( part 3) ( part 4)
Rodney was stretched out under his bed, just getting his fingertips on the puddle jumper schematic he wanted to take a better look at when Sheppard shouted from the doorway. “You in here, McKay? If you weren’t flying that jumper back to Earth I think they would have left without you.”
“Ouch,” Rodney muttered, rubbing his head where it had cracked against the underside of his bed as he extricated himself from its claustrophobic caverns. He shoved the schematic in the backpack with his laptop and looked up to see Sheppard navigating around a pile of dirty socks and a larger pile of astrophysics textbooks, wrinkling his nose.
“You know, we don’t exactly have a maid service to clean up after you when you’re gone," he said, picking up a lost t-shirt and tossing it onto a chair.
“Yes, yes." Rodney waved a dismissive hand at the colonel as he dug for a few more shirts to add to the pile spilling out of his open suitcase. “I had too much to take care of before I left. Had to make sure there’d still be a city for me to come back to.”
“C’mon, have a little faith," Sheppard told him. "We’ve gotten pretty used to this place - I think we can survive a few weeks without your genius. Besides, you’ve been gone that long before.”
“True,” Rodney commented as he shut the lid to the suitcase and frowned at the distance spanning the halves of the open zipper. “But I rarely get to prepare before I go. It’s not like the Genii leave little ‘We’re planning to kidnap you next week so make sure to get your labwork in order’ notes.” He resorted to sitting on top of the suitcase as he wrestled with the zipper. “And it’s a good thing I took the time too. If Dr. Simpson had continued her plans to modify the power grid with that wretchedly backwards calculation she would have blown every light bulb in this city. And the things Dr. Fry wanted to do to the firing mechanism on the drones would have destroyed half of Atlantis. For that matter if you don’t stop your teams” - he paused in his tirade to focus on shoving the zipper the last few inches before he flopped onto the bed next to his sealed, if overstuffed suitcase - "looking for some Ancient football stadium or, or, porn viewing room, well, I won’t be here to rescue you from whatever Ancient science-fair project they set free.”
“I didn’t say it wouldn’t be hard to survive without you. I sure don’t know what I’ll do with all the quiet.” Sheppard smirked at Rodney as he picked up his bulging suitcase. “Now c’mon, you’re going home for Christmas whether you’re ready or not.” Rodney watched Sheppard head out of the doorway with his suitcase and hurried after, slinging the backpack with his laptop over his shoulder.
Logically Rodney knew Sheppard was right. He’d been gone this long before, and the city had always still been there when he returned. He figured he’d saved the city about as many times as it had survived over a week without him. Still he couldn’t quite shake the dead weight that had settled in the pit of his stomach.
He looked up to find Sheppard had gotten far ahead in the corridor, and jogged a bit to catch up. “You know, we only just got the new power grid worked out,” he commented, ignoring the way Sheppard shook his head. “There’s bound to be all sorts of kinks to work out. And Zelenka might need help with that new device he discovered. Maybe I should stay. I can always go home some other time.”
“No. You can’t.” Sheppard quickened his steps down the hall. “Well, you can go home another time, but you're still going now. You're going to spend Christmas with Jeannie, and then you can come back and yell at us for everything we do wrong while you’re gone.”
“Oh, and you’re quite the example family man to be giving me lectures. I don’t see you going home for Christmas - or even including anything in the mail sacks.” This struck a nerve and Rodney nearly flinched as Sheppard stiffened. “I’m sorry. I just have a bad feeling - like something’s going to happen while I’m gone.”
“You always have a bad feeling about something," Sheppard scoffed at him.
“Not like this," Rodney informed him. "Usually I have a bad feeling because I’m, I don’t know, trapped in a broken puddle jumper sinking to the bottom of the ocean or in a cocoon on a Wraith hive ship. This is just a sense of impending doom."
“I wouldn’t think a man of science like yourself would believe in premonitions,” Sheppard said, raising an eyebrow in Rodney's direction.
Rodney dignified that comment with a disgusted snort. “I’m not talking about hocus pocus like voodoo or astrology here. I’m talking about noticing something is just a little out of whack but not knowing what. It isn’t until after it goes wrong that you know you’ve been seeing it all along. But I’m sure whatever it is you’ll be able to save everyone by blowing it up.”
“Rodney,” Elizabeth’s shout echoed from the jumper bay doors. “You know, it’s not nice for the guy flying the jumper back to Earth to be late.”
“Why? It’s not like they could leave without me," Rodney told her, ignoring the look Elizabeth exchanged with Sheppard and striding into the jumper bay. “All right, everyone aboard. We’re heading back to Earth.” A sea of faces looked out the door at him in disgust and one of the marines motioned him to get on with it.
Rodney turned to Elizabeth. “Permission to return to Earth for leave?”
Elizabeth smiled and nodded. “Be safe, Rodney," she said. "Say hi to Jeannie for us, and don’t forget to bring back pictures of the new baby or we’ll turn you right back around to get them." Elizabeth patted Rodney on the shoulder before turning to exit the bay.
Rodney turned and found himself in a brief embrace. Sheppard removed his arm from Rodney’s shoulders, tugging slightly at Rodney’s backpack. “Have a wonderful Christmas and try to remember you’re on leave so you need to relax. Don’t worry about us. Also, I’m keeping this here.” Rodney briefly glimpsed the jumper schematic in Sheppard’s hands before he tucked it behind his back. “I’m sending Jeannie a note - she’ll let me know if you work instead of playing with Madison.”
Rodney displayed his most put-upon face as he entered the jumper, but ultimately he wasn’t that angry - he had plenty of other projects to work on. The jumper controls responded a little faster than the last time he’d flown - either John’s training or Carson’s refinement of the gene therapy had improved things - and he was soon in the gateroom, over the McKay-Carter bridge and docking at SGC. Within hours he was in Canada and knocking on Jeannie's front door.
The day before Christmas Eve Rodney found himself wandering through Book City trying to remember how to buy presents. He'd acquired an Athosian doll for Madison and a baby blanket for Jeannie, along with a book Feynman wrote mostly about physics but a little about parenting. Caleb proved much harder to shop for, since Rodney was pretty sure any English major good enough to marry his sister would already own the complete works of Shakespeare.
The crowded stores of Earth felt claustrophobic after his years on Atlantis. and he had forgotten how nightmarish shopping before Christmas was, but he had left this present-hunting to the last minute. After browsing the literature section, he’d picked out something random for Caleb supposedly written by someone who’d won a Nobel Prize in something that wasn’t physics. Rodney wandered toward the science fiction section, stopping to scoff at the newest in pop-culture science books. He was in the middle of debating whether Zelenka preferred Bradbury or Heinlein when his cell phone rang.
It was Caleb, sounding out of breath and excited. “Hey Rodney! Jeannie’s water broke - looks like we’re having a Christmas baby. We’re heading to the hospital and we’ve left Maddy at the neighbors. Do you think you could come home soon and watch her? We’ll call you when you can take her to the hospital.”
They’d arranged this ahead of time but Rodney was secretly hoping the baby would be late enough he wouldn’t have to actually do this. Figthing off a Wraith siege seemed easier than watching over a child, but Jeannie had promised not to blame him if the house burned down. “Sure. I’ll head home right now.”
He settled on one book by each author for Zelenka - since he hadn't done anything stupid lately and you couldn’t get Earth novels in the Pegasus Galaxy - and joined the line of people waiting for an open cash register. The woman with the screaming child had finally finished juggling everything she carried and managed to pay when Rodney's phone went off again, drawing displeased looks from those around him. A feeling of dread crept up his spine as the theme to 2001: A Space Odyssey - the ringtone he'd assigned to Stargate Command - echoed through the store. When he flipped open the phone to see "Samantha Carter" on the caller ID, he turned and pushed his way back through the line behind him, stepping on a few toes and earning a number of angry comments. He left the books on a random table and walked out the door while answering, “Colonel Carter! What a surprise. Is it too much to hope you're just wishing me a merry Christmas?”
“I wish, McKay.” Carter sounded tired. “I can tell you that you’ll have extra time to enjoy your family this Christmas.”
