Disclaimer: They still aren't mine, dang it.
Summary: Missing scene/tag to Spoils of War in which John has problems with his shifting and somewhat confused DNA. Written in response to Merlin's badgering (you are such a nuisance – LOL).
Genetic Drift
By Titan5
John landed the jumper in the bay of the hive ship, knowing they had to hurry. "Stay here. I'll see if Teyla needs any help changing course and get everyone back to the jumper. Rodney, be ready to fly home in case something happens." Standing, he quickly headed to the lowering ramp in the back of the jumper.
"Wait," said Rodney, his eyes going wide. "What might go wrong? You're coming back, right? And bringing Teyla."
John flashed a grin at Ronon before answering Rodney. "We'll be back in a few minutes, just be ready to leave." Turning, he hurried down the back hatch and into the dart bay. Entering the control room a few minutes later, Todd almost ran into him on his way out.
"Whoa, whoa, where you going?" John asked.
The Wraith glanced back at Lorne and Teyla, both looking like they were ready to draw their weapon, and then faced John. "There is no more use for me here and I have no wish to accompany you back to Atlantis. I'm taking a dart." When John looked at him uncertainly, he sighed. "I am leaving, Sheppard. I spent years as Kolya's prisoner and I have no desire to serve as your prisoner any longer. Shoot me if you are going to, but I will not return with you."
John simply watched as the Wraith turned and left, then looked over toward Lorne and Teyla and shrugged his shoulders. "He did help us . . . sort of."
"Your call, sir," said Lorne with a shrug.
John rolled his lip in, still unsure if it was the right call, and then gave Lorne a small nod. Stepping up to stand beside Teyla at the control panel, he looked down at her. "You about ready?"
Teyla worked furiously for a moment before finally looking up at John. "Something is wrong. I can't seem to get the course properly adjusted. I think the ship may have some damage that is interfering with my attempt to change the heading."
"What can I do to help?" he asked, glancing at the unfamiliar controls.
Sighing, Teyla turned back to the panel. "Probably nothing. I will try again."
John looked up at Lorne and nodded his head toward the door. "Go ahead and get everyone to the jumper. I'll bring Teyla as soon as we get this fixed."
Lorne stood his ground. "Sir, I think we should –"
"Lorne, I said get to the jumper," John said sharply. His expression and voice quickly softened. "But thanks."
Lorne continued to stand there, looking at his CO. John had to appreciate the major. He was extremely loyal, a quality John much admired in his second. But he had also learned when it was time to listen to and obey his commanding officer, so he sighed loudly (no doubt for John's benefit) and headed for the jumper as ordered.
Turning back to Teyla, John reached out to set his hand on the panel. The light instantly brightened a bit as John felt like a small electric current surged through his body. "What the . . . " He gripped the panel as a wave of dizziness washed over him and then quickly passed.
"John?"
Information about the ship suddenly filled his mind, similar to what it was like when he connected to Atlantis. He was startled by the way he suddenly understood how the Wraith ship worked. He also knew he could help Teyla change course. "We can do it together," he murmured, still processing information in his head.
"John?" Her voice was louder and more insistent this time, so he turned to look at her. She looked almost as surprised as he felt. "You . . . you are connected to the ship?"
"Yeah," he said softly. "I'm just not sure how." His radio chirped about that time, startling him.
"If you two would quit gossiping and hurry up so we can get out of here before we're destroyed, the rest of us would appreciate it." John smiled at Rodney's barb, realizing that he had barely registered the continued shaking of the ship from the attack.
"Just give us a minute," he replied and then looked down at Teyla. "Let's do this and we'll figure out the hows and whys later."
Nodding Teyla took hold of the controls with him and they worked together to turn the course toward the facility on the ground. Three minutes later they were almost to the jumper. Once they had loaded on the small Ancient craft, cloaked, and left the hive ship, it was very satisfying to watch the huge ship crash into the ground below, completely engulfing the Wraith facility in a giant ball of fire.
