Disclaimer: I don't own the Atlantis characters but I enjoy borrowing them from time to time. Absolutely no money is being made and this is strictly for R and R.
Spoilers: None but maybe the Eye just to be safe.
Summary: A little one shot balcony scene. Elizabeth has a small problem and John comes to the rescue. What have they discovered that's so special about John and what does it have to do with the ancient gene? Fluffy science and John/Liz friendship.
A/N: This is a little something I wrote a while back. This is a side trip to my longer, more serious fic which I promise to get back to and hopefully finish, soon. Thank you all for your patience and many thanks to Kris McSherry for betaing.
Helping Hands
By Saharasia
Dr. Elizabeth Weir was having a little problem. It was a late evening on Atlantis and she had decided to take a walk to see if she could ease her ills. Elizabeth ended up on a small balcony close to the general quarters. It was used very little being tucked away in a very private alcove. There was a cool breeze blowing and the sea was calm compared to the rage it had become a few weeks ago during Atlantis' first super hurricane. The sun's final embers were painting a purple and magenta sky.
The balcony was not as private as it appeared, apparently, since a curious Major Sheppard approached the same balcony and noticed a lone, troubled-looking, figure standing at the railing looking out over the calm waters and setting sun.
He could not resist the strong pull of inquisitiveness tugging at his sleeve, especially since it was Dr. Weir standing out there, and decided to crash her private party. He was sure she wouldn't mind. She looked awfully lonely standing out there on her own, the breeze making her hair dance around her face. The Major could almost hear her wishing for some company; a bold assumption on his part.
He made his way through the glass doors and out to the balcony not being shy about making his presence known. As he slowly sauntered over to where Elizabeth was, he decided on a very, overused cliché to break the ice. "Come here often?"
"Major Sheppard," Dr. Weir acknowledged turning slightly towards the Major, smiling tightly. "What brings you out tonight?"
The Major taking that as an invitation despite the coolness in her voice, stepped up to the railing and leaned his forearms on the edge mirroring Elizabeth's position. He propped a foot up on a lower rung as if he were roosting at a bar taking in the dusky ocean view.
"Nothing much, I was just out for an evening stroll when I notice you out here…alone," he added casually.
Dr. Weir fell silent without anything else to add to what little conversation they were having. The Major noticed that she had a tight look on her face and her eyebrows were knitted together. He imagined this was how she looked when he and the team were long overdue from missions.
His curiosity was now beyond its maximum and he just had to find out what was on her mind. "So…what are you doing out here?" he asked tentatively.
"Just thinking," Dr. Weir answered in her business like voice still looking out at the calm waters.
"Just thinking? Are you sure that's all it is?" Major Sheppard pressed.
Does anything get past this man, Elizabeth wondered to herself. "Just alone with my thoughts," she made a weak attempt to brush him off.
The Major didn't fall for it. "Come on, what's wrong?" he asked turning completely to the side to face her still leaning with one arm on the railing hoping his carefree approach would help her open up.
"Nothing's wrong," she countered in a forceful voice now wishing he would just go away.
"Come on, you can tell me," he prodded in a lilting, coaxing manner.
"No really, John, nothing's wrong."
Oh, oh. She used his first name. Something was definitely wrong. He let a few split seconds of time flow between them before trying again.
"Are you sure?" He had to try just one more time. He wouldn't be a good friend if he didn't, right, he reasoned to himself.
"I'm sure…it's just that…" she trailed off realizing she had lowered her resolve.
Hah…he had baited her. "It's just what?"
"It's just that…" Dr. Weir paused once more thinking twice before revealing her deepest, darkest, secret, "I'm cramping," she reported quickly turning her head to face away from the Major as far as she could, her cheeks pinking slightly.
"You're what?" the Major exclaimed mildly surprised with an incredulous look on his face.
Oh…I can't believe he's making me say this again, "I have cramps," she half whispered, half shouted now rounding on the Major facing him with a scowl on her face.
Wow…John thought…there's a statement I haven't heard in a long time. "Are you okay," he asked, genuinely concerned raising his eyebrows making a face that looked like a little surprised puppy. He recalled how much trouble his sister used to have during that time.
"I'm fine, it's nothing really," Elizabeth dismissed turning back to lean on the railing.