“I never said I wanted extra time. What's happening?” Rodney dropped the car keys into a slushy pile of snow and cursed as he tried to fish them out, only to drop them again at Carter’s next words.
“There’s been a situation at Atlantis. Dr. Weir called in briefly to request immediate evacuation with the Daedalus.”
“What happened? Why the Daedalus? When is it leaving? Why hasn’t Hermiod already beamed me up? Why can’t they just gate back to Earth?” The knees of Rodney’s pants were soaked through with snow but he barely noticed.
Carter sighed heavily, and Rodney couldn't help wondering if she'd drawn the short straw in the 'who calls Dr. McKay?' game. “We don’t know what happened. We can’t reconnect to their gate so we can’t get more information and we assume that is why they can’t gate back. The Daedalus is already on its way.”
“What!” Several people in the parking lot turned at Rodney’s shout but he was beyond caring about that. “How dare Caldwell leave without taking me! I know more about Atlantis than anyone.” Rodney managed to snag his keys and stood, slipping them into his pocket.
Carter’s voice in his ear struggled to remain calm and pleasant, but he could tell she was tired and worried. “We didn’t leave you behind. The Daedalus was already near the edge of the galaxy because Hermiod was testing some new engine modifications. Coming back to get you would have meant losing over four days. Plus, Dr. Weir asked for evacuation, not help. I doubt there’s anything you could do there.”
Rodney thought about this a minute and snapped his fingers. “Then I’ll come to SGC, see what I can do from there. I’ll go to the airport and catch the next flight, no, I’ll drive. It’ll probably be faster-"
“McKay.”
"-Let's see, I’ll have to call Caleb and let him know - Madison should be fine with the neighbors. Jeannie’s probably too busy giving birth - “
“McKay!”
"-I'll need coffee for the drive. And a map and I’ll have to stop back and get my passport because they’re checking that at the border now - “
“RODNEY!”
“WHAT?”
“Did you say Jeannie was in labor right now?” Carter's voice had that tone of forced, patient politeness she often used on him.
“Yes, Caleb called just before you did.”
“Don’t come to SGC. There’s nothing you can do. I promise to call you personally when we hear anything and if having you will help I’ll send a plane to get you. Go be with your family. And congratulate Jeannie for me.” She didn’t wait for Rodney’s response but hung up with a loud click.
Rodney stood in the parking lot and stared at his phone, willing Carter to call back and laugh at her joke. Above his head streetlights illuminated the new snowflakes coming from the sky and Christmas songs from three stores blended into a cacophony of holiday cheer. "Well, this is just great," he muttered to himself, missing his pocket and droping the phone into a snowbank, cursing when he realized what he'd done. He quickly dug it out again, berating himself for nearly destroying his contact with SGC, and kicked the rental car before climbing in and driving off just a little too fast.
Elizabeth watched the jumper disappear through the 'gate. One of the best parts about being in regular contact with Earth was the opportunity for people to actually go home and see their distant loved ones. Not that she’d yet taken that opportunity. She sighed and stretched, feeling kinks in her muscles that weren’t there when the mission began, and turned to find John wryly grinning at her. “What?”
“You just look like you could use a trip home on that jumper too.” John turned to follow her up the control-room steps. “When’s the last time you took a day off, Elizabeth?”
“When did we first leave Earth for Atlantis?” she asked, reaching the top step. “I think it was about two months before then.” It felt as though, even with all the wonders and adventure they brought, each of the years on Atlantis had aged her several. But, she figured, that’s the price you pay for leading the expedition on the greatest adventure in human history. She wouldn't trade any of those years for anything.
The control room stood relatively quiet for the moment. There were no Wraith Hive ships being tracked on the long-range sensors, no pressing mechanical emergencies in the city to monitor, and only one team still finishing up a routine trading expedition. Elizabeth intended to enjoy every minute of this unusual peace. “Has Major Lorne checked in yet?” she asked the tech manning the DHD.
“Yes, Ma’am.” She pretended not to notice him quickly close the solitaire game on his computer. “Radioed in about fifteen minutes ago. Said they’d be about another hour and they managed to get a really good trade this time.”
“Good,” she said and headed to her office, turning at the doorway to raise her eyebrow at John, who seemed to be following her like a lost puppy. “Did you need something, John?”
“Nah.” He slouched against the doorway. “Just bored, I guess. Rodney’s gone so I can’t harass him and Teyla and Ronon are with the Athosians on the mainland helping with that big harvest.”
“That’s right,” she said, sitting behind her desk. “Does Teyla think the crop will be good this year?” John flopped into a chair in front of her and picked up one of the Earth artifacts on her desk, examining it closely before tossing it between his hands like a baseball. He shrugged his shoulders vaguely. Farming was definitely not one of John Sheppard’s specialties. She picked up a form on her desk and sighed. “It’s nice being in contact with Earth. We can get supplies we need. People can go home. But I didn’t miss having to fill out four different forms in triplicate just to get a box of PowerBars.”
John grinned at her. “If they give you any trouble, just explain how vital they are to our mission - they’re like personal ZPMs for our scientists.”
She grimaced at the form and slipped it under another pile of papers she needed to remember to look at. “What do you say to an Atlantis Christmas break? We haven’t had much time off since we got here and I know everyone’s tired. We could put off-world teams and city explorations on hold for a few days, shut down any research and work that isn’t essential and get a few day's rest. Maybe even have a…harvest festival with the Athosians.” It was Christmas on the Earth calendar, but that didn’t make it winter on Atlantis.
“I think that’d be great.” He put the ball of clay back on her desk. “The oceanographers told me there’d be some great waves off the North Pier in a few days - what do you say, Doctor, wanna learn how to surf?” He grinned at her mischievously.
“I don’t know.” She surveyed her desk. “SGC will have my head if I don’t get caught up on all these forms.”
John shook his head. “Elizabeth, if you’re ordering the Atlantis expedition to take a vacation, you need to give yourself one too. I’ll give you two days and then I’m personally dragging you out of this office, into a wetsuit, and out onto those breakers.”
“Okay, John. Now go away so I can get this finished.” She waved him off.
He unfolded from the chair and paused in the doorway of her office, shaking a finger at her. “Two days and I’m picking you up and carrying you away from that desk.” He turned and left before the pencil she threw could hit him.
Two nights later Elizabeth was working late at her desk. No one was off-world, and Teyla and Ronon were due to return from the mainland tomorrow with a share of the bumper crop. Plans for a party she wasn’t supposed to know about were in full swing. Everything in Atlantis was quiet but she was still frantically working to finish the backlog of paperwork before John’s promised abduction.
“Dr. Weir?” The nighttime gate tech was in her office door.
She put her pen down and rubbed her eyes. “Yes?”
“We’ve got a life sign in an unexplored section of the city,” he said. She got up to follow him into the command room. Any excuse to get away from mission reports and supply requisitions. On the map of the city was a glowing dot in a hallway they’d only recently gained access to. Dr. Zelenka had said it almost looked like the doors had been welded shut. Whoever it was seemed to be wandering aimlessly down the hallway, periodically pausing here or there and then wandering some more.
“Send a team of marines to investigate,” she told him. “Hopefully someone just got a little drunk and got lost on their way home.”
She retrieved coffee for herself and the gate tech and returned just as Major Lorne radioed in. “Dr. Weir? It's Lieutenant Colonel Sheppard, ma’am. He appears to be sleepwalking.”
“Sleepwalking?” Elizabeth asked, incredulous.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Can you escort him back to his quarters?” She asked.
“We can try.” She heard a muffled thump over the radio. “He, um, doesn’t seem to want to go.” The sounds of one of the soldiers gasping a bit came over the radio.
“Okay, shadow him for now. If he tries to touch anything, stun him. I’ll call Dr. Beckett.”
That morning, instead of learning how to surf, Elizabeth found herself visiting John in the infirmary. By the time Dr. Beckett had gotten to the hallway, John had already turned around and headed toward his quarters, marines on his tail. Beckett hadn’t seemed overly concerned once John was back in bed, simply requesting he report to the infirmary in the morning.
