SECOND CHANCES

Description: When Rodney tries to find data on an Ancient machine, things go badly wrong. Elizabeth is thrown forwards in time, but what has happened in her absence?

Disclaimer: I don't own Stargate Atlantis, or the characters or Stargate SG-1. Anything you recognise is not mine.

A/N: Not my usual style, in fact, my first story that isn't humor based. This is only going to be a two chapter thing and I've written the other chapter, so it'll be up in a couple of days. Well, I hope you enjoy!

CHAPTER ONE

"It's definitely important," Rodney McKay announced happily to his small audience while holding a small flat liver disk out for them to see. "Very important."

"I see," offered Elizabeth Weir politely, she didn't, but that wasn't the point.

John rolled his eyes. 'You still don't know what it does, do you?"

Rodney looked at him irritably. "I'm about to find out. I thought you both-" he indicated to John and Elizabeth "-might want to be here."

Elizabeth smiled at Rodney to stop the two of them arguing- again. "Thank you, Rodney."

"Well." McKay was looked smug again. "The device, while small, is ingenious, It even contains it's own data base. Once I've turned it on, which I'm about to do, I'll be able to access that data base."

From his chair Zelenka muttered something in Czech and shot a dark look at Rodney. Elizabeth decided that it probably had something to do with the fact that he would have to help Rodney access and then read through the data.

"Go on then," John told him. "Access the data."

Rodney held out the silver disk, which was actually a very complex Ancient machine, out to Elizabeth. "Hold this."

Elizabeth looked at it in alarm. "Why?"

"Because," ground out Rodney, failing to hide his impatience. "I don't want someone with the ATA gene holding it while I'm turning it on and Zelenka will be helping me turn it on. I need you to tell me if it starts vibrating."

John raised an eyebrow. "Should it start vibrating?"

Elizabeth had been wondering the same thing.

"Yes!" snapped Rodney and held the device out to Elizabeth again. Reluctantly, she took it.

Rodney picked up his computer. "Zelenka program the frequency and send it to my computer, I'll channel it out."

"Frequency?" asked John. "I've never seen a machine that needs a frequency to turn it on."

Rodney shot him a look. "You have now."

Zelenka typed on his computer. "And… now."

Rodney pressed a few buttons on his computer. "We're channelling the frequency. Is the machine doing anything?"

"Yes," Elizabeth told him, holding the silver disk like it was about to bite her. "It's just started vibra-"

Elizabeth disappeared.

"What the…?" John yelled, running to where Elizabeth had been. "McKay!"

McKay's eyes had gone very wide. "That wasn't supposed to happen."

Zelenka swore in Czech.

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Elizabeth let out a small cry of alarm as she found herself standing infront of a dinosaur and not just any dinosaur; it was unmistakably a T-rex. Elizabeth took a step back, shocked. Had the machine taken he to another planet? At least she still had the machine- small favours.

The T-rex roared.

Elizabeth felt the need to be somewhere else, anywhere else. She turned to run… and found herself standing in a small café. People stared at her in shock.

"Sorry," apologised Elizabeth, unsure what else to say. Making to get out of the café she tumbled forwards and saw a newspaper.

The date was the 2nd of February 1955.

Time travel! Elizabeth could only guess that that was the answer, but it still didn't make sense that she was on Earth. She was sure it was Earth.

"How..?" someone in the café was brave enough to ask.

Elizabeth wished she was safe back in Atlantis, or at least the SGC.

The café was gone and she was standing in the familiar infirmary of the SGC. A doctor stared at her in surprise.

Elizabeth threw the Ancient device on the ground before it could do anymore harm, then she passed out.

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Elizabeth woke up slowly; wondering if she'd just had an exceptionally strange dream. Holding on to that thought she opened her eyes and found herself still in the SGC infirmary, but now she was lying on one of the beds. General Landry was looking down at her.

"Elizabeth!" Landry smiled but for some reason it looked almost forced. "Welcome back. How are you feeling?"

Elizabeth stared up at him; he sounded as if he'd been expecting her. Elizabeth struggled to remember everything that had happened since Rodney had turned on the machine. It had all happened so fast, too fast for her liking.

"A little confused," Elizabeth answered Landry.

"Hardly surprising. You may be interested to know that two months have passed since Dr McKay activated the Ancient machine you were holding," Landry informed her, then added. "We put it in the science labs by the way."

"Oh!" Elizabeth was surprised, but she guessed it did make sense. Then a thought struck her. "Have you… I mean, who's been in charge of Atlantis?"

"We haven't replaced you if that's what you're worried about," Landry assured her. "McKay insisted you'd turn up here on Earth eventually. Apparently the machine was something the Ancient Janus was working on, you'd have to ask McKay for full details."

Elizabeth nodded. "Then Colonel Sheppard was in charge? Can I speak to him?"

Landry's voice was grave. "I think you'd better come with me. The doctors here have already said you're free to go.

Elizabeth was slightly puzzled but obediently followed General Landry to the 'Gateroom where someone was speaking on loud speaker. She was relieved that the infirmary staff had left her in her uniform.

