A/N: I'm sorry... really, I am. I know I have other stories I should work on... a lot of them. But... I wants feedback on this idea. I have about 8 pages written in Word and I really can't stop thinking about this idea. And it's horrible because this preview is so short and I have Fixing Destiny and Sang Real to work on (and like three other AUs that have popped onto my hard drive mysteriously... *looks at fingers in betrayed horror*). I think I need a beta. Really, guys, I need someone who will read my WIP and point me in the right direction and give me ideas and not let me abandon my stories for six months. Anyone? Ok, onto the actual story: Spoilers for Stargate: Continuum and at least a rudimentary knowledge of SGA going ons up to 'The Seed.'

Not Alone: Atlantis Continuum

"Go." General O'Neill gasped out his final words, ordering them through the gate. Colonel Carter stared in shock as her closest friend (and recently more than that) for the last ten years died in her arms. Mitchell pulled her up and shoved her towards the gate.

Meanwhile, in the Pegasus galaxy…

"Are you sure you got everything, Rodney?" Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard teased the wayward scientist as he rushed up. The man glared at him indignantly.

"I believe so." He answered snidely. Sheppard smirked.

"I don't get why you had to bring along so much stuff anyway; it was just a ceremony for Torren, not a weeklong trip to Wraith-infested territory. I mean, really, two laptops?" Sheppard raised his eyebrows. "And all this Ancient interface stuff? What exactly have you been up to these last two days?"

"Well pardon me for not wanting to stop on this project I've been working on for the last three months." He harrumphed and rolled his eyes. "I've been trying to create an interface program that even your most boneheaded grunts could use."

"Does this mean you don't count me in that group? Rodney, I'm touched." Sheppard grinned good-naturedly as he waved his hand in dismissal. The guy really had come a long way. Their conversation was interrupted by the rest of their group arriving. Ronon, Dr. Keller, and Teyla, with Torren tucked into a carrying sling, all walked into the clearing carrying their bags. "Where's Kanaan?"

"He will be following shortly. His family wished to speak with him as he has decided to return to Atlantis with Torren and myself. I do not want to intrude, not when he is sacrificing his ties to the others by living in Atlantis and not on New Athos." Teyla adjusted Torren carefully, not wanting to wake him. They had spent the last two days on New Athos, settling in the recently rescued Athosians and finally celebrating the Torren's birth with an Athosian version of a christening. Keller was here to a) keep an eye on John who had insisted on coming despite the fact he was still recovering from having the Wraith hive tendril stabbed into his still tender side and b) to finish her checkups on the Athosians. The fact that it was Torren's first gate trip made everyone a little nervous (despite knowing that many Pegasus natives had carried their newborns through the Stargate for millennia) and Keller's presence had reassured the new mother and her (slightly) overprotective teammates.

"All right dial it up, Rodney." Sheppard ordered, McKay moving before he'd even finished speaking. Yes, the Pegasus galaxy had done wonders for his disposition. Their IDC was sent and they stepped forward into the gate, eager to return to Atlantis. Sheppard and Ronon, always wary, lagged a half-step behind and were the only ones to see the slight blurring as reality seemed to shift. Before they could react, their momentum carried them into the wormhole.

***

"Oh..." Rodney's voice trailed off, doubtlessly ending in some profanity too harsh for Torren to learn just quite yet. Instead of being greeted with a brightly lit gate room with Woolsey looming over them to welcome them back, Atlantis was dark. It was pitch black as they stepped in, only brightening as the two with the gene made their way into the center of the room.

"What?" Sheppard looked around and immediately assumes the worst. "Damn it, Rodney, not again!"

***

A/N: My A/Ns are longer than the story... crap. So please, someone needs to ride herd on me and make sure I work (besides college work that is probably slightly higher on my priorities... at least it should be) on this stuff. Please give me honest feedback! And no FLAMES! I got a sorta almost one on Fixing Destiny and I haven't been able to write anything for the last two months out of pure self-doubt.