John gave Elizabeth a sleepy wave as she entered the room. “All this fuss just because I took a midnight stroll.”
“A midnight stroll in an unexplored section of the city,” Elizabeth reminded him. “You could have activated one of those, what does Rodney call them, Ancient science-fair experiments.”
“Well, Colonel, everything appears,” Beckett walked up, examining a printout, “relatively normal. Have you ever sleepwalked before?”
“There was one time in college, after my first frat party,” he said, trying a disarming smile on them.
“Uh huh. And did you punch a marine then too?” Elizabeth couldn’t resist the question.
John gave his blanket a sheepish look. “I said I was sorry! Look, can I go now?”
“I see no reason to keep you. But -" Beckett took another look at the chart in his hand and shook his head. “I’d like to run one more test. Nothing to worry about, just a few readings a wee bit different from your normal ones. Might just be getting a cold.”
“I’ve got a few briefings in my office this morning, when the good doctor releases you,” Elizabeth told John.
“I told you today I was taking you surfing! Don’t think I won’t drag you away from those scientists.” John looked at her sternly.
“After the briefings,” Elizabeth reminded him. “I’ll see you when Carson lets you go.”
The botany team that had recently returned from M5S-G72 was halfway through their briefing on the potentially edible plants they’d found when John finally walked into her office. Elizabeth nodded to him and silently indicated the empty chair beside her.
John sat down and whispered into her ear, “Doc let me go with a clean bill of health. I think something was still puzzling him but he ran out of excuses to keep me. And I might have been driving the nurses crazy.” He grinned impishly and settled back, letting a bored look wash over his face as the talk shifted from edible fruit to a particular vine they’d found strangling some of the trees.
An hour later she had approved further study of M5S-G72 and placed MX4-57H on their “do not return” list after hearing a report about the giant carnivorous flowers. The final team was just beginning the anthropological report on MY7-G34 when John suddenly tipped out of his chair.
Elizabeth had just enough time to see his eyes roll into the back of his head before he started twitching - legs kicking, arms flailing, and head banging against the wall in a full-blown seizure. One of the anthropologists screamed and the other two quickly pulled chairs away from John’s thrashing body as Elizabeth jabbed at her radio. “This is Dr. Weir. Medical emergency in my office!” She could only watch as his body convulsed again, back arching to lift nearly his entire torso off the floor.
By the time Dr. Beckett arrived with two medics carrying a stretcher behind him, the seizure had passed. John lay unconscious on the floor and blood flowed slowly from a gash in his temple down the side of his ghost-white face. Beckett quickly checked John’s vitals and whisked him away on the stretcher, assuring Elizabeth he’d call when he knew anything. She exchanged looks with the shocked anthropologists and said, “Why don’t we finish this another day?”
Knowing hovering in the infirmary wouldn’t help anything, Elizabeth sat down and glared at the papers still threatening to overtake her desk. She grabbed a pen and began attacking them with gusto. When Teyla and Ronon walked in, just returned from the mainland, she welcomed the distraction.
“We heard something happened to Colonel Sheppard?” Teyla looked questioningly at Elizabeth as Ronon stood stiffly in the doorway.
“Yes. He had a seizure,” Elizabeth told her and saw Teyla’s confused look. “Convulsions. He was unconscious still when Dr. Beckett took him away.”
“Do we know what caused it?” Ronon asked.
Elizabeth shook her head. “No. They found him sleepwalking last night, too. In that section of the city we’d just opened up. Hopefully Dr. Beckett will have answers for us soon.”
“Dr. Weir?” Carson’s voice came over the radio as though he had been summoned.
Elizabeth nodded to Teyla and Ronon. “Maybe I’ll have the answers right now,” she told them and tapped her radio. “Carson! Tell me you have good news.”
“I’m afraid not, love.” Carson’s voice was thin over the radio. “I still don’t know what happened, but Colonel Sheppard is awake if you’d like to see him.”
“We’ll be right there.” Elizabeth nodded to Teyla and Ronon and they followed her out of the office.
John slowly came awake, feeling as though he were fighting through thick cobwebs. He blinked open an eyelid and almost thought better of it when the light sent knives stabbing to the back of his skull. Lifting up an arm to shield his eyes, he was disconcerted to find splints on two of the fingers.
“Doc?” he called out tentatively and winced at how loud his own voice rang in his ears. At least he was in Atlantis’ infirmary. Usually when he woke feeling like this he was trapped in someone’s dungeon. Or hive ship. Here he’d have a soft bed, and pain medication. And pretty nurses.
Carson’s concerned face swam into his vision. “Oh good, you’re awake. How do you feel, Colonel?” John blinked experimentally and swallowed. He was pretty sure the doctor couldn’t be swaying nearly as much as his eyes were telling him. Not unless he was drunk and about to fall over.
“Like I lost a fight with something big,” John told him. His tongue felt large in his mouth.
Carson nodded and pulled a stool beside John’s bed, sticking his stethoscope in his ears to listen to John’s heart. “Do you remember what happened, son?”
John shook his head and instantly regretted it. His brain seemed to shake a half second slower than his skull. “I don’t remember being off planet. I assume the something big that beat me got onto Atlantis.” Carson pulled a small flashlight from his jacket pocket and waved it slowly in front of John’s eyes. John swallowed hard as the room began to spin again and slammed his eyes shut, clenching his jaw as his stomach turned cartwheels.
He heard Carson sit back on the stool. “You were in a briefing in Dr. Weir’s office and had a seizure,” he explained. John heard him scribbling something on a chart. “We still don’t know why. Here, it looks like you might need this.” John opened his eyes as something hard and plastic was placed on his lap. He had enough time to grab the pan before his stomach made good on its promise to dispel the remnants of breakfast.
Carson’s hand was a warm spot on his back as he choked up bile and he gratefully accepted the offered glass of water. “Just a wee sip,” Carson quietly advised. The water tasted amazing in his mouth but his stomach clearly agreed with the doctor’s suggestion. He handed back the mostly full glass and lay back exhausted.
“You said you don’t know what happened. Could it be some weird alien flu or something?” he asked Carson quietly.
“Wish I could tell you,” Carson sighed. “Do you remember anything before the seizure- perhaps something off in your vision? Numbness or muscle twitching?”
John gingerly shook his head. “Do you think it’ll happen again?” He ignored the persistent voice in his head reminding him that the Air Force grounds pilots who have seizures.
“Can’t say until we figure out what caused it this time.” Carson laid a hand on John’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, laddie, we’ll figure this out. Why don’t you lay back and rest while we find some answers?” John closed his eyes as Carson walked away, calling Elizabeth on the radio. The doc had said not to worry but John had seen in his eyes that Carson wasn’t following his own advice. He almost wished Rodney were here to prattle at him endlessly and keep his own thoughts at bay.
“How is he?” John opened his eyes at Elizabeth’s voice, grateful to find the room a bit more stable than it was earlier. He looked over to see her flanked by Teyla and Ronon and realized that, however he might actually feel, it was time to play the brave little soldier. Catching Teyla’s eye he picked up a hand to wave, thought better of it when he remembered the splinted fingers, and flashed what he hoped was a disarming grin while sliding his hand under the blanket. Teyla’s face told him he’d fooled no one.
“How was your harvest?” he asked when Teyla came over to take his other hand.
“Boring,” Ronon rumbled beside her.
“It was very productive. We should have a good winter,” Teyla told him. “The more important question is how are you doing?” He felt her gently squeeze his fingers and, feeling some returning strength, squeezed back in return.
“I’m fine,” John said. Teyla’s eyebrow raised in disbelief. “Okay, I’m a little tired and I feel like I just went head to head with this guy.” He nodded toward Ronon. “But I feel fine otherwise. Just wish Dr. Beckett could figure out what’s wrong so I could get out of here.”
