Introduction

Hey, everybody! Thanks for reading this story! This is my first Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis story. This story has been in my head for a year now and I finally decided to type up and post it. This story is about the Final Episodes of the Atlantis series. I call it Falling because the first episode was called Rising. This is set about 12 years after "The Lost Boys" and "The Hive". Things have changed a lot in 12 years. The Atlantis expedition had finally defeated the Wraith. The Ori and the Humans of the Milky Way galaxy have negotiated peace treaty. The Ori won't really be in the story but, they do have a major affect on how this story goes. Earth knows all about the Stargate and is now united under one banner. It is now called United Earth and the government that leads the planet is called the Leadership of United Earth (LUE—Yes I, know it sounds like 'loo'! Laugh if you want!). Earth has open trade connections with the Asgard and Nox. The Furlings will also be in the story. But to what extent…you'll have to read on to find out! Both the Asgard and Nox are helping Earth through its transitional phase, since Earth has never known peace since humans first walked on the planet and all the humans are not sure how to work together in peace. Anyway, back to story. The story is about the after effects of defeating the Wraith. The Ancients, after 5 million years of no contact with any races, have decided to send a representive to Atlantis to judge the humans on how far they have come since they first opened the Stargate because they were very impressed by how Earth was able to handle themselves with the Ori and Wraith. However, things are not what they seem. This story will open a huge can of worms about the Ancients and the Wraith and the humans of Earth. Well, that's all I'll tell you for now. Hope you enjoy my story!

Icer234

Falling

By Icer234

Email: sun rose up over the horizon. Its light slowly washed over Atlantis. The inhabitants woke up to soft glow of the sun and delicious aroma of cinnamon vanilla coffee. However, one person was up before all others, Dr. Elizabeth Weir. She was on the balcony, leaning onto the railing, and sipped coffee as she watched the sun rise. She knew everybody would be waking up by now. It's what they've done for the past 10 years. Today, however, was the beginning a new era for Atlantis and Humanity itself. The Wraith had finally been defeated. Humanity had succeeded where the Ancients could not.

She had told everybody that they could sleep in late today because there was no danger anymore. Still, they would wake up anyway and go about their business as if the Wraith would still there. She thought about the last 14 years. When they first arrived in Atlantis, when they met the Genii, when they were siege by the Wraith, they arrival of the Daedalus, the ZPM being restored to Atlantis, the Aurora, the Sister City of Atlantis, the discovery of the 'Drones Mark II', the loss of nearly 500 of their personnel when the Matriarch Queen attacked Atlantis, and so much more. Many died to protect their city and now, finally, their deaths had meaning. Their sacrifices were not in vain.

She smiled and walked back inside to the Control Center. "Elizabeth!" a voice called out. She jumped, "Rodney! Don't sneak up on me like that! I'm drinking hot coffee, you know!" McKay rolled his eyes, "Oh yes, that'll be an Earth-shattering event." Dr. Weir glared at him, "It will be when I pour between your legs." McKay blinked, "You have a point there! Anyway, I just wanted to ask. How is Colonel Sheppard doing?" "He's doing fine, but don't expect to see him today. Dr. Beckett ordered him to bed rest all day!" said Dr. Weir

"Now, since when do I follow doctor's orders?" They both jumped and saw Colonel Sheppard standing behind them, smirking. "Colonel? What are you doing here? You supposed to be in your room resting!" cried McKay. Sheppard shrugged, "This is supposed to be a day of celebrating! I'm sure as hell I'm not going to spend it in bed! When does the Zeus arrive? And what is that delicious smell?"

Dr. Weir eyed him carefully as she pulled her cup away. "We got their message about an hour ago. They'll be here soon. Although I'm not sure when…"

Sheppard took a deep breath, "Mmm…cinnamon and vanilla! My favorite! Were they in or outside of the galaxy?" She thought for a moment, "I'm pretty sure they were inside…wait…why?"

Before Sheppard could even reply, the familiar hum of the Asgard transporter was heard. With a flash of light, dozens of crates were scattered about in the Control Center and a small group of people were in the center.

Dr. Weir stared at the sight before her. Sheppard turned to her, "That would be why!" On each of the crates was the symbol for Guinness's. She walked down the stairs to where the group of people was. Her mouth hung open as she stared at all of the crates. "JACK O'NEILL!" she yelled.