"Let's get outta here," said John, turning the jumper toward the gate.
oOo
As soon as they arrived in Atlantis, Teyla headed for the infirmary while the rest of the crew briefed Colonel Carter about what had transpired. John was thankful that she was so relieved to hear the Wraith-cloning site had been destroyed that she didn't seem too disturbed about Todd getting away. By the time the meeting was over, John was anxious to get to his quarters. He'd had a headache since the Queen had done her thing in an attempt to get into his head and he was looking forward to a hot shower and his bed.
"Colonel?"
John froze in the doorway at the sound of Carter's voice and then slowly turned around. "Did we leave something out?" he asked.
"No, I just wanted to make sure you head to the infirmary for a check. From what I've read, an encounter with a Wraith Queen is not much fun."
"Been there, done that . . . several times." John hoped that was enough to get him off the hook. He really wanted that shower and some sleep. His whole body ached with a weariness that made him feel disconnected. Even his link to Atlantis seemed distant and incomplete.
Carter gave him her firm look. "All the more reason you should let Dr. Keller make sure you're okay."
Sighing, John gave in, not having the energy to push a fight he couldn't win. "Fine, I'll stop by the infirmary."
"Good," Carter said brightly. "I'll let her know to expect you."
"Thanks." John only walked a few feet before running into Rodney and Radek standing in the corridor talking. They joined him as he walked by.
"So what happened to the other Wraith?" asked Radek.
"You mean Todd?" asked John, not sure he understood what they were talking about.
"Don't ask," Rodney sighed when Radek looked rather confused.
They continued talking as they walked up the stairs, but the words of the two scientists were lost when John spotted Teyla out on the balcony. Pausing a moment, unsure if she would want to see him or not, he finally went out to join her. He was relieved to find out that she was all right, and that her baby (a boy, no less) was all right as well. After a few moments, he ended up comforting her in one of those awkward, emotional hugs that always left him wondering what to do with his arms. You'd think he'd be better at this by now, but his learning curve on comforting women was apparently rather shallow.
By the time she had recovered enough to excuse herself, his head felt like it just might explode. Grabbing the rail, he closed his eyes and rubbed his temples, beginning to wonder if he would make it back to his quarters. No, not his quarters, he was supposed to go somewhere. He couldn't think. Unsure of what he was supposed to do first, he finally decided to head for the shower and bed that seemed to be on the forefront of his thoughts. Whatever else he'd been supposed to take care of could just wait until he felt better.
When he arrived at his quarters, he almost ran into the door when his attempts at thinking the door open failed miserably. Palming the controls, the door slid open, allowing him to stagger inside. The headache had intensified to the point he no longer cared about the shower. Undressing almost on autopilot, he changed into shorts and t-shirt and crawled under the covers. He could still see the moonlight streaming in the window, even with his eyes shut, so he pulled the covers over his head. A niggling thought that Atlantis seemed far too distant got shoved back behind the pain, and eventually he was able to drift off to sleep.
It seemed like only moments had passed when people were fussing with him. The voices and touches were familiar, so he didn't panic, even though he couldn't seem to focus enough to figure out what was going on. He groaned and feebly pushed at whoever had his arm in a pitiful attempt to be left alone. All that jostling was making his headache worse.
"Colonel, you need to stop fighting me so I can figure out what's going on." The woman's voice was very familiar, but he simply couldn't focus enough to come up with a name. Worse still, he didn't care.
"Headache," he slurred, or at least tried to, as he made another feeble attempt at pulling away. There was a sudden flash of light in his right eye. As the headache escalated, nausea decided to join the festivities, and seconds later he was heaving up the last thing he'd eaten. About the time he began to choke, the hands lifted him upright. Zoning out a while, the next thing he knew, a damp cloth was wiping his face and he was cold. Someone was taking his clothes off and he couldn't figure out why anyone would do that, so he started to struggle again, flailing out at whoever was near.
"Ouch! Ronon, get useful and hold his arm down. Is my nose broken, because I really think it's broken."
"No, Rodney, it's not broken. Just please help us for a few more minutes and I'll take a look at it back in the infirmary."
