It's only just beginning: chapter 13
Title: It's only just beginning
Author: Betty (sarah_jones on lj)
Fandoms: Stargate, Stargate Atlantis, Primeval, JAG, Doctor Who/Torchwood, Animorphs & Angel
Rating: M
Disclaimer: I don’t own any of the characters or fandoms. I wish I did… *g* I don’t make any money with this! I’m just writing the story for fun and hope someone else will enjoy it, too.
Summary: The story starts after the Stargate Atlantis season finale. There will be new enemies and new adventures, as well as new characters from other fandoms. Old enemies and older characters will return as well.
Sorry, that it took me so long to update. I started writing another story for the Tochwood Big Bang and I got a new video editing program and had to try it out.
In my 1st try with the program I came up with this:
Click to viewIt's a video for this fanfic. It's how it all started. I hope you like it, even though it's really short. I might make more soon.
chapter 1, chapter 2, chapter 3, chapter 4, chapter 5, chapter 6, chapter 7, chapter 8, chapter 9, chapter 10, chapter 11, chapter 12, timeline for all chapters
chapter 13:
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Day 8 - Atlantis infirmary:
Cam grimaced as Dr. Lam put some disinfectant on the cut on his cheek.
“Sorry,” Carolyn said. Then she grabbed a small patch and put it over the wound.
“As good as new,” she added before excusing herself to check on another patient.
Cam got up and was about to leave the infirmary when Sheila appeared infront of him.
“I heard you were being treated. Are you alright?” she asked, feeling concerned. Cameron was the person she knew best and she really liked him. If anything happened to him she was sure she’d feel even more lost in this time. Of course she got to know other people by now. She had talked to General O’Neill, Colonel Carter and Dr. Jackson a lot. They were all very interested in her life and anything concerning her people. They were very nice and helpful, but she hadn’t really connected with them on a personal level so far, not like with Cam.
Cam smiled when he saw Sheila. He had started to enjoy her company more and more.
“I’m fine, it's just a little scratch,” he said and gestured at his patched up face. “Nothing to worry about.”
Sheila felt relieved to hear that.
“You weren’t worried about me, were you?” he then asked and smirked.
Sheila looked at him and had to smile. “Maybe a little.” She held her fingers up and showed him how little.
Cam chuckled.
“How’s Sharon doing?” he then asked.
“No change,” Sheila answered with a sigh. She was really worried about her sister. It actually was all she did the whole day, worrying.
“Cam, I wanted to ask you something.”
“What is it?” he asked.
“You told me that your people have teams to explore other planets.” He nodded. “Do you think it would be possible for me to join one?”
Cam looked at her a little surprised. She barely left the infirmary so far and now she wanted to leave the planet?
“You need team members, right?” She actually would have preferred to work on a ship, but she couldn’t leave Sharon behind and she wasn’t familiar with earth's ships anyway.
“Yes, we do. But why do you want to join a team?”
“I need something to do. I’m going crazy sitting at Sharon’s bedside the whole day. And while I’m in Atlantis I won’t do much else. But if I join a team I’ll do something useful and might be able to help your people.”
Cam smiled. She really wanted to help them. She had felt bad when she couldn’t tell them where to find more ZPM’s. She wasn’t a scientist, so she couldn’t help them much when it came to ancient technology. She had the gene and knew the city, but that was basically it. They had all hoped to gain some valuable information when they found out that an ancient was in the city. But that wasn’t really the case. Maybe Sheila felt their slight disappointment? Or she just generally was a nice person who wanted to help others. Either way, Cam really liked her.
“I’m sure we can arrange something. I’ll go talk to General O’Neill right away. You want to come along?”
“Sure, let’s go.”
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John walked into the infirmary. Elizabeth would be released soon and he wanted to escort her to her room by himself. He was still feeling a little guilty for using her lack of memory to be close to her, but he pushed those thoughts as far away as possible.
Once in the infirmary John stopped. Cameron Mitchell was walking towards him with a pretty blonde. His eyes widened when he saw her up close and his mouth almost dropped open.
“John?” Cam asked looking a little confused. John was staring at Sheila in a very strange way.
“I know you,” John muttered looking at the woman.