A sly voice came over the crates, "Yes? Is there something you need?" Dr. Weir's face was redder than an apple, "What is all of this! There must be dozens of them!"

Sheppard spoke up, "Actually, there are 54 crates here. Give or take a 2." McKay leaned in, "You must have a death wish, don't you?" Sheppard put his hands up in mock defense.

Lt. Gen. Jack O'Neill walked over to Dr. Weir, "Howdy!" Colonel Sam Carter and Colonel Cameron Mitchell both rolled their eyes at O'Neill's obliviousness at Dr. Weir's fury.

"Howdy? That's what you have to say? Howdy? The Tower is filled with crates of beer!" she cried. "And wine. Don't forget the wine!" O'Neill said smartly."

Sam walked over and leaned towards O'Neill, "You do know that you are going to die in the next 5min?" "I know. I just wanted to annoy Dr. Weir a bit before I….move on!" He put his hands to his face and pretended to cry.

Teal'c walked over, "O'Neill, please! You are embarrassing us all. Why cannot you be serious for once?" O'Neill rolled his eyes, "Oh please! You know full well that compared to Daniel and Vala. I'm actually very serious!"

McKay looked around, "Hey, where are Daniel and Vala? I don't see them." Carter pointed to the far south crate, "They're over there. Fighting, yet again." Cam rolled his eyes, "Please! They fight so much, I have a pool going about when they finally snap and kill each other!"

"Put me down for…tonight at 11:00!" Sheppard said quickly. "We heard that!" cried Daniel and Vala. They walked out from behind from a large crate bickering over something trivial. "You will behave! I only brought you here because I had to!" cried Daniel

Vala rolled her eyes, "Oh, how merciful of you! What would I ever do without you? I could be shopping, lounging, eating, resting, reading those wonderful gossip magazines, watching TV, and….what else…oh yes! Reading your journal!"

Daniel's eyes went wide, "You WHAT!" Vala laughed, "Darling, I've been reading your journal since right after we met the Ori! I've always had a good laugh from your journals. Ooh! I remember one part where you mentioned something how you like make your Teddy Bear vibrate and—mmph!

Daniel held his hand fastened over Vala's mouth. "You will shut up or I will send you to the planet with the black hole where you will suffer a long and painful death! In fact…DAIL THE GATE!"

Vala playfully punched him in the shoulder and they walked up the stairs still bickering.

Jack and Sam both rolled their eyes at the sight of the Atlantis expedition group's mouths agape at what had just occurred. Sam walked over to Sheppard, "Close your mouth, John. The flies are starting to lay eggs inside.

He immediately closed it and shook his head. "Ya know….I pity you guys for having to deal with that! Every day!"

Sam sighed, "I know! Wait till you hear the reason why!"

McKay eyed her and then his eyes widen, "You've got to be kidding me! They do all that just for….that!" Sam, Jack, Teal'c, and Cameron all nodded at the same time.

Sheppard was confused, "Wait. I don't understand. They fight for what?" McKay leaned over and whispered in his ears. Sheppard looked up to the stairs to see Vala and Daniel kissing and groping each other. "Wow! I've heard of passionate love but that's ridiculous!"

Jack walked over and slapped him on the back. "You'll get use it after a while. A while meaning thousands of years from now!" John nodded.

Dr. Weir groaned, "Oh…just…let's all get ready for the celebration tonight, ok? I'm gonna go and get some coffee…..with a bottle of vodka." She turned and walked out of the tower.

Jack slung his bag on his shoulder and turned to the group. "Well, let's go, kiddies! We've got a lot to do for the party tonight." A loud moan was heard, "Oh! For god's sakes, Daniel, Vala, you two have been married for 4 years now! Get a damn room already! Jeez Louise!" The group began to walk out when McKay called after them. "Hey! What about all these crates of beer and wine?"

Jack waved at him, "You deal with it. I've got a party to get ready for! Yahoo!"

Sheppard patted McKay on the shoulder, "Have fun!" Then he walked out.

The decorations were all set up, streamers were streamed, balloons were ballooned, the music was blaring, everybody was dancing, the singers were singing, and Jack was drinking, as usual.