John quit struggling, still having no idea what was going on, but somehow being completely certain that the voices and hands wouldn't hurt him. He tried to open his eyes, but there was light and movement that made his head hurt and his stomach protest, so he slammed his lids down again and kept them there. The voices and hands eventually faded away to leave a sweet, peaceful darkness.
oOo
"You brought me a lemon bar? So are you trying to kill me outright or are you really this dense? Oh, never mind, I get it now. You know I can't eat this, so you figure I'll give it to you and you'll get two desserts. Well, just forget it, Conan, cause I'm pitching it in the trash right now."
"Shhh," John managed to hiss, the loud voice making his head pound before he was even awake.
"Did he just shush me?"
"Yes, McKay, so be quiet. You know Keller said he'd probably have a killer headache."
The sudden silence made John want to open his eyes, but the instant he did, he had to shut them again. The light was just too bright.
"Come on, Sheppard, I saw you open your eyes."
"Leave him alone, McKay."
John tried again and was able to leave them open a small crack this time. A soft, warm hand slid around his about the time he brought Teyla's face into focus.
"Welcome back, John."
Managing a small grunt to acknowledge her comment, he tilted his head a little to the right. Ronon and Rodney stood just behind her, looking down at him in concern. Ronon broke into a big grin and nodded at him, leading John to believe that he at least he wasn't about to die of something.
Keller arrived, coming around to the other side of the bed to begin checking his vitals. When she brought out the penlight, he groaned out loud, prompting her to smile. "I'm sorry, Colonel. I'll be quick." She was true to her word, but the bright flashes still arched the pain behind his eyes upward.
"What happened?" he croaked out, blinking repeatedly to rid his vision of the flashing after-effects of the light. All he remembered was going to his quarters with a headache.
Keller sighed. "Do you remember getting back from the mission and briefing Colonel Carter?"
"Yeah," John replied. "Had a headache . . . wanted . . . to lie down."
"Well, you apparently decided to forego the post mission check in the infirmary and returned to your quarters. When we couldn't reach you, we went to your quarters to check on you and we couldn't get you awake." Keller was frowning by this point. "You had us a little worried for a while."
"Okay now?" he asked, still too weak to form a complete sentence.
Keller continued to stare at him in a way that made him decidedly uncomfortable. "I'm not entirely sure yet. I need to run a few more tests." She hesitated, then glanced at his team before returning her gaze back to John. "Teyla told us what happened on the Wraith ship."
John's eyes went immediately to Teyla, anger welling up inside him. Connecting with a Wraith ship hadn't been anything he had wanted to share. The pain in her face was the only thing that dampened his wrath.
"Don't be angry with her," said Keller. "I gathered your team to tell me everything they could about what happened, hoping something would shed some light on what was going on. Colonel, you've been unconscious and mostly unresponsive for nearly three days."
Three days? John sunk back into the bed, his mind whirring. He'd figured a few hours at most, not three days. It was then he noticed the IV, the monitors, and the catheter. No wonder he felt so washed out and empty.
"Colonel, are you all right?" Keller was looking a little worried.
John tried to smile, not sure the effort worked. "Why?" was all he could think of to say.
Keller hesitated again, making John even more nervous. "Did Carson talk to you about your DNA after the Wraith fed on you and then reversed the process?"
Sighing, John rubbed his hand across his face, noting the presence of lots of stubble. "Yeah . . . he told me about my freakishy mixed DNA. Part human, part Ancient, part Wraith, and part bug. Keep expectin' to morph into some mutant." His eyes suddenly widened as his gut clenched. "Is that –"
"No, no, of course not," blurted out Keller, almost in a panic. "It's just that . . . the Wraith part of your DNA seems to have become more . . . active."
"Oh, crap," John muttered, closing his eyes, squeezing them shut against the increase in pressure. "That's why she's won't talk to me."
"Who?" asked Teyla.
"Atlantis." He opened his eyes to see his friends staring at him.
"What do you mean?" asked Rodney, frowning.
How did he explain something to them he didn't fully understand himself? "The connection . . . it's almost too weak to feel. I couldn't open my door. Even now . . . " The constant hum that was Atlantis was barely detectable. He normally felt how things were going in the city, whether things were running smoothly or definitely when there were problems. He couldn't tell now. Atlantis was shunning him, shutting him out. It had to be because of the Wraith DNA.
