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Adam Stackhouse walked down the hallway of Atlantis unaware of what was to come.

Sheppard had asked him to check on the scientists in the labs; McKay was in a bad mood today, the evidence was in everyone's ringing ears and their reluctance to use their radios. He ducked into Kavanaugh's lab and found the man fuming at his desk, muttering under his breath about pudgy, over bearing astrophysicists who always had to be right even when they were wrong.

In Adam experience, even though he didn't know McKay as well as Sheppard, McKay was never, ever wrong.

He left before Kavanaugh spotted him and decided to make another of his famous complaints. They were famous for a reason.

Heading down the hallway he passed some familiar faces and some unfamiliar faces, he really didn't spend that much time down in the labs, it was scientist territory and if you were a soldier you avoided it like the plague unless you were willing to be a guinea pig or mule. The soldiers swore on their graves and on everyone else's that the Atlantis scientists had some sort of soldier radar, when ever a soldier even walked by the labs or took the transporters past the labs they always got stopped to help with something, which was usually rather painful depending on which scientist you were helping, no matter how stealthy they were.

Only one soldier, Bates, had ever managed to make it past them and after that the scientists had made a point of watching for him, of course Bates had then reminded them who exactly was head of security on Atlantis and they'd stopped bothering him.

Up a head Miko came running out of McKay's office crying, Simpson hurried after her yelling a few choice words back at McKay. No one but the other scientists seemed to understand why she always went back to McKay.

He stepped out of the way so they didn't run into him then slowly, inched his way into McKay's lab. The scientist was looking over several experiments and muttering about incompetent helpers.

"Dr. McKay?" he asked softly, the scientist jumped and spun around, his eyes wide.

"Hun? What? What, what? What do you want Sgt.?" He snapped irritably. Stackhouse raised an eyebrow.

"I just wanted to see if everything was okay?"

"Congratulations you're the first man to ask. Now go away!" Stackhouse sighed and left.

The mess hall was empty except for two nurses who were talking in the corner.

"Hey, Adam the first man of the day!" The cook yelled from across the mess hall. Stackhouse smiled and walked over.

"Hey, Cook. What's going on?"

"Nothing, it's one of the slow hours of the day; you're the first guy and the first soldier I've seen today. Sit down I'll get us something to drink." He reemerged several seconds later carry two cups of what Atlantis called coffee and they spent a couple hours talking about home and the latest planet they'd visited.

Afterward he headed to the medical bay to check on things there.

Carson was running diagnostics on some of his equipment and looked up when he walked in.

"Sgt. Stackhouse, ye're the first person to come see me today! What brings ya here laddie? Are ye injured?" Carson looked worried.

"No I'm fine, I was just checking on things."

"Ah, well every things fine here. But thanks fer comin to see."

"No problem Doc." Stackhouse nodded and left.

I wonder where Jamie is? Stackhouse sighed and ambled down the corridor of the lost city. Jamie Markham was nowhere to be found and Stackhouse was getting bored. He decided to head towards the rec. room where the soldiers spent most of their down time. Jamie had brought every movie from the past two years from award winners to unknowns that made no sense. The two of them and a few others spent most of their down time trying to figure out what the heck was going on instead of enjoying the movie. Adam's favorite was Absolon with the guy from Highlander and Lou Diamond Philips.

When he got to the rec. room it was empty, he sighed. Figured the one day he had off every one else was busy. He grabbed Absolon off the table and popped it in the DVD player and made a bowl of popcorn. He started the DVD, grabbed a soda, and dropped down on the couch.

The voice over started and it always made Stackhouse remember the Sundays he spent in church when he was a kid.

Man has always been as arrogant creature,

Well yeah look at what they were doing now!

from the moment we emerged from the shadows of evolution standing upright we took it upon ourselves to be masters of our destiny

nothing wrong with that, if anything more races should do the same thing.

with each step we moved on; ever forward, seldom looking back at the path of destruction we left behind us, the answers for our problems would come tomorrow -- -- always tomorrow.

Sadly enough that was true to. It made Stackhouse think…he needed to talk to someone…before tomorrow.

Somehow they seemed safer there and so we piled them up on top of another as if doing so would protect us from the inevitable but the one thing everyone seemed to forget is tomorrow always comes. And when it did we weren't prepared for it.

Kinda like when we found the Stargate.

It swept across the land toppling nations until the world was almost in a great silence.

Kinda like the wraith.

Only then could we see what we had done. Only then could we see the price of our arrogance and yet the human race always seems to be at its very best when things are at their very worst.

That was true and a very reassuring thought and Adam felt a burst of pride at his race and his country.

Even in our darkest hour, destiny always forces one person to step forward, even if he never planned to…

Wow, that sounded like Gen. O'Neill, or Dr. Jackson, destiny should have to bow down to Jackson for the rest of his life for what it had made him do, or Major Sheppard, he was like O'Neill and Dr. McKay he was kinda like Jackson, everyone on the Atlantis expedition was like that and he imagined everyone at the SGC was too. Wow, feeling of pride again.

"Oh my god, tell me your not watching that movie again!" Adam jumped and turned at the sound of his voice. Jamie Stackhouse was standing behind the couch, in his relaxing cloths, frowning at the TV with his adorable pout.

"What's wrong with it?" Adam asked.

"Gessh, don't get defensive Stack." He jumped over the back of the couch and dropped down next to him, a hand immediately honing in on the popcorn. Jamie was like that. Over-friendly was the only way Adam could think to put it. Jamie acted like he'd known everyone his entire life, it didn't bother most people, it didn't bother Adam either, just intrigued him. "You're the first man I've seen since I got back." Jamie told him, and Adam caught the look out of the corner of his eye even though he knew Jamie thought he didn't.

"Yeah, I've been getting that a lot today." Adam sighed.

"You make it sound like it's a bad thing?" Jamie muttered. "You got Paradise and Eve to yourself for the entire day!" Jamie grinned and Adam groaned, again with the first man jokes. "Wait, oh no!" Jamie looked horrified and Adam had the intense urge to strangle him. "Tell me you didn't!" Adam twitched. "Oh no, you did, didn't you! You took the apple!" Adman lunged for him and Jamie, laughing his head off barley got out of the way in time. "Stacks I told you not to take the apple, it s bad for you!" Jamie tsked him and Adam went for him again. They ended up wrestling around the rec room laughing.

And then it all changed….