The wormhole was already active; Elizabeth looked up at a screen expecting to see Atlantis, and froze. On the screen wasAtlantis, but there was a full view of the Gateroom and it was crowded, but in the middle sat a coffin.

Landry shot her a sympathetic look, now she understood why he hadn't been in the mood for smiling.

Major Lorne was reading the eulogy.

"-he was know throughout the base and on many other worlds for his bravery and courage. He was an excellent leader. Most people on the base knew him well and know that he helped to keep a sense of safety with his stubbornness to never leave anyone behind. He will never be forgotten."

Elizabeth swallowed nervously. No. It wasn't possible, it just wasn't. Her eyes quickly scanned the crowd in Atlantis as the coffin was carried through the 'gate. No.

Rodney, Teyla and Ronon were all helping to carry the coffin, but someone was missing. Elizabeth refused to let herself admit it. She turned to Landry.

He looked regretfully at her. "I'm sorry."

Elizabeth swallowed again. "Who?" She already knew the answer.

"Colonel Sheppard," Landry told her quietly. "He died saving the rest of his team."

Elizabeth looked away, afraid she was going to cry. "Excuse me, I have to go."

She all but fled the 'Gateroom.

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Elizabeth sat in one of the spare rooms in the SGC, she'd been there for two hours. Just staring into space. Its couldn't have happened. Would it have been different if she'd been there?

There was a knock at the door.

"Come in." Elizabeth was surprised her voice didn't break.

Rodney and Teyla walked in.

"Ah, hi," said Rodney, he looked sad, so did Teyla. "I, uh, knew you'd appear eventually- that machine is programmed to transport between Atlantis and Earth. As you might've guess it does work quite right, it also sends things backwards and forwards in time, but it should've let you have some mental control over it…" He trailed off.

Elizabeth was surprised. Rodney talked when he was sad, or hungry, or scared, in fact, Rodney just talked to fill the silence.

"Are you alright?" asked Teyla gently.

Elizabeth looked down. "I'm not sure."

"Landry said you woke up to hear the ending." Rodney didn't look at her.

"Yes." Elizabeth looked up again, she had to know. "What happened?"

"Err…" Rodney replied unhelpfully.

"Are you sure you wish to know now?" questioned Teyla. "Perhaps you should wait."

Elizabeth shook her head. "No. I feel I should t least know how it happened."

"Fair enough." Rodney was being very abrupt which wasn't like him. Elizabeth knew that Rodney wasn't a people person or military. She wondered if he'd ever lost a close friend before.

Teyla held Elizabeth's gaze. "We were on M3X 5P2 attempting to establish a trading relationship with the people there. We had barely started when the wraith arrived, we were unable to escape the culling beam of a dart. It took us up to a hiveship."

Elizabeth closed her eyes for a second. God, not the wraith.

Teyla continued. "They took Colonel Sheppard to the Queen. Shortly after they took us out of the cell, I do not know where they were taking us."

"A cacoon probably," mumbled Rodney.

"Yes, probably," Teyla agreed. "There was only a small group and Ronon and I managed to overpower them. We found our way first to out weapons and then to John and the Queen. She was about to feed on him, Ronon got there to… disable the Queen's feeding hand. But we didn't see that the Queen had a knife, wraith usually do not carry knives." Teyla shook her head sadly. "The Queen stabbed John in the chest."

Elizabeth felt her blood run cold, it didn't seem fair.

"It didn't kill him," announced Rodney. "She missed his heart, just. So, uh, we killed the Queen and half-carried Sheppard to the dart bay, he was conscious but loosing a lot of blood. Only once we got to the dart bay did we realise that with Sheppard injured we had no-one to fly a dart."

"John volunteered," said Teyla. "Even though he was badly injured he flew us out of the hive. He must have got us through the Stargate as well because he rematerialised us on M8N 6D9."

Rodney looked at the floor. "I think after that he'd just lost to much blood to control the dart properly. He must've barely been conscious but he still didn't let the dart just drop, it glided off and landed a good distance east of the 'gate."

Elizabeth found herself holding her breath.

"The canopy was already open when we got there and John was struggling to stay conscious, we carried him to the 'gate." Teyla paused, tears filling her eyes. "He stopped breathing as we dialled the 'gate. Doctor Beckett was unable to revive him."

A long silence followed that statement.

"He died saving his team," Elizabeth finally whispered. That was what Landry had told her, and he was right.

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Later on, staring down at the coffin, Elizabeth knew what she had to do. John hadn't deserved to die, neither had the any of the other expedition members they're lost over the few years they'd been on Atlantis.

Yet Elizabeth knew she couldn't leave things this way. Sending one last look at the coffin, John's coffin, Elizabeth set of for the SGC's science labs.

"We put it in the science labs by the way."

"Some mental control over it."

"It's programmed to transport between Earth and Atlantis."

"It also sends things backwards and forwards in time."

That was what Landry and Rodney had said. Elizabeth reached the science labs and grabbed the small silver disk. She knew it was a small but powerful little machine.

Things couldn't stay this way.

"Some mental control over it."

Elizabeth concentrated hard.

I will fix this, John.

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A/N: Cliffhangers anyone? Now, press that nice big button down there that says 'review'. Criticism is welcome.