"If the DNA had not been activated, we would not have been able to destroy the Wraith complex. We would have suffered the same fate as the Ancestors," said Teyla, squeezing his hand.
She was right and he knew it, but at this moment, he just wasn't sure it was worth it. He felt empty, abandoned. His head was pounding and the lights were bothering him even more than when he'd first awakened, which was beginning to make him feel nauseated. Closing his eyes, he tried to shut everything out and concentrate on maintaining control of himself.
"Okay, I think Colonel Sheppard needs to rest now." He wanted to hug Keller at that moment.
"He's been resting for three days. I need to talk to him about this Atlantis thing. He's the only one that can operate the chair properly." While John appreciated Rodney's desire to help, the only thing he cared about at the moment was keeping the pain at bay enough that he didn't scream or puke on everyone. Focusing on that, he was hardly aware as everything faded away.
oOo
John sat staring at the wall across the infirmary. He'd given up his attempts at seeking out Atlantis, at least for now. The effort had given him a headache.
"Where's your team?"
Turning his head, John looked at Keller's confused face. "I sent them away."
Keller grinned at him and then crossed her arms. "And how did you do that? I've been sending them away for the last two days and they just kept staying. Actually, I've been sending them away for five days if you add in the days you were unconscious."
Absently rubbing the side of his head, John sighed. "Told them I had a headache and could rest better if they left."
"Well, I believe the headache part," she said as she checked his IV. At least the monitors and catheter were gone, although he hated having to call for backup every time he needed to use the bathroom. "Is it worse than this morning?"
"About the same," John said. They looked at each other silently for a moment before John asked the question he figured she'd been waiting on. "So, how soon before I can get out of here?"
A smile slowly spread across her face. "Why, Colonel, I was starting to get worried," she teased. "Not for another day or two, until you're a little steadier on your feet. I'd also like to see that headache scale back a little before I let you out of my eyesight."
"Okay," he replied softly.
A frown furrowed her brow. "Now I am getting worried. You're being much too agreeable about staying." John shrugged his shoulders, but didn't respond. "This thing with Atlantis really bothers you, doesn't it?"
Diverting his eyes down to his feet, John shrugged again. "It's just . . . it's hard to explain. It's like something important is missing. It's like being in a room with family and you can't talk to them or interact with them in any way. And they can't see you . . . they don't know you're even there."
"That must be terrible," she whispered.
John turned his face away from her and chewed furiously on his lower lip.
oOo
"Anyway, I was thinking about what the Wraith queen said, about never encountering strength like yours or something to that effect. And I was also thinking about the number of times you've been interrogated by queens and how you always manage to resist them and I have a theory about that. You know how you've got the strongest ATA gene of anyone ever? Well, I think that's what helps you fight them, the strength of your gene gives you better resistance to their mind-probing techniques. What do you think?"
John saw that he and Rodney had finally reached his quarters. Knowing it was a waste of time, he tried to think the door open anyway. Nothing happened. Dejected, he stood staring at the closed door until Rodney sighed and palmed it open.
"Quit pouting and come in before you fall over," Rodney snapped, probably angry that John had never responded to his question. "So did you hear anything I said?"
"I heard," John said, dropping onto the edge of the bed. "I don't know Rodney. I have no freakin' idea, okay?" John winced when Rodney stared at him, his eyes wide and his eyes beginning to smolder. "Sorry, I'm just . . . out of sorts, you know?"
Rodney's expression softened a bit. "It's okay. I'll just . . . go away now that you're safely tucked away in your room."
"Don't!" John rolled his lip under for a brief moment, as surprised as Rodney looked at his emphatic request. "We could play chess."
Rodney looked like he might refuse for a moment, then startled John by nodding. "Okay, I could go for that."
John let out a deep breath. "Thanks. I'll, uh, just get the board." Walking over to a small set of shelves in the corner, he grabbed the chess set. He was a little concerned about how relieved he was to have a distraction for a while. The depressing feeling of being abandoned was increasing every day, making John feel like he was drowning in the quiet and stillness.