Sheila felt a little uneasy as the man stared at her. “You do?” she asked.
“John, this is Sheila Trebal. She is the lantean that was brought here by the ancient device,” Cam said.
“Right,” John said tearing his eyes away from Sheila and looking at Cam instead. He knew that they had an ancient in the city, or better two of them. He had even seen her before, but only from a distance and he hadn’t recognized her before.
Turning back to Sheila John then smiled. “Sorry, didn’t mean to stare. It’s just… I’ve seen you before. You were on the Aurora when we found the ship a few years ago.”
Cam and Sheila both looked at him surprised.
“I was?”
John nodded. “The whole crew was in stasis pods and way too old to revive. But you were all hooked up to some virtual reality in which you kind of lived. I went into one of the stasis pods and entered that virtual reality. It’s where I saw you.”
Sheila’s eyes widened. She would end up in a stasis pod on board the Aurora? Did that mean she would find a way back home? Or had that been changed?
“Please tell me more about what happened,” she said.
John nodded. He had a bit of time left before Elizabeth would be released.
“Why don’t we go to the balcony and talk there,” Cam suggested. It was much nicer outside and the infirmary was rather noisy as well.
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This was really strange. Sheila had no idea what it meant that Colonel Sheppard had seen her on board the Aurora, or better her body and a Wraith impersonating her in a virtual reality. The thought that a Wraith fed on her and then used her to trick her people made her feel sick.
“You probably won’t end like that,” Cam said after John had left. “You’re here now.”
Sheila looked at him. It was nice that he tried to cheer her up, but it didn’t really work. If she went back home she’d end up as Wraith food and if she stayed here she’d never see her family and friends again.
“Do you still want to go see General O’Neill?” he then asked. She looked a little shaken, which was understandable in her situation. She really hadn’t gotten any good news lately.
Sheila nodded. She needed something to distract her.
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Day 8 - Atlantis corridors:
“This feels familiar,” Elizabeth said as John walked her to her room. She glanced around at the city they were in. It looked amazing and strange, but still familiar at the same time. What felt even more familiar however was walking next to John through the hallway. She was sure that they had done this a lot of times before.
John grinned at her. “That’s good. Your memory is definitely getting better.”
“It is,” she agreed. “I dreamed some things about living in this city. I think it were memories.”
“See, it’s all coming back, just like Daniel and the doctors said.”
Elizabeth smiled slightly. Now that she started to remember the world felt a lot less scary.
“It’s that room, right?” She didn’t exactly remember, but had a feeling that this was her room.
John nodded and opened the door. There were still boxes with her belongings in there. They had cleared out her office, but just couldn’t bring themselves to clear the room as well. What should they do with her belongings anyway? And they had enough rooms in Atlantis, so they didn’t need this one.
Elizabeth went over to her desk. A box with some of her things was standing on it. She ran her fingers over them.
“How long has it been since I … left?”
John watched her and then sighed. Too long.
“About two years,” he answered. Two very long years. Well, he had seen her again later but it wasn’t really her. It hadn’t been her body and she didn’t act like herself either. Not until the last minute, when she was willing to die to make sure that Atlantis was safe. The replicator version of her didn’t really count either.
Elizabeth turned around and looked at him. It must have been hard for all of them and especially for him, if what she had been dreaming about was true.
“Thank you for being there for me and making me feel welcome after all this time.”
John smirked. As if he could have not done that. Well, he shouldn’t, he thought as the guilt came back. But he wasn’t strong enough to stay away from her.
“You’re very welcome,” he said with a cheeky smile.
Elizabeth retuned the smile and then started to wonder if her dream really was true. She had kissed him. It wasn’t a long dream, or she didn’t remember more of it. It was just the kiss and then she woke up, feeling happy and content. There was more between them than just friendship, right? She felt like there was more.
“Do you want me to help you unpack?” he asked.
“If you don’t mind,” she said. Any excuse to spend more time with him was welcome. She liked his company a lot and she had to find out if her dream was true. But if there was more between them why didn’t he tell her? Was he trying to wait until her memories came back so he wouldn’t scare her? Somehow that seemed like something John Sheppard would do. He was always concerned about others, always tried to keep people safe and always risked his life in heroic ways. Elizabeth frowned as those thoughts triggered memories. It was like pictures or short videoclips of past events came rushing at her.