"You still get cramps at your age?" he asked. It was a totally innocent question.
"What do you mean at my age? It's not like I'm menopausal. I'm not that old," she bristled now fuming.
Uh oh, she sounded steamed. He'd better do some damage control quick. "What I meant was I thought that just happened to young women in their teens."
"Where are you getting your information from?" she asked in an I can't believe you just said that voice.
"Hey, sorry," the Major raised his hands up in a self-defensive gesture, "Obviously not from the right source. Why don't you take something for it?" he suggested.
"Well, excuse me, but I didn't remember to pack the big thousand count bottle of Midol I had in my medicine cabinet," she snapped sarcastically.
Major Sheppard did his best but he just couldn't conceal his smirking at her comment.
"What are you laughing at," she asked now at a high state of irritation looking like she was ready to smack him across the face.
"Okay, okay. I'm sorry. So why don't you go see Dr. Beckett?
"Like I said before, it's nothing, John. Really! It's not anything I can't handle." She was now way beyond irritated. How dare this flyboy insinuate that she couldn't handle a little pain. In her years of diplomatic service, this was one of the last things that was usually on her mind and not the worst she's ever had to endure in her life.
"Okay, you don't have to get so grouchy about it."
"Grouchy? Who's grouchy?" This time she looked like she was ready to toss him overboard to the inky blackness below.
They were both facing each other now just about nose to nose with each other. The Major still couldn't manage to wipe the smirk off his face and he swore she saw smoke coming out of Elizabeth's ears.
"Well, I'm sure the Doc has something for this sort of thing."
"I don't need to bother Dr. Beckett with this," she said her voice cracking slightly and turning back to the railing her eyes cast down. This time she had a hurt look on her face.
The mood swing didn't escape the Major. "Hey, I'm sorry." Not ready to give up on her just yet, he made another suggestion. "How about checking with Teyla? I'll bet her people have some sort of medicinal tea for this sort of thing."
The Major made this suggestion remembering the first time he had met Teyla and her people and how they had been invited to have morning tea with them. He recalled how the tea seemed to be partly responsible for their good rapport leading to the formation of the fledgling bond between their two peoples.
Elizabeth realizing how much John really was trying to be helpful softened her demeanor, "Herbal tea? I hadn't thought of that." Dr. Weir, being a coffee drinker, had never really considered drinking tea much less for healing purposes.
"How do you know about herbal teas," she probed now curious.
"Oh, my grandmother. She used to shove them down our throats when we were kids. She swore by them and actually grew some herb plants in her backyard. I'll tell you what, as much as we hated them, we were never sick."
"That's interesting. Was your grandmother some type of herbalist?"
"Nah…she was like, half Native American or something. She learned it form her grandmother who learned it from hers and so forth," he explained.
"So was she a Shaman of sorts?" Elizabeth, having brokered some negotiations with Native American tribes had done some research on their customs and beliefs and was familiar with the concept of the tribal Medicine Man.
The Major had a pensive look on his face trying to draw from his distant childhood memories. "Hmm, you could say that. She always tried to get me to learn what she knew. She said something about me having the gift or the sight or something like that."
"Did you ever pick up anything from her?" Elizabeth asked her interest now peaked.
"Nah, not really, I was more into playing football. I learned a few basics but that was it. She died before I could fully understand it." The Major searched his memory. "Although, there was this one trick she showed me to take headaches and minor pains away. If I concentrate hard enough, I might still be able to do it. My grandmother taught me that we could use our hands to channel energy and use them to heal."
"May I," the Major asked moving behind Elizabeth raising his hands, indicating that he wanted to place them on her shoulders, "It might help you with your little problem."
Elizabeth, now fully intrigued said, "Sure, it couldn't hurt." She was game for trying something new and was open minded enough to think it might help.
John closed his eyes and took a few deep concentrated breaths as he lightly placed his hands on Elizabeth's shoulders barely touching them. After a few seconds, he intuitively moved his hands down her spine stopping at the small of her back.
"John, I can feel something. There's heat radiating from your hands. That's incredible, I'm really feeling something." Dr. Weir was not hiding her excitement.
The Major was paying only half-attention since he had gone into a trance-like state.