A few minutes later, they were deeply involved in their chess game, with John trying to put all his thoughts into strategy. He had Rodney sputtering with frustration in less than fifteen minutes. He was staring at the board, considering Rodney's possible moves and his resulting countermoves when the scientist's radio activated.
"What? Slow down, Radek, and speak English." Looking up at John, Rodney rolled his eyes. "Fine, I'll be there in a minute. Don't touch anything." Rodney stood up and reached for his jacket. "I've got to go bail Radek out, as usual."
"What's the problem?" asked John.
Shaking his head, Rodney headed for the door. "I'm not sure, something about a power failure out near the east pier. I wish your gene wasn't on the fritz because I could sure use you in the control chair." As the door slid open, Rodney turned around to face John. "You could come with me . . . maybe try to connect, you know, just in case."
Licking his lips, John warred with himself. He desperately wanted to try, thinking maybe if he just concentrated enough, he could reach Atlantis, make her hear him. But part of him was afraid this would just prove that the connection was gone forever. He wasn't sure how he would deal with that.
"Colonel?"
John looked up at Rodney's expectant face. He had never run from a fight in his life, and he wasn't about to start now. "Let's go."
They arrived at the chair room a few minutes later to find Radek and one of his assistants with a computer already connected to the chair.
"That's odd," said Rodney sharply. "I could have sworn I said not to touch anything. Touching, touching," he chanted as he slapped the assistant's hand away from the console against the wall.
"Rodney, quit scaring the help and just figure out what's wrong," scolded John. While Rodney connected his laptop to the console, John eyed the chair, missing the feeling of truly connecting with his city.
"Colonel, I was unaware you were out of the infirmary," said Radek. "Should you be trying to keep up with Rodney so soon?"
"Probably not," said John dejectedly. There was a low rumble that made the floor of the room tremble slightly for several seconds. When it stopped, John jerked his head around toward Rodney. "What was that?"
"No . . . no, no, no. This shouldn't be happening . . . stop, stop, stop."
"Rodney," John drawled. "What's wrong?"
"Oh my," whispered Radek as he stared at his computer screen.
"What?" John repeated, this time more forcefully.
"Uh, power just went off line to half the city, including the gate," said Rodney, his voice wavering a bit.
"We don't have control of the gate?" asked John, already thinking about the consequences if the Wraith or any of their other enemies picked now to invade.
"I think I just said that," snapped Rodney. "We need to fix this . . . now."
John took two steps and sat down in the chair, but before he could lean back to activate it, Rodney was there, gripping his forearm. "No, stop . . . I don't think you should do this."
"You're the one that said I should come give it a try," said John in exasperation.
"Yes, I know I was, but I changed my mind. Look, when I made that suggestion, I thought the problem was some minor power glitch we could fix in two minutes. It's more serious than that and . . . Colonel, I just don't . . . John . . . I don't think it's a good idea for you to try and link with the city right now. Maybe I could do it and Radek could man the computer." Rodney looked nervously over at his peer while motioning aimlessly with his hand in the scientist's general direction.
John gave a small smile. "I appreciate that, but this is my job and we need to get the power on line soon. We're sitting ducks right now and I don't like it. Just . . . let me try."
Rodney frowned, obviously not liking the situation, but finally nodded. "Fine, but if something doesn't feel right, you stop immediately."
"Yes, mom, I will," John said as he leaned the chair back. The light flickered for a few seconds before remaining dimly lit. John concentrated on finding Atlantis and linking with her. It felt odd since he'd never had to work at it like this before. After several fruitless minutes, during which he could hear Rodney and Radek urging him on in the background, John redoubled his efforts. Ignoring the headache that was steadily building, he pushed toward her with everything he could. It was almost like she was pushing him away.
His entire body was tensed with the effort, but he could feel himself edging toward the limits of his endurance. His body ached like a muscle that had been stressed to its max and was shaking on its way to failing completely. And then a crack appeared in the wall separating them. Focusing on the crack, on the small weakness, he pushed toward it, into it, making his mind touch Atlantis. After a brief flash of excruciating pain, he was in. The whole wall crumbled and he was connected, fully and completely.
"He's in, he's in." Rodney's voice registered somewhere on the periphery of his consciousness. "Concentrate on the power grid."