“We’ll get to the bottom of this, John,” Elizabeth assured him from the other side of the bed. “Now you look tired. Why don’t we leave and let you rest. Call us if you need anything at all.” John nodded. He wouldn’t admit it, but he was glad Elizabeth suggested it. His eyelids had been threatening to slam shut but he wanted to put on a good face for them. Teyla leaned over to press her forehead to his and Ronon thunked him once on the shoulder - he managed not to wince - and he watched them leave before closing his eyes and relaxing into the pillow.
The rest of the day and following night passed in a sort of haze. Carson came by occasionally to alter the medication in his IV, and whatever it was seemed to keep him sleepy. He wavered in and out of consciousness, waking sometimes to see someone stopping by for a visit, or for one of the med techs to draw another blood sample or usher him to some Ancient medical scanning device. Carson would stop by whenever John was alert to assure him they were getting to the bottom of the problem, but each time John could tell the doctor was more puzzled.
By morning he was considerably more alert and very antsy to get out of the infirmary now that the room was no longer spinning. “Ah, Elizabeth.” He focused his attention on her as she entered the room. “Isn’t there something in the Geneva Convention about doctors keeping patients after they feel well enough to leave?”
Elizabeth grinned in that way she had that let John know in no uncertain terms that she was merely humoring him. “John, didn’t we already decide the Geneva Convention doesn’t apply to the Pegasus Galaxy? If Dr. Beckett doesn’t want you leaving yet, I’m sure he has a good reason.”
John sat up straighter in bed. He was still a bit sore but he really did feel fine. “I think he’s just worried because he can’t find anything wrong with me. I keep promising I won’t go far - I won’t even leave the inhabited parts of the city.”
“Right. Because I’m not at all worried about it happening again,” Carson remarked, walking up to the bed. “Colonel, just because I don’t know what’s wrong with you doesn’t mean you’re fine. Seizures don’t happen out of nowhere - something had to cause it. What if it happens again?”
“Then it happens. And I end up back here just like I was never gone.”
Carson sighed heavily and John couldn’t resist an internal smirk. “All right, son. I want a few more tests and you can leave for a few hours this afternoon. But I want you back here tonight, and earlier if you feel anything strange. Anything.” He waved his finger in front of John’s nose before walking away, shaking his head.
John flashed what he hoped was his most disarming grin at Elizabeth but could only see worry etched on her face. “Don’t worry, Elizabeth. Really. I’ll be fine.”
“I hope so,” she said, sitting next to his bed with a mug of coffee and what looked suspiciously like more briefing reports. The infirmary was boring enough he almost considered asking to read one.
John had just settled in for a long morning when Dr. Zelenka ran into the room. The scientist looked like he hadn’t slept that night and his lab coat trailed behind him, glasses crooked on his nose. “Dr. Weir! Dr. Weir!” he nearly shouted as he skidded to a halt by John’s bed. He nodded to John and turned back to Elizabeth.
“Dr. Zelenka! What is it?” John could hear the alarm in Elizabeth’s voice.
“You wanted us to check the area of city Colonel Sheppard was in other night?” Radek said, catching his breath. On Elizabeth’s nod, he continued, “It all seemed normal but then Dr. Simpson noticed - there is a subspace signal coming from one of the labs. It is on unusual frequency so we almost didn’t find it.”
“Is it Wraith?” John asked, feeling adrenaline surging into his veins.
Dr. Zelenka looked at him like he was slightly stupid. “Not from Ancient computer. No, nothing we’ve seen before. Thing is - thing is we can’t turn it off.”
“Can’t you just unplug it? Shut off power to the lab or the wing?” Elizabeth asked.
Zelenka shook his head. “We tried. Signal appears to have own power source. Is very strange.”
“So you have no idea what it is?” Elizabeth asked. “And you can’t turn it off?”
“Exactly,” Zelenka said, sounding very downcast. “If McKay were here he would be shouting.”
“Well, thank god he’s back on Earth then,” said Elizabeth, smiling gently at Zelenka. “You’re every bit as good as McKay, Dr. Zelenka. Now get back there and save the day so you can brag to him about it when he gets back.” Zelenka nodded, straightened his glasses, and left the infirmary. Elizabeth turned to raise an eyebrow at John.
“It’s almost like he doesn’t know what to do without Rodney harassing him,” John remarked. He had to admit this place wasn’t the same without McKay.
Half an hour later Carson had drawn more blood and placed John inside yet another ancient scanner when Dr. Zelenka called Elizabeth on the radio, a definite improvement on charging through the city. John watched her face from his place on the scanner and saw it slowly fall. When Carson brought John back to bed she looked up. “Doctor, I’m afraid we’re going to have to borrow your patient earlier than expected. Zelenka needs him in the lab.”
“What?” John and Carson asked in unison. The last thing John wanted to do in his few hours of freedom was help the scientists in some Ancient lab.
“Dr. Zelenka thinks the signal will only turn off with the ATA gene," Elizabeth explained
“Not that I’m not eager to get out of here, but don’t some of his scientists have the gene?” John asked.
“Yes,” Elizabeth said. “But he thinks it needs to be turned off by the same person who activated it and he thinks you did it during your…midnight stroll.”
“Oh,” John shrugged. “And he still doesn’t know what this lab is?”
Elizabeth shook her head. “He says the computers have an encryption unlike anything he’s seen anywhere else in Atlantis. They’re working on it but we really need that signal turned off before anyone notices.”
John nodded and looked at Carson. “Permission to go on a field trip?”
The doctor nodded reluctantly. “Have Ronon or Teyla go with you. And come back here when you’re done.”
Soon John was walking down a hallway he’d been to before but didn’t remember, Teyla at his side. Dr. Zelenka waved them into a nondescript doorway and John felt something tingle as they walked into the room. This felt very familiar.
“What is it?” Teyla asked, her eyes narrowing as she touched John’s arm.
He looked around and shook his head. “Nothing.” On a console in the corner a red light blinked slowly on, off, on, off, and John walked over to it. “This your problem, Doc?”
“Yes. That exactly. I think if you could just wave your hand and think it off maybe…” Dr. Zelenka’s voice trailed off as John waved his hand over the console.
He stopped with his hand frozen over the light and looked up, slowly scanning the room. It was all so clear now - what he had to do. He looked at the Athosian and the scientist and could tell they had no idea what was happening. That would make it all so much easier. He reached over to the other end of the console.
“No,” John muttered. Then louder: “No!” as he backed away from the console. None of this was right, he didn’t know this place, didn’t know how to operate this computer. But even as he stepped back his hand kept reaching forwards.
“John?” Teyla’s voice was wary, concerned. “John, what is wrong?” Now she sounded suspicious as she reached out to take his arm. That was a mistake.
He grabbed her arm, twisting it just right and pushing her into Dr. Zelenka. As they tumbled to the floor he lunged at the console, slamming both hands flat onto the surface and feeling something surge beneath his fingers. Willing his legs to fling him away, he tried to fight whatever was pulling him, but it was too late. He had just enough time to see the light change briefly to blue and flash off before he pitched backwards and hit the ground hard. To his left Dr. Zelenka was shouting in Czech but John wasn't paying attention. Just before the world went white he felt one leg begin to twitch.
Continue to ( part 2)
( part 1) ( part 2) ( part 3) ( part 4)
Author abyssinia4077
Fandom Stargate Atlantis
Characters Mainly John Sheppard, Rodney McKay, Elizabeth Weir. Substantial appearances by Radek Zelenka, Carson Beckett, Teyla Emmagan, Ronon Dex, Sam Carter
Genre/Rating Gen (some peripheral mention of Teyla/Ronon and Carson/OFC), PG. References to events through "Phantoms" but no major spoilers.
Note This was written with canon knowledge up through "3x10 - The Return I" but takes place in the undefined future so any canon beyond that point will make it an AU. One of my betas described it as a tragedy interspersed with flashes of humor.
Word Count 28,130
Disclaimer MGM owns the Stargate universe and its characters. I play in their sandbox.
Acknowledgments irmelin for an early read through of the first section and encouragement.
hiyacynth for keeping me from flipping out when it got too long and helping solve my problems with the ending.
damson for introducing me to the fandom and her beta to catch any character inconsistencies. Also for making suggestions to massively improve the ending.
likethesun2 for being there every step of the way, reading the early draft while riding the El, general encouragement, and a detailed beta job in which she taught me endless grammar tricks.