Elizabeth swayed slightly, feeling overwhelmed by all the memories. She saw John lying on the ground as Carson Beckett tried to revive him. Then he came towards her and someone who was holding her hostage. The man wanted to take her through the Stargate, but John shot him and saved her. Then he talked to her, telling her that he had to do something and that she knew it. The scenery changed and she watched his jumper leave on a screen. He was flying off on a suicide mission to save the city and everyone in it.
When he saw her sway John stepped towards Elizabeth and quickly steadied her.
“You okay?” he asked feeling concerned.
Elizabeth blinked. Then her eyes focused on John and the memories stopped coming at her. He was standing right infront of her, holding her arms to steady her. He was so close that she could smell his scent. Even that was familiar. She remembered how he smelled! How could there not be more between them than friendship?
“Elizabeth?”
His voice brought her back to the presence. “Yes. I’m fine. I just remembered… You were willing to die to save us,” she stated, starting to feel a little odd. What if he really had died? She let him go and he would have died if the Daedalus hadn’t shown up at exactly the right moment.
John was a little surprised about her words.
“Yeah, well… I guess we were out of other options,” he stated with a shrug.
Elizabeth stared at him. He said that as if it was nothing.
“Could you try not to do that again?” she asked. She didn’t even want to think about losing him. She couldn’t remember everything of their lives together, but she knew that the very thought of him dying made her feel sick, lost and scared.
“I’ll certainly try,” John answered. He wasn’t entirely sure what Elizabeth had remembered, but he knew he wasn’t fond of the idea of sacrificing himself. He thought he had to do it way too many times already and he didn’t want to have to do it ever again!
Elizabeth watched emotions run over his face, but couldn’t read them. Her eyes then lingered on his face, his eyes, his lips. She couldn’t manage to look away. He was still standing so close and the images from her dream about kissing him came back to her.
Without even realizing what she was doing Elizabeth closed the distance between them and kissed him.
John was surprised and a little shocked when she suddenly leaned in and kissed him. He really hadn’t expected that. But it didn’t take long and instinct took over. He kissed her back, tasting her soft lips. He had thought about this a lot of times, especially after they had been taken over by Phoebus and Thalan. It hadn’t really been them kissing, but John remembered it and he had really enjoyed it. That however was nothing against the way this kiss felt. This was really her. His hands pulled her closer instinctively and held onto her as he deepened the kiss.
Elizabeth pressed herself against him before breaking the kiss to get some air. She was actually feeling a little dizzy and her body seemed to tingle all over as she stood close to him, breathing heavily. This definitely had to be the best kiss she ever got. Not that she remembered being kissed by anyone else.
A smile appeared on her lips as Elizabeth looked up at him.
John couldn’t believe what just happened. She had kissed him and what a kiss that had been! His body had started to react in ways it really shouldn’t. And what was he doing anyway? He couldn’t kiss Elizabeth! It was just wrong. It basically was his fault that she died! Just because he had always had a thing for her and she now actually seemed to be interested in him as well didn’t mean that he could do this. It was wrong to use her like that. She still couldn’t remember everything. She was vulnerable and not really herself.
The smile that had crept on his face vanished and he stepped back.
The happiness Elizabeth was feeling started to fade when John stopped smiling and stepped away from her. That couldn’t be good.
John ran his hand through his hair nervously, trying to gather his thoughts.
“John, what is it?” Elizabeth asked.
His eyes snapped to her when she spoke. He frowned, really not liking this. He hated situations like this and had to fight the urge to just run off. If it wasn’t for his guilt he might have actually left. But he already hurt her more than enough. She deserved better than him running away.
“We can’t do this,” he finally said.
“Why?” Elizabeth wanted to know, feeling confused. He had kissed her back and she was sure that he enjoyed it.
“You’re not yourself. You don’t remember…” She had no idea what he did to her and once she remembered she’d be furious, hurt and surely feel betrayed.
“I remember enough,” Elizabeth protested.
“No, you don’t!”
Elizabeth stared at him. What did he mean by that? What didn’t she remember? Had they broken up? Did something happen?
“Then tell me, John!”