Information scrolled through his mind until he found what he was looking for and sent it to the screen in front of Rodney. "Good, good, I see the problem." For the next several minutes, they worked together to restore power. John was so focused on what he was doing that he was barely aware of the pain in his head. About the same time he became aware the problems were fixed, he heard Rodney. "Done! I did it, er, uh, we did it."
oOo
Jennifer Keller had just sat down with a fresh cup of coffee and a piece of dark chocolate from her secret stash when the lights went out. By the time she reached her office door, the emergency lights for the infirmary came on and her radio activated.
"Dr. Keller, please, it is Dr. Zelenka. We need you in the chair room."
"Dr., what's wrong?" she asked even as she began gathering medical supplies.
"I am with Dr. McKay trying to fix power problems and Colonel Sheppard is with us . . . in the chair . . . trying to help."
"What?" she almost shouted, her arms freezing in mid-air for a moment. "He's supposed to be in his quarters resting, not connecting to Atlantis from the chair. Is he conscious?"
"Yes, I think. He had a hard time making the connection and he looks like he is in pain. Oh, this is not good. His nose is bleeding."
"I'm on my way," she said as she grabbed the last of the needed supplies. Turning to the nurse going by, she patted a gurney. "Amy, I'm on my way to the chair room to check on Colonel Sheppard. You better have a gurney and team on standby in case they're needed."
The petite, dark-headed nurse nodded. "We'll be ready."
It took longer to get to the chair room than she had anticipated because the power was down and the transporters didn't work. She was a bit surprised to find the power on as she turned down the corridor leading to the chair room. Entering the room she had been summoned to, she heard Dr. McKay proclaim they were done about the same time she saw Colonel Sheppard.
Keller hurried over to her patient as the chair powered down and moved to a more upright position, nearly dumping the occupant into the floor. Fortunately Radek was standing there somewhat prepared and grabbed the man's arm to keep him from toppling out. Blood ran down his lip and chin, making a dark, wet puddle down the front of his shirt. Setting her bag down, she grabbed some gauze pads and began mopping up the blood on Sheppard's face in an attempt to see if he was still bleeding.
"What's going on?" asked Rodney as turned from his console and came over to stand behind Radek, immediately twisting his face into a grimace. "Oh, gah, what happened? Radek, you didn't hit him, did you?"
Zelenka looked horrified, his eyes going wide along with his mouth. "Of course not, why would you say such a thing? His nose simply started bleeding a few minutes ago, when I was calling Dr. Keller."
John opened his eyes, blinking a few times as if trying to focus. After determining that his nosebleed had slowed to a trickle, Keller was taking his pulse, which was racing. "Colonel Sheppard, can you hear me?"
John looked at her a moment, his brow slightly furrowed. "Yeah . . . Ro . . . Rodney?"
Rodney moved around to stand in front of the chair so John could see him. "Yeah, I'm here. We did it, the power's back on. Everything's okay."
"Cool," he breathed out and then grinned as he closed his eyes again. "She's back."
"Who?" asked Keller, looking around the room and noting she was the only female.
"Atlantis," Rodney said in an annoyed tone of voice before turning back to John. "Is . . . I mean the connection, is it, you know . . . good?"
John still had a silly smile on his face. "Yeah," he whispered. "We're good."
oOo
When John woke up, he found himself lying on his side facing the back wall of the infirmary. He was tired and achy, but for the first time in days, he didn't have a headache. More importantly, there was a calming hum in the back of his head and he could feel that all was right with Atlantis. "Missed you girl," he whispered.
"Talking to yourself is supposed to be a bad sign."
Smiling, John worked to turn over on his back, something made difficult by the presence of an IV and catheter. That seemed to back up the muscle lethargy that was telling him he'd been in the bed for a while. He watched as Rodney raised the head of the bed and then offered him a cup of water with a straw. John reached for the cup, his hand a bit shakey, only to have Rodney slap it away.
"Stop that, you'll just make a mess. You've been out for almost two days again. What's with all the sleeping, anyway?"
John had managed to get about two sips before Rodney jerked the cup away and set it back down on the side table. Rubbing the stubble on his chin, he looked up at Rodney. "Tired."