Summary “You always have a bad feeling about something," Sheppard scoffed at him.
“Not like this," Rodney informed him. "Usually I have a bad feeling because I’m, I don’t know, trapped in a broken puddle jumper sinking to the bottom of the ocean or in a cocoon on a Wraith hive ship. This is just a sense of impending doom."
“I wouldn’t think a man of science like yourself would believe in premonitions,” Sheppard said, raising an eyebrow in Rodney's direction.
Rodney dignified that comment with a disgusted snort. “I’m not talking about hocus pocus like voodoo or astrology here. I’m talking about noticing something is just a little out of whack but not knowing what. It isn’t until after it goes wrong that you know you’ve been seeing it all along. But I’m sure whatever it is you’ll be able to save everyone by blowing it up.”
Distance From Here to Wherever You Are (part 1)
( part 1) ( part 2) ( part 3) ( part 4)
Rodney was stretched out under his bed, just getting his fingertips on the puddle jumper schematic he wanted to take a better look at when Sheppard shouted from the doorway. “You in here, McKay? If you weren’t flying that jumper back to Earth I think they would have left without you.”
“Ouch,” Rodney muttered, rubbing his head where it had cracked against the underside of his bed as he extricated himself from its claustrophobic caverns. He shoved the schematic in the backpack with his laptop and looked up to see Sheppard navigating around a pile of dirty socks and a larger pile of astrophysics textbooks, wrinkling his nose.
“You know, we don’t exactly have a maid service to clean up after you when you’re gone," he said, picking up a lost t-shirt and tossing it onto a chair.
“Yes, yes." Rodney waved a dismissive hand at the colonel as he dug for a few more shirts to add to the pile spilling out of his open suitcase. “I had too much to take care of before I left. Had to make sure there’d still be a city for me to come back to.”
“C’mon, have a little faith," Sheppard told him. "We’ve gotten pretty used to this place - I think we can survive a few weeks without your genius. Besides, you’ve been gone that long before.”
“True,” Rodney commented as he shut the lid to the suitcase and frowned at the distance spanning the halves of the open zipper. “But I rarely get to prepare before I go. It’s not like the Genii leave little ‘We’re planning to kidnap you next week so make sure to get your labwork in order’ notes.” He resorted to sitting on top of the suitcase as he wrestled with the zipper. “And it’s a good thing I took the time too. If Dr. Simpson had continued her plans to modify the power grid with that wretchedly backwards calculation she would have blown every light bulb in this city. And the things Dr. Fry wanted to do to the firing mechanism on the drones would have destroyed half of Atlantis. For that matter if you don’t stop your teams” - he paused in his tirade to focus on shoving the zipper the last few inches before he flopped onto the bed next to his sealed, if overstuffed suitcase - "looking for some Ancient football stadium or, or, porn viewing room, well, I won’t be here to rescue you from whatever Ancient science-fair project they set free.”
“I didn’t say it wouldn’t be hard to survive without you. I sure don’t know what I’ll do with all the quiet.” Sheppard smirked at Rodney as he picked up his bulging suitcase. “Now c’mon, you’re going home for Christmas whether you’re ready or not.” Rodney watched Sheppard head out of the doorway with his suitcase and hurried after, slinging the backpack with his laptop over his shoulder.
Logically Rodney knew Sheppard was right. He’d been gone this long before, and the city had always still been there when he returned. He figured he’d saved the city about as many times as it had survived over a week without him. Still he couldn’t quite shake the dead weight that had settled in the pit of his stomach.
He looked up to find Sheppard had gotten far ahead in the corridor, and jogged a bit to catch up. “You know, we only just got the new power grid worked out,” he commented, ignoring the way Sheppard shook his head. “There’s bound to be all sorts of kinks to work out. And Zelenka might need help with that new device he discovered. Maybe I should stay. I can always go home some other time.”
“No. You can’t.” Sheppard quickened his steps down the hall. “Well, you can go home another time, but you're still going now. You're going to spend Christmas with Jeannie, and then you can come back and yell at us for everything we do wrong while you’re gone.”
“Oh, and you’re quite the example family man to be giving me lectures. I don’t see you going home for Christmas - or even including anything in the mail sacks.” This struck a nerve and Rodney nearly flinched as Sheppard stiffened. “I’m sorry. I just have a bad feeling - like something’s going to happen while I’m gone.”
“You always have a bad feeling about something," Sheppard scoffed at him.
“Not like this," Rodney informed him. "Usually I have a bad feeling because I’m, I don’t know, trapped in a broken puddle jumper sinking to the bottom of the ocean or in a cocoon on a Wraith hive ship. This is just a sense of impending doom."
“I wouldn’t think a man of science like yourself would believe in premonitions,” Sheppard said, raising an eyebrow in Rodney's direction.
Rodney dignified that comment with a disgusted snort. “I’m not talking about hocus pocus like voodoo or astrology here. I’m talking about noticing something is just a little out of whack but not knowing what. It isn’t until after it goes wrong that you know you’ve been seeing it all along. But I’m sure whatever it is you’ll be able to save everyone by blowing it up.”
“Rodney,” Elizabeth’s shout echoed from the jumper bay doors. “You know, it’s not nice for the guy flying the jumper back to Earth to be late.”
“Why? It’s not like they could leave without me," Rodney told her, ignoring the look Elizabeth exchanged with Sheppard and striding into the jumper bay. “All right, everyone aboard. We’re heading back to Earth.” A sea of faces looked out the door at him in disgust and one of the marines motioned him to get on with it.
Rodney turned to Elizabeth. “Permission to return to Earth for leave?”
Elizabeth smiled and nodded. “Be safe, Rodney," she said. "Say hi to Jeannie for us, and don’t forget to bring back pictures of the new baby or we’ll turn you right back around to get them." Elizabeth patted Rodney on the shoulder before turning to exit the bay.
Rodney turned and found himself in a brief embrace. Sheppard removed his arm from Rodney’s shoulders, tugging slightly at Rodney’s backpack. “Have a wonderful Christmas and try to remember you’re on leave so you need to relax. Don’t worry about us. Also, I’m keeping this here.” Rodney briefly glimpsed the jumper schematic in Sheppard’s hands before he tucked it behind his back. “I’m sending Jeannie a note - she’ll let me know if you work instead of playing with Madison.”
Rodney displayed his most put-upon face as he entered the jumper, but ultimately he wasn’t that angry - he had plenty of other projects to work on. The jumper controls responded a little faster than the last time he’d flown - either John’s training or Carson’s refinement of the gene therapy had improved things - and he was soon in the gateroom, over the McKay-Carter bridge and docking at SGC. Within hours he was in Canada and knocking on Jeannie's front door.
The day before Christmas Eve Rodney found himself wandering through Book City trying to remember how to buy presents. He'd acquired an Athosian doll for Madison and a baby blanket for Jeannie, along with a book Feynman wrote mostly about physics but a little about parenting. Caleb proved much harder to shop for, since Rodney was pretty sure any English major good enough to marry his sister would already own the complete works of Shakespeare.
The crowded stores of Earth felt claustrophobic after his years on Atlantis. and he had forgotten how nightmarish shopping before Christmas was, but he had left this present-hunting to the last minute. After browsing the literature section, he’d picked out something random for Caleb supposedly written by someone who’d won a Nobel Prize in something that wasn’t physics. Rodney wandered toward the science fiction section, stopping to scoff at the newest in pop-culture science books. He was in the middle of debating whether Zelenka preferred Bradbury or Heinlein when his cell phone rang.
It was Caleb, sounding out of breath and excited. “Hey Rodney! Jeannie’s water broke - looks like we’re having a Christmas baby. We’re heading to the hospital and we’ve left Maddy at the neighbors. Do you think you could come home soon and watch her? We’ll call you when you can take her to the hospital.”