"John? Major?" Elizabeth called a little louder.
"Hmph…wow," he shuddered breaking away abruptly waking up form his trance. "Uh…that's never happened before, at least not that strongly. Of course, I haven't done this in a long time," he commented looking at his hands in disbelief, feeling them tingling and becoming aware of how hot they had become.
Dr. Weir suddenly got an inspiring thought. She turned around to face the Major. "John, what if it's your gene? What if being on Atlantis has somehow triggered or enhanced your natural ability?" she was really excited now.
John soaked in this revelation. "Are you kidding, Dr. Beckett and McKay will be all over me if they found out about this."
Elizabeth continued, "What if all the people on Earth who are the Shamans, the psychics, spiritual healers, and Reiki masters, all of those people who claim to have some sort of special ability. What if it's because they carry the Ancient's gene?" Dr. Weir was so pumped up about her theory she had started to pace the length of the small balcony.
"That would explain a lot." The Major simply added following her with his eyes as she traversed the length of the balcony floor.
"Didn't your grandmother say you had the gift? She probably passed the gene to you through your mother." The city reacted to the Major's thoughts, so it didn't seem a stretch to make a connection to his developing his latent healing abilities.
"Maybe some bloodlines and genetic make-up have the capacity for a stronger gene than others," Weir theorized. "Perhaps a child with parents that both have the gene would have more enhanced abilities," Elizabeth offered.
"Jesus Christ," John exclaimed getting in on the excitement.
"What's wrong?" Elizabeth asked in a concerned voice.
"No, I mean, Jesus Christ might have had an exceptional concentration of Ancient genetics from both sides of his family which would explain his ability to heal and literally raise the dead. There's a conspiracy theory claiming that he married and had children of his own. The theory is that Jesus, from the line of King David who was said to have special powers himself, married Mary the Magdeline and that the story in the Bible of him changing water into wine, was at his own wedding. There is that family in France, the Merovingians, who claim to be descendants of Christ and are the keepers of the Holy Grail. Maybe that's code for the ancient gene and its concentrated powers among certain family lines. Jesus may have had to marry Mary Magdeline to keep the bloodline going strong."
"Yes, I agree, and this may also explain the mystics in India who are claimed to perform miracles such as Sai Baba." Elizabeth chimed in. "There may also be something to be said for royal bloodlines that insisted on marrying within the family, cousins marrying cousins to keep the genetics pure. It may be no coincidence that many of these ruling families have been in power for centuries having discovered the usefulness of the ancient gene."
"Maybe that's what all of the genetic experimentation in Nazi Germany had been about with Hitler wanting to create the master race," John added. "He might have been unknowingly trying to find the children with the ancient gene believing that it was possessed by kids with blond hair and blue eyes."
"That might also explain why the Jewish people consider themselves the chosen race or why the Pharoahs of Egypt felt they were favored by the Gods." Elizabeth concluded.
Elizabeth had long forgotten about her little problem in her excitement. "Oh, John, we have to let Rodney and Dr. Beckett know about this," she insisted.
"Whoa…wait a minute. I'm not about to be turned into a lab rat."
"Are you kidding me? This could be the discovery of the century"
"Yeah, but who's it going to benefit from this other than the Doc's and McKay's curiosity? It's not like we can tell everybody back on Earth about it, anyway" he reasoned or at least he hoped he was talking some sense into Elizabeth.
"That's true, but at some point you're going to have to allow them to study this. Can you imagine the implications and applications?" They had both made their way back to the balcony railing each very pleased with their theorizing.
"For now," John turned to Elizabeth, "I think I would like to just continue practicing on you."
"Hmm…sounds good to me. I believe I am still feeling a bit crampy."
"Well, allow me." John offered as he reached from behind wrapping his arms around Elizabeth's waist placing his warm, gentle hands on her abdomen.
"I feel a little guilty about having you all to myself," she stated as she snuggled up to him soaking up his healing powers.
"Don't be," he whispered invitingly in her ear.
Both stood looking over the sea, John resting his chin on one of Elizabeth's shoulders. They watched together as the last rays of the sun disappeared behind the watery horizon leaving behind a blanket of velvety blackness dotted by tiny pinpricks of light in its wake and two very contented companions.