"Leave him alone, Dr. McKay, sleep is what he needed," said Keller as she walked up to stand on the other side of the bed. "How's the headache."
"Gone . . . finally. I'm good."
Keller and Rodney sighed and exchanged a doubtful look before returning their gaze to John. "I need to know how you feel . . . for real," said Keller.
John smiled, the grin a bit lopsided. "I feel pretty good, for real. I have that . . . been in bed too long heavy muscle thing going on, but nothing hurts. The most important thing is Atlantis is back." He frowned a bit and glanced at Keller. "What happened to me, anyway?"
Keller looked a bit uncomfortable, but cleared her throat and began explaining. "Let me tell you what I know, as opposed to what I think, for starters. You may remember I told you the Wraith DNA tag your friend left you had become more active right after you returned from the mission. Well, it's gone dormant again and your Ancient genes are once again showing a high level of activity."
John's frowned deepened as he chewed his lip a second. "How do you know that?"
"We've learned a few more things about the Ancient scanners lately and one of them is that we can track DNA activity."
Rodney's eyes widened. "Really? That's kind of cool. Carson would have loved that."
"Yeah," said Keller sadly. "He would have."
"So . . . I'm guessing the Wraith DNA and the Ancient DNA can't be active at the same time?" asked John.
"That gets into the guessing part," said Keller. "Judging from what I've seen, though, I think it's a safe bet that the two do not interact well, so that only on can be operating at a time, at least at full capacity."
John shifted a bit, processing the information as he thought about all that had happened. "Wait a minute. If I somehow . . . turned on the Wraith gene on the hive ship, then how did I fly the jumper back to Atlantis? That requires the Ancient gene."
Rodney nodded and took up the explanation. "You apparently have more than one gene that's been linked the Ancients. Carson told us that a while ago. Operating the jumper seems to only require one of those genes and even a weak gene can be used for basic flight. We don't think using the Wraith DNA completely shut off the Ancient genes, just knocked them way back where you had trouble accessing them."
John gave a brief nod. "That's why I could still kind of feel Atlantis at a distance, but couldn't seem to really connect to her. So how did I switch the Wraith DNA off and the Ancient DNA back on?"
"Mental component," said Rodney. "They both require a mental component. I'm betting when you activated the Wraith panel on the hive ship, you were thinking about running the ship to help Teyla." John nodded, so Rodney continued. "And when you were in the control chair, you were focusing on connecting to Atlantis so you could get the power back on and protect the city."
John let his eyes drift down as he thought about the implications of what they had just explained. "So, is it possible I could switch back and forth at will, activating whichever DNA I needed at the time?"
"Thank you!" exclaimed Rodney, waving one hand dramatically in the air. "That's what I said. I think with practice, you could do that. You could activate which ever kind of technology we encountered."
"I don't think that's a good idea," said Keller firmly. "Look what switching from one to the other does to you, Colonel. It's extremely hard on your body and we have no idea what the long term effects will be, especially if you did this repeatedly. I think you should stick to Ancient technology for now." She sighed and then shook her head. "That alone seems to be dangerous enough."
John rubbed the side of his head, remembering the intense migraine he'd had for several days. He wasn't fond of the idea of repeating that. And he'd desperately missed Atlantis, craved her touch actually. It was almost as bad as what he'd always imagined drug withdrawal would be.
"Okay, Doc, I'll stick to Ancient tech for now. But if we ever get in a situation where we need it –"
Keller waved her hand at him. "I know, Colonel. If you feel like it's needed, you'll use the Wraith DNA. I suppose I shouldn't expect anything else."
The sound of voices drew the attention of all three of them as Ronon, Teyla, and Colonel Carter entered the infirmary bearing several trays. "We brought food," said Ronon as he tried to set down a heavily laden tray on a table with one hand.
As soon as the smell hit John, his stomach growled loudly, earning him an arched eyebrow from Teyla. He grinned sheepishly. "Guess I'm hungry."
"Apparently," she said, setting a tray down.