They’d arranged this ahead of time but Rodney was secretly hoping the baby would be late enough he wouldn’t have to actually do this. Figthing off a Wraith siege seemed easier than watching over a child, but Jeannie had promised not to blame him if the house burned down. “Sure. I’ll head home right now.”
He settled on one book by each author for Zelenka - since he hadn't done anything stupid lately and you couldn’t get Earth novels in the Pegasus Galaxy - and joined the line of people waiting for an open cash register. The woman with the screaming child had finally finished juggling everything she carried and managed to pay when Rodney's phone went off again, drawing displeased looks from those around him. A feeling of dread crept up his spine as the theme to 2001: A Space Odyssey - the ringtone he'd assigned to Stargate Command - echoed through the store. When he flipped open the phone to see "Samantha Carter" on the caller ID, he turned and pushed his way back through the line behind him, stepping on a few toes and earning a number of angry comments. He left the books on a random table and walked out the door while answering, “Colonel Carter! What a surprise. Is it too much to hope you're just wishing me a merry Christmas?”
“I wish, McKay.” Carter sounded tired. “I can tell you that you’ll have extra time to enjoy your family this Christmas.”
“I never said I wanted extra time. What's happening?” Rodney dropped the car keys into a slushy pile of snow and cursed as he tried to fish them out, only to drop them again at Carter’s next words.
“There’s been a situation at Atlantis. Dr. Weir called in briefly to request immediate evacuation with the Daedalus.”
“What happened? Why the Daedalus? When is it leaving? Why hasn’t Hermiod already beamed me up? Why can’t they just gate back to Earth?” The knees of Rodney’s pants were soaked through with snow but he barely noticed.
Carter sighed heavily, and Rodney couldn't help wondering if she'd drawn the short straw in the 'who calls Dr. McKay?' game. “We don’t know what happened. We can’t reconnect to their gate so we can’t get more information and we assume that is why they can’t gate back. The Daedalus is already on its way.”
“What!” Several people in the parking lot turned at Rodney’s shout but he was beyond caring about that. “How dare Caldwell leave without taking me! I know more about Atlantis than anyone.” Rodney managed to snag his keys and stood, slipping them into his pocket.
Carter’s voice in his ear struggled to remain calm and pleasant, but he could tell she was tired and worried. “We didn’t leave you behind. The Daedalus was already near the edge of the galaxy because Hermiod was testing some new engine modifications. Coming back to get you would have meant losing over four days. Plus, Dr. Weir asked for evacuation, not help. I doubt there’s anything you could do there.”
Rodney thought about this a minute and snapped his fingers. “Then I’ll come to SGC, see what I can do from there. I’ll go to the airport and catch the next flight, no, I’ll drive. It’ll probably be faster-"
“McKay.”
"-Let's see, I’ll have to call Caleb and let him know - Madison should be fine with the neighbors. Jeannie’s probably too busy giving birth - “
“McKay!”
"-I'll need coffee for the drive. And a map and I’ll have to stop back and get my passport because they’re checking that at the border now - “
“RODNEY!”
“WHAT?”
“Did you say Jeannie was in labor right now?” Carter's voice had that tone of forced, patient politeness she often used on him.
“Yes, Caleb called just before you did.”
“Don’t come to SGC. There’s nothing you can do. I promise to call you personally when we hear anything and if having you will help I’ll send a plane to get you. Go be with your family. And congratulate Jeannie for me.” She didn’t wait for Rodney’s response but hung up with a loud click.
Rodney stood in the parking lot and stared at his phone, willing Carter to call back and laugh at her joke. Above his head streetlights illuminated the new snowflakes coming from the sky and Christmas songs from three stores blended into a cacophony of holiday cheer. "Well, this is just great," he muttered to himself, missing his pocket and droping the phone into a snowbank, cursing when he realized what he'd done. He quickly dug it out again, berating himself for nearly destroying his contact with SGC, and kicked the rental car before climbing in and driving off just a little too fast.
Elizabeth watched the jumper disappear through the 'gate. One of the best parts about being in regular contact with Earth was the opportunity for people to actually go home and see their distant loved ones. Not that she’d yet taken that opportunity. She sighed and stretched, feeling kinks in her muscles that weren’t there when the mission began, and turned to find John wryly grinning at her. “What?”
“You just look like you could use a trip home on that jumper too.” John turned to follow her up the control-room steps. “When’s the last time you took a day off, Elizabeth?”
“When did we first leave Earth for Atlantis?” she asked, reaching the top step. “I think it was about two months before then.” It felt as though, even with all the wonders and adventure they brought, each of the years on Atlantis had aged her several. But, she figured, that’s the price you pay for leading the expedition on the greatest adventure in human history. She wouldn't trade any of those years for anything.
The control room stood relatively quiet for the moment. There were no Wraith Hive ships being tracked on the long-range sensors, no pressing mechanical emergencies in the city to monitor, and only one team still finishing up a routine trading expedition. Elizabeth intended to enjoy every minute of this unusual peace. “Has Major Lorne checked in yet?” she asked the tech manning the DHD.
“Yes, Ma’am.” She pretended not to notice him quickly close the solitaire game on his computer. “Radioed in about fifteen minutes ago. Said they’d be about another hour and they managed to get a really good trade this time.”
“Good,” she said and headed to her office, turning at the doorway to raise her eyebrow at John, who seemed to be following her like a lost puppy. “Did you need something, John?”
“Nah.” He slouched against the doorway. “Just bored, I guess. Rodney’s gone so I can’t harass him and Teyla and Ronon are with the Athosians on the mainland helping with that big harvest.”
“That’s right,” she said, sitting behind her desk. “Does Teyla think the crop will be good this year?” John flopped into a chair in front of her and picked up one of the Earth artifacts on her desk, examining it closely before tossing it between his hands like a baseball. He shrugged his shoulders vaguely. Farming was definitely not one of John Sheppard’s specialties. She picked up a form on her desk and sighed. “It’s nice being in contact with Earth. We can get supplies we need. People can go home. But I didn’t miss having to fill out four different forms in triplicate just to get a box of PowerBars.”
John grinned at her. “If they give you any trouble, just explain how vital they are to our mission - they’re like personal ZPMs for our scientists.”
She grimaced at the form and slipped it under another pile of papers she needed to remember to look at. “What do you say to an Atlantis Christmas break? We haven’t had much time off since we got here and I know everyone’s tired. We could put off-world teams and city explorations on hold for a few days, shut down any research and work that isn’t essential and get a few day's rest. Maybe even have a…harvest festival with the Athosians.” It was Christmas on the Earth calendar, but that didn’t make it winter on Atlantis.
“I think that’d be great.” He put the ball of clay back on her desk. “The oceanographers told me there’d be some great waves off the North Pier in a few days - what do you say, Doctor, wanna learn how to surf?” He grinned at her mischievously.
“I don’t know.” She surveyed her desk. “SGC will have my head if I don’t get caught up on all these forms.”
John shook his head. “Elizabeth, if you’re ordering the Atlantis expedition to take a vacation, you need to give yourself one too. I’ll give you two days and then I’m personally dragging you out of this office, into a wetsuit, and out onto those breakers.”
“Okay, John. Now go away so I can get this finished.” She waved him off.
He unfolded from the chair and paused in the doorway of her office, shaking a finger at her. “Two days and I’m picking you up and carrying you away from that desk.” He turned and left before the pencil she threw could hit him.
Two nights later Elizabeth was working late at her desk. No one was off-world, and Teyla and Ronon were due to return from the mainland tomorrow with a share of the bumper crop. Plans for a party she wasn’t supposed to know about were in full swing. Everything in Atlantis was quiet but she was still frantically working to finish the backlog of paperwork before John’s promised abduction.
“Dr. Weir?” The nighttime gate tech was in her office door.
She put her pen down and rubbed her eyes. “Yes?”
“We’ve got a life sign in an unexplored section of the city,” he said. She got up to follow him into the command room. Any excuse to get away from mission reports and supply requisitions. On the map of the city was a glowing dot in a hallway they’d only recently gained access to. Dr. Zelenka had said it almost looked like the doors had been welded shut. Whoever it was seemed to be wandering aimlessly down the hallway, periodically pausing here or there and then wandering some more.
“Send a team of marines to investigate,” she told him. “Hopefully someone just got a little drunk and got lost on their way home.”
She retrieved coffee for herself and the gate tech and returned just as Major Lorne radioed in. “Dr. Weir? It's Lieutenant Colonel Sheppard, ma’am. He appears to be sleepwalking.”
“Sleepwalking?” Elizabeth asked, incredulous.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Can you escort him back to his quarters?” She asked.
“We can try.” She heard a muffled thump over the radio. “He, um, doesn’t seem to want to go.” The sounds of one of the soldiers gasping a bit came over the radio.
“Okay, shadow him for now. If he tries to touch anything, stun him. I’ll call Dr. Beckett.”
That morning, instead of learning how to surf, Elizabeth found herself visiting John in the infirmary. By the time Dr. Beckett had gotten to the hallway, John had already turned around and headed toward his quarters, marines on his tail. Beckett hadn’t seemed overly concerned once John was back in bed, simply requesting he report to the infirmary in the morning.
John gave Elizabeth a sleepy wave as she entered the room. “All this fuss just because I took a midnight stroll.”
“A midnight stroll in an unexplored section of the city,” Elizabeth reminded him. “You could have activated one of those, what does Rodney call them, Ancient science-fair experiments.”
“Well, Colonel, everything appears,” Beckett walked up, examining a printout, “relatively normal. Have you ever sleepwalked before?”
“There was one time in college, after my first frat party,” he said, trying a disarming smile on them.
“Uh huh. And did you punch a marine then too?” Elizabeth couldn’t resist the question.
John gave his blanket a sheepish look. “I said I was sorry! Look, can I go now?”
“I see no reason to keep you. But -" Beckett took another look at the chart in his hand and shook his head. “I’d like to run one more test. Nothing to worry about, just a few readings a wee bit different from your normal ones. Might just be getting a cold.”
“I’ve got a few briefings in my office this morning, when the good doctor releases you,” Elizabeth told John.
“I told you today I was taking you surfing! Don’t think I won’t drag you away from those scientists.” John looked at her sternly.
“After the briefings,” Elizabeth reminded him. “I’ll see you when Carson lets you go.”
The botany team that had recently returned from M5S-G72 was halfway through their briefing on the potentially edible plants they’d found when John finally walked into her office. Elizabeth nodded to him and silently indicated the empty chair beside her.
John sat down and whispered into her ear, “Doc let me go with a clean bill of health. I think something was still puzzling him but he ran out of excuses to keep me. And I might have been driving the nurses crazy.” He grinned impishly and settled back, letting a bored look wash over his face as the talk shifted from edible fruit to a particular vine they’d found strangling some of the trees.
An hour later she had approved further study of M5S-G72 and placed MX4-57H on their “do not return” list after hearing a report about the giant carnivorous flowers. The final team was just beginning the anthropological report on MY7-G34 when John suddenly tipped out of his chair.
Elizabeth had just enough time to see his eyes roll into the back of his head before he started twitching - legs kicking, arms flailing, and head banging against the wall in a full-blown seizure. One of the anthropologists screamed and the other two quickly pulled chairs away from John’s thrashing body as Elizabeth jabbed at her radio. “This is Dr. Weir. Medical emergency in my office!” She could only watch as his body convulsed again, back arching to lift nearly his entire torso off the floor.
By the time Dr. Beckett arrived with two medics carrying a stretcher behind him, the seizure had passed. John lay unconscious on the floor and blood flowed slowly from a gash in his temple down the side of his ghost-white face. Beckett quickly checked John’s vitals and whisked him away on the stretcher, assuring Elizabeth he’d call when he knew anything. She exchanged looks with the shocked anthropologists and said, “Why don’t we finish this another day?”
Knowing hovering in the infirmary wouldn’t help anything, Elizabeth sat down and glared at the papers still threatening to overtake her desk. She grabbed a pen and began attacking them with gusto. When Teyla and Ronon walked in, just returned from the mainland, she welcomed the distraction.
“We heard something happened to Colonel Sheppard?” Teyla looked questioningly at Elizabeth as Ronon stood stiffly in the doorway.
“Yes. He had a seizure,” Elizabeth told her and saw Teyla’s confused look. “Convulsions. He was unconscious still when Dr. Beckett took him away.”
“Do we know what caused it?” Ronon asked.
Elizabeth shook her head. “No. They found him sleepwalking last night, too. In that section of the city we’d just opened up. Hopefully Dr. Beckett will have answers for us soon.”
“Dr. Weir?” Carson’s voice came over the radio as though he had been summoned.
Elizabeth nodded to Teyla and Ronon. “Maybe I’ll have the answers right now,” she told them and tapped her radio. “Carson! Tell me you have good news.”
“I’m afraid not, love.” Carson’s voice was thin over the radio. “I still don’t know what happened, but Colonel Sheppard is awake if you’d like to see him.”
“We’ll be right there.” Elizabeth nodded to Teyla and Ronon and they followed her out of the office.
John slowly came awake, feeling as though he were fighting through thick cobwebs. He blinked open an eyelid and almost thought better of it when the light sent knives stabbing to the back of his skull. Lifting up an arm to shield his eyes, he was disconcerted to find splints on two of the fingers.
“Doc?” he called out tentatively and winced at how loud his own voice rang in his ears. At least he was in Atlantis’ infirmary. Usually when he woke feeling like this he was trapped in someone’s dungeon. Or hive ship. Here he’d have a soft bed, and pain medication. And pretty nurses.
Carson’s concerned face swam into his vision. “Oh good, you’re awake. How do you feel, Colonel?” John blinked experimentally and swallowed. He was pretty sure the doctor couldn’t be swaying nearly as much as his eyes were telling him. Not unless he was drunk and about to fall over.
“Like I lost a fight with something big,” John told him. His tongue felt large in his mouth.
Carson nodded and pulled a stool beside John’s bed, sticking his stethoscope in his ears to listen to John’s heart. “Do you remember what happened, son?”
John shook his head and instantly regretted it. His brain seemed to shake a half second slower than his skull. “I don’t remember being off planet. I assume the something big that beat me got onto Atlantis.” Carson pulled a small flashlight from his jacket pocket and waved it slowly in front of John’s eyes. John swallowed hard as the room began to spin again and slammed his eyes shut, clenching his jaw as his stomach turned cartwheels.
He heard Carson sit back on the stool. “You were in a briefing in Dr. Weir’s office and had a seizure,” he explained. John heard him scribbling something on a chart. “We still don’t know why. Here, it looks like you might need this.” John opened his eyes as something hard and plastic was placed on his lap. He had enough time to grab the pan before his stomach made good on its promise to dispel the remnants of breakfast.
Carson’s hand was a warm spot on his back as he choked up bile and he gratefully accepted the offered glass of water. “Just a wee sip,” Carson quietly advised. The water tasted amazing in his mouth but his stomach clearly agreed with the doctor’s suggestion. He handed back the mostly full glass and lay back exhausted.
“You said you don’t know what happened. Could it be some weird alien flu or something?” he asked Carson quietly.
“Wish I could tell you,” Carson sighed. “Do you remember anything before the seizure- perhaps something off in your vision? Numbness or muscle twitching?”
John gingerly shook his head. “Do you think it’ll happen again?” He ignored the persistent voice in his head reminding him that the Air Force grounds pilots who have seizures.
“Can’t say until we figure out what caused it this time.” Carson laid a hand on John’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, laddie, we’ll figure this out. Why don’t you lay back and rest while we find some answers?” John closed his eyes as Carson walked away, calling Elizabeth on the radio. The doc had said not to worry but John had seen in his eyes that Carson wasn’t following his own advice. He almost wished Rodney were here to prattle at him endlessly and keep his own thoughts at bay.
“How is he?” John opened his eyes at Elizabeth’s voice, grateful to find the room a bit more stable than it was earlier. He looked over to see her flanked by Teyla and Ronon and realized that, however he might actually feel, it was time to play the brave little soldier. Catching Teyla’s eye he picked up a hand to wave, thought better of it when he remembered the splinted fingers, and flashed what he hoped was a disarming grin while sliding his hand under the blanket. Teyla’s face told him he’d fooled no one.
“How was your harvest?” he asked when Teyla came over to take his other hand.
“Boring,” Ronon rumbled beside her.
“It was very productive. We should have a good winter,” Teyla told him. “The more important question is how are you doing?” He felt her gently squeeze his fingers and, feeling some returning strength, squeezed back in return.
“I’m fine,” John said. Teyla’s eyebrow raised in disbelief. “Okay, I’m a little tired and I feel like I just went head to head with this guy.” He nodded toward Ronon. “But I feel fine otherwise. Just wish Dr. Beckett could figure out what’s wrong so I could get out of here.”
“We’ll get to the bottom of this, John,” Elizabeth assured him from the other side of the bed. “Now you look tired. Why don’t we leave and let you rest. Call us if you need anything at all.” John nodded. He wouldn’t admit it, but he was glad Elizabeth suggested it. His eyelids had been threatening to slam shut but he wanted to put on a good face for them. Teyla leaned over to press her forehead to his and Ronon thunked him once on the shoulder - he managed not to wince - and he watched them leave before closing his eyes and relaxing into the pillow.
The rest of the day and following night passed in a sort of haze. Carson came by occasionally to alter the medication in his IV, and whatever it was seemed to keep him sleepy. He wavered in and out of consciousness, waking sometimes to see someone stopping by for a visit, or for one of the med techs to draw another blood sample or usher him to some Ancient medical scanning device. Carson would stop by whenever John was alert to assure him they were getting to the bottom of the problem, but each time John could tell the doctor was more puzzled.
By morning he was considerably more alert and very antsy to get out of the infirmary now that the room was no longer spinning. “Ah, Elizabeth.” He focused his attention on her as she entered the room. “Isn’t there something in the Geneva Convention about doctors keeping patients after they feel well enough to leave?”
Elizabeth grinned in that way she had that let John know in no uncertain terms that she was merely humoring him. “John, didn’t we already decide the Geneva Convention doesn’t apply to the Pegasus Galaxy? If Dr. Beckett doesn’t want you leaving yet, I’m sure he has a good reason.”
John sat up straighter in bed. He was still a bit sore but he really did feel fine. “I think he’s just worried because he can’t find anything wrong with me. I keep promising I won’t go far - I won’t even leave the inhabited parts of the city.”
“Right. Because I’m not at all worried about it happening again,” Carson remarked, walking up to the bed. “Colonel, just because I don’t know what’s wrong with you doesn’t mean you’re fine. Seizures don’t happen out of nowhere - something had to cause it. What if it happens again?”
“Then it happens. And I end up back here just like I was never gone.”
Carson sighed heavily and John couldn’t resist an internal smirk. “All right, son. I want a few more tests and you can leave for a few hours this afternoon. But I want you back here tonight, and earlier if you feel anything strange. Anything.” He waved his finger in front of John’s nose before walking away, shaking his head.
John flashed what he hoped was his most disarming grin at Elizabeth but could only see worry etched on her face. “Don’t worry, Elizabeth. Really. I’ll be fine.”
“I hope so,” she said, sitting next to his bed with a mug of coffee and what looked suspiciously like more briefing reports. The infirmary was boring enough he almost considered asking to read one.
John had just settled in for a long morning when Dr. Zelenka ran into the room. The scientist looked like he hadn’t slept that night and his lab coat trailed behind him, glasses crooked on his nose. “Dr. Weir! Dr. Weir!” he nearly shouted as he skidded to a halt by John’s bed. He nodded to John and turned back to Elizabeth.
“Dr. Zelenka! What is it?” John could hear the alarm in Elizabeth’s voice.
“You wanted us to check the area of city Colonel Sheppard was in other night?” Radek said, catching his breath. On Elizabeth’s nod, he continued, “It all seemed normal but then Dr. Simpson noticed - there is a subspace signal coming from one of the labs. It is on unusual frequency so we almost didn’t find it.”
“Is it Wraith?” John asked, feeling adrenaline surging into his veins.
Dr. Zelenka looked at him like he was slightly stupid. “Not from Ancient computer. No, nothing we’ve seen before. Thing is - thing is we can’t turn it off.”
“Can’t you just unplug it? Shut off power to the lab or the wing?” Elizabeth asked.
Zelenka shook his head. “We tried. Signal appears to have own power source. Is very strange.”
“So you have no idea what it is?” Elizabeth asked. “And you can’t turn it off?”
“Exactly,” Zelenka said, sounding very downcast. “If McKay were here he would be shouting.”
“Well, thank god he’s back on Earth then,” said Elizabeth, smiling gently at Zelenka. “You’re every bit as good as McKay, Dr. Zelenka. Now get back there and save the day so you can brag to him about it when he gets back.” Zelenka nodded, straightened his glasses, and left the infirmary. Elizabeth turned to raise an eyebrow at John.
“It’s almost like he doesn’t know what to do without Rodney harassing him,” John remarked. He had to admit this place wasn’t the same without McKay.
Half an hour later Carson had drawn more blood and placed John inside yet another ancient scanner when Dr. Zelenka called Elizabeth on the radio, a definite improvement on charging through the city. John watched her face from his place on the scanner and saw it slowly fall. When Carson brought John back to bed she looked up. “Doctor, I’m afraid we’re going to have to borrow your patient earlier than expected. Zelenka needs him in the lab.”
“What?” John and Carson asked in unison. The last thing John wanted to do in his few hours of freedom was help the scientists in some Ancient lab.
“Dr. Zelenka thinks the signal will only turn off with the ATA gene," Elizabeth explained
“Not that I’m not eager to get out of here, but don’t some of his scientists have the gene?” John asked.
“Yes,” Elizabeth said. “But he thinks it needs to be turned off by the same person who activated it and he thinks you did it during your…midnight stroll.”
“Oh,” John shrugged. “And he still doesn’t know what this lab is?”
Elizabeth shook her head. “He says the computers have an encryption unlike anything he’s seen anywhere else in Atlantis. They’re working on it but we really need that signal turned off before anyone notices.”
John nodded and looked at Carson. “Permission to go on a field trip?”
The doctor nodded reluctantly. “Have Ronon or Teyla go with you. And come back here when you’re done.”
Soon John was walking down a hallway he’d been to before but didn’t remember, Teyla at his side. Dr. Zelenka waved them into a nondescript doorway and John felt something tingle as they walked into the room. This felt very familiar.
“What is it?” Teyla asked, her eyes narrowing as she touched John’s arm.
He looked around and shook his head. “Nothing.” On a console in the corner a red light blinked slowly on, off, on, off, and John walked over to it. “This your problem, Doc?”
“Yes. That exactly. I think if you could just wave your hand and think it off maybe…” Dr. Zelenka’s voice trailed off as John waved his hand over the console.
He stopped with his hand frozen over the light and looked up, slowly scanning the room. It was all so clear now - what he had to do. He looked at the Athosian and the scientist and could tell they had no idea what was happening. That would make it all so much easier. He reached over to the other end of the console.
“No,” John muttered. Then louder: “No!” as he backed away from the console. None of this was right, he didn’t know this place, didn’t know how to operate this computer. But even as he stepped back his hand kept reaching forwards.
“John?” Teyla’s voice was wary, concerned. “John, what is wrong?” Now she sounded suspicious as she reached out to take his arm. That was a mistake.
He grabbed her arm, twisting it just right and pushing her into Dr. Zelenka. As they tumbled to the floor he lunged at the console, slamming both hands flat onto the surface and feeling something surge beneath his fingers. Willing his legs to fling him away, he tried to fight whatever was pulling him, but it was too late. He had just enough time to see the light change briefly to blue and flash off before he pitched backwards and hit the ground hard. To his left Dr. Zelenka was shouting in Czech but John wasn't paying attention. Just before the world went white he felt one leg begin to twitch.
Continue to ( part 2)
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