John sighed, feeling resigned.
“I… I can’t.” He just couldn’t tell her what he did. He could barely manage to think about his failure in saving and protecting her. How should he talk about it?
Elizabeth’s eyes were fixed on him. Something bad had happened. She could see it on his face, in his eyes. She wanted to wrap her arms around him, and tell him that it would all be okay while holding him. But if she was at least part of the reason why he was feeling bad that probably wasn’t a good idea.
John still felt like running, especially as he felt her eyes on him. Then he suddenly heard Rodney’s voice over his radio.
“John, where the hell are you? The meeting is about to start!”
Crap, he had totally forgotten about that. Colonel Carter had scheduled a meeting about their new enemy. He had to be there.
“I’ll be right there,” he answered tapping his radio. This actually was a good way to leave.
“Elizabeth, I need to go. I totally forgot about this meeting and Rodney just reminded me.”
Elizabeth sighed, but nodded. They would have to finish this talk another time. Maybe she would even remember what upset him so much by then.
John saw her nod and turned around. He had no idea what to say, so he left silently.
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Day 8 - Atlantis class room:
John hurried into the room and quickly went over to Teyla, Rodney, Ronon and Amelia. Sitting down next to Teyla he tried to focus on Colonel Carter, who started to talk to them, and push away the thoughts about Elizabeth. But it wasn’t easy. Her kiss had thrown him completely off-guard.
“They look awfully familiar,” Ronon muttered.
“We’ve seen those ships before,” Rodney added loud enough for the whole room to hear him.
John finally snapped out of his thoughts and looked at the pictures on the screen in the front of the room. Yes, they had seen those ships before. He remembered it well.
Sam turned to Rodney and looked at him surprised.
“You have?” she asked. If they had come across this enemy before why was nothing in Atlantis database? They had compared the pictures Jonas brought them to all their files.
“Yes, we did,” John answered. “When that Daedalus took us to several alternate realities we encountered them in one. They attacked Atlantis and we helped fight them off.”
Hearing that, Sam remembered the incident. She had read a file about it, but never saw any pictures. Well, they probably didn’t take any.
“That’s good,” she said. Now they had even more information about who they were up against.
“No, it’s not,” Ronon stated, remembering his fight with one of them. They were really hard to kill.
“They were strong,” John added as an explanation. “Pretty hard to kill.”
“They might have been part machine,” Ronon added. It just didn’t really feel like he was fighting a human or even wraith.
Great, Sam thought. Why couldn’t they for once be up against an enemy that was easy to kill?
“I want you to write down everything you remember about these aliens. Then we’ll add it to the file and send a copy of it to everyone.”
John nodded. “Will do.”
“Alright, back to the ships.” Sam showed them some more images and told them everything they knew so far.
“Any questions?” she asked when she was finished. Noone answered.
“Okay, that’s it for today. All team leaders please come with me. We’re discussing team assignments now. The teams will be announced later today or tomorrow morning. First missions will be tomorrow.”
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Day 8 - Atlantis:
“How about something to eat?” Rachel suggested as she, Jason and Stephen left the meeting.
“Sure,” Stephen answered. He was pretty hungry himself.
Jason nodded and followed the two to the closest transporter. Within a few minutes they entered the cafeteria and went over to the buffet.
“So, how was it at the Arc?”, Rachel asked as she got herself some food. The two of them had been away for most of the day and Rachel had felt a little lost without them. Everything was still so new and it was easier if you weren’t the only one that was new. Well, there were other new people, but Rachel didn’t really know them so far.
“It was a little strange to be back,” Jason admitted while filling his own tray.
Rachel glanced at him. “You don’t wish you still worked there, do you?”
Jason shrugged. He really wasn’t sure. He missed the Arc and the people he worked with. But he was really excited about being in Atlantis as well. And he definitely liked the people he worked with now.
“I’m not going back, especially not before I’ve been out there.” He gestured upwards.
Stephen chuckled. Yes, going out to other planets really was something. He couldn’t wait.
Once their trays were full the three of them went to a table.