John sat up straighter in bed, his gaze wondering around the plates. Some plates had chicken or turkey in gravy, while others had thick slices of meat loaf. All had mashed potatoes and some kind of vegetable casserole, with chocolate cake for dessert. John could feel his mouth starting to water as his stomach growled again. Teyla rolled the table over his lap and he looked down at the contents of his own tray.
"You're kidding, right?" John stared forlornly at the bowl of watery soup, small package of crackers, and square of red Jell-o.
"Sorry, Colonel, but that's it for now," said Keller, taking her own tray from Carter. "You haven't had anything to eat in two days and we barely had you back on solids before that. We have to start out slow or you'll probably just get sick."
"Did I mention I feel really good? I think real food would make me feel a whole lot better," John practically begged.
Keller just shrugged her shoulders. Teyla touched him lightly on the arm, distracting him from his pouting. "Are you really feeling well, John?"
"Yeah, I'm fine, except for the whole being really freaked out by my hybrid, mutant DNA. I just hope the IOA never puts all this together or I'm liable to end up in some lab being dissected."
Ronon stopped chewing a moment. "Would they really do that?"
"No, no, of course not," said Rodney in a condescending tone. "He's just being a baby because he didn't get anything good to eat."
John leaned over a little to peer down at Rodney's plate. He was just wondering if he could lean over a little father and snag a bite when Rodney apparently figured out what he was doing and slid his chair about a foot in the other direction, moving his tray safely out of reach.
"I think I could make a good case for us needing to keep you here in Atlantis, even if they do ever put it all together," said Carter. "You know, your odd combination of DNA puts you in a very unique position that could turn out to be very beneficial for your team, as well as Atlantis. It's already helped with the destruction of the Wraith cloning facility. And Rodney has this theory that your strong Ancient link helps you resist interrogation by the queens."
Shrugging his shoulders, John stirred his spoon around in his soup. "I know. Still makes me feel a bit like a freak when I think about it, though."
Teyla arched an eyebrow at him again, giving him her best look of annoyance. "Do you think I am a freak?"
John dropped his spoon, his eyes growing wide. "No, no, absolutely not. Look, Teyla, this is different. You have a little Wraith DNA added to you. I have four different things going on in here," he said, bumping his chest with his closed fist. "Having the Ancient gene weirded me out at first, but I got kind of used to the idea, especially since I've adjusted to the connection with Atlantis. But after almost turning into a bug and then the whole thing with Todd . . . I just feel . . ." Trailing off, he had no idea how to explain the way he felt. It was so weird that he usually chose to ignore it.
"You should know, John, that we do not think of you as weird or as a freak, any more than you think of me as one. We are all unique in our own way. Ronon is not a freak because he is tall and very strong. Dr. McKay is not a freak because he is much smarter than the rest of us." Teyla nodded toward Rodney, who was grinning proudly.
"Well, I'm not so sure about that, but I see what you mean."
Glaring at him, Rodney snorted loudly. "You may not be a freak because of your DNA, but that doesn't mean your goonish ways or your bizarre sense of humor don't make you one."
John laughed. "Thanks, Rodney." Looking back at Teyla, he winked at her. "And thanks, Teyla. Sometimes I forget how accepting family can be."
Ronon leaned over Rodney's shoulder and cut his cake in half with one of his huge knives. Spearing one part even as Rodney yelled, he plucked the cake off the plate and stepped over to set it on John's tray. "Here, I think you need cake."
"You stole my cake!" whined Rodney. "I can't believe that. You just swiped half my dessert for someone who can't even eat it."
John almost laughed at the expression on Rodney's face when he realized the pilot had already stuffed the cake in his mouth before anyone could take it away from him. "'ank 'ou 'onon," said John, his voice muffled by the cake he was trying to chew.
"Oh, that's so . . . if you puke that back up, it serves you right," Rodney said in disgust.
John swallowed and grinned at the people surrounding his bed, all of them laughing except Rodney. Even Rodney had a glint in his eyes that told John he wasn't actually mad. With cake crumbs and a little chocolate icing in the corners of his mouth, John felt Atlantis tickle his consciousness, almost like she was joining in the laughter. Sometimes he just needed to remind himself how lucky he really was.
THE END