"This party is awesome! Whoo!" Jack yelled

Sam pulled the bottle of beer out of his hands, "That's enough, Jack! One more and you'll drown in your own puke!"

Jack pouted, "Oh! That's just like you ruining my chance to go and meet my maker!" Sam looked at him and was going to say something smart when the music changed. Everyone saw Teyla walk up onto the stage and take the microphone.

"Hello, everyone! I hope everyone is having a great time! It's hard to believe that after 10,000 years, the Wraith have finally been defeated." Everyone cheered and applauded. "This is the first time in my entire life I have felt safe. My people are free from fear, countless lives have been avenged, and there is hope in the souls of the people once more. It is a beautiful thing I see among us now. If it would not for Colonel Sheppard, Dr. Weir, Dr. McKay, and the rest of the people from Earth, we wouldn't have risen against the Wraith and destroy them. We have lost a great many good people along the way. We have sacrificed many things, things we regret having to do." Dr. Weir winced as she remembered some old, hard memories. Sheppard put his arm around her to comfort her. "It will stay with us all our lives. However, we have made friends, we have given hope to those who have none, we gave them their ability to decide their fate back, and we gave them back their free will! So, I shall sing this song in the honor for those who've died and sacrificed everything for the everyone in this galaxy." She smiled and nodded to band. She then began to sing her song.

Jack instantly sobered and held out his hand, "Would thy wife liketh to danceth to thy songth?" Sam snickered at Jack's play on words. "I wouldth!"

Jack took her onto the dance floor and began to move with the music. A song, which was appropriate for the celebration, that made everyone dance with each other.

For so long, this land was blanketed in darkness

For so long, the land was controlled by evil

For so long, there was death everywhere

For so long, all the souls was filled with bitterness and hatred

For so long, there was an everlasting war

For so long, everyone lived in fear

For so long, people had forgotten what light was

For so long, there was no hope

A wondrous city had fallen into the depths below

The darkness had complete control on the souls

People everywhere ran to their homes to hide and cry

Fear had overtaken the souls of all

And it seems there would be no chance surviving

All our souls would be forever damned

Until one day…

The clouds of darkness broke apart and bright light shone through

As the people that brought the light looked down onto the land

Their hearts and souls filled with rage…

The evil cowered at the brightness

They hissed and screeched and clawed and scratched and cried

They tightened their hold on the land and the people whimpered

The people of light called out to them, 'Stand up and rise. Take your lives into your hands. Together we can defeat this evil for we are one and same'

Hope and light filled their hearts and souls as they began to stand

They united as one and rose against the evil

They drew their swords and drove it into its heart

The light burst into a fury as the city of light and hope broke through its prison and rose above the darkness of the evil

As the light washes over the land, the evil cowered and shrank and fled because for the first time, it knew fear

As the people it once controlled rose up and began to fight, the evil cried, fell to its knees and begged for mercy

The people that brought the hope came over, drew its sword, and looked on the evil. 'You will never be given mercy for you gave none to those you destroyed. So, you shall pay for your sins and face your judgment!'

The sword came down and the evil was slayed

In that instant, everything changed

People hearts and souls were filled with hope

For they now knew…

Darkness was no more…

Evil was no more…

Death was no more…

Hatred was no more…

War was no more…

Fear was no more…

There was only….hope….

As the music faded, everyone turned to the stage and applauded, cheered and praised Teyla for her wonderful song and signing. Teyla walked over to the small group in the corner. Dr. Weir walked over to Teyla and hugged her. She pulled away and looked at her, "That was the most moving, beautiful song I've ever heard. It brought back lot memories of what had happened in the past 10 years."

Teyla smiled, "Thank you all very much. I must admit I did not plan to sing tonight until this morning. I woke up with a song in my head and decided to sing it tonight."

Sheppard walked over and put his arm around Teyla, "I speak for everyone when I say I'm glad you did!" Everyone cheered, "Hear, hear!"

The party lasted all the way till dawn and everyone began to go to their quarters to sleep off a nights worth of beer, wine, and general booze. Dr. Weir was asleep on her couch in her office in the control tower when Jack knocked on the door. "Knock-knock! Anybody home? Awake? Alive?"

Dr. Weir opened one of her