“How was it for you to go back?” Rachel then asked looking at Stephen. Everyone he knew thought he was dead. That had to be strange. Rachel couldn’t help but wonder how it would be if she ever got home, to her own reality. Her friends and family thought she was dead, too. How would they react to seeing her again? Well, there was no reason to wonder about it. She could never go home. The Ellimist bent the rules when he saved her. Who knew what would happen if Crayak ever found out.
“Definitely strange,” Stephen answered. “Before I got here I wasn’t really sure who to trust anymore at the Arc and who really were my friends. I’m pretty sure that I know now. And it was nice to see they missed me.”
That definitely must be nice, Rachel thought. She would love to know if her friends actually missed her. Things hadn’t always been easy and Rachel often felt like the other Animorphs thought she was crazy. Did they actually miss her when she ‘died’ or were they relieved to be rid of her? Rachel sighed. Maybe it was better that she didn’t know.
Rachel was pulled out of her thoughts when someone came to their table.
“Mind if I sit with you?” Laura Cadman asked. She thought it would be a good idea to get to know the new people better. And besides that, her alternative was to go sit with Rodney and his girlfriend. The two were making eyes at eachother and holding hands. Somehow she really didn’t like the sight.
“Of course not,” Jason said and made room for her.
“You’re Lt. Cadman, right?” Rachel asked, remembering her from their first day.
“Yes, Lt. Laura Cadman.”
“Do you have any idea about the teams or our missions tomorrow?” Stephen asked curiously.
Laura shook her head. “No, I don’t think anyone knows yet. I’m as curious as you are.”
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Day 8 - Atlantis conference room:
The team leaders just left the room after telling them their requests and thoughts. Jack and Sam were alone now and it was up to them to make the decisions.
After getting them something to drink Sam sat down next to Jack. All team members’ files were on the table infront of them.
“I think we really need to split up the old teams,” Sam stated. They had mentioned the possibility to the team leaders and they really weren’t happy about it. But sending a bunch of new people off-world on their own really wasn’t a good idea. Of course they hadn’t known what was out there when they stepped through the Stargate the first time, but that was different. They did have experienced personnel now.
“At least temporarily,” Sam added.
Jack nodded. He knew Sam was right, even though he could understand Mitchell and the others protests. He wouldn’t have wanted to mix up SG-1 either, while he was still its leader.
But he wasn’t a team leader anymore and he had to keep everyone’s safety in mind. Besides that it would mean, that he could place someone he really trusted on Mac’s team. He did feel rather protective about her.
“Okay, we’ll split them up temporarily,” he agreed. Then he placed the team leader files, which had photos of them pinned on the front, next to eachother.
“At least placing the russians and chinese is easy,” Jack said jokingly. He had promised them each a whole team.
Sam smirked. “Let’s check the requests first. The more people we can make happy the better,” she then suggested.
Jack nodded and placed the request list infront of them. Captain Harkness requested two team members and they were all new. But they said they had travelled to other planets before, so they should be fine with just one experienced Stargate member.
Together they went through the requests, talked about possible teams and after what felt like hours finally came to a decision.
Sam wrote the team announcements down while Jack put away the files.
“We really need more people. Ten teams just aren’t enough,” he then said. They had a lot more teams at the SGC and several in Atlantis. Too many good people had died in that attack.
Sam got up and stepped towards him. “I know. We’ll find more people. We’ll hold another test next week and find people to invite in the meantime,” she said, trying to reassure him. But she knew deep down that Jack wanted the old teams back. It was the loss of their friends and colleagues, more than anything else, that made them feel down.
She sighed and then grabbed the announcement list. “I’ll just hang this up. Then we can call it a day.”
“Finally,” Jack exclaimed and grinned at her.
“My room or yours?” he asked with a mischievous smirk.
Sam chuckled. “How about some dinner first and then you can pick the room.” She knew they had to be careful and discreet about their relationship, but she was glad that he hadn’t decided to break up with her because they worked together again. Sneaking around and hiding was better than pretending to be just friends.
“Fine, let’s go.”
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That's it for now.
I made another videoclip. It's about the new enemy. I cut together what happened when John's team met them in the alternate reality. That should give you some information, incase you haven't seen the episode or need a reminder. ;-)
I also made some manipulations and icons for this fanfic. You can find them together with other icons here.
poster / book cover for this chapter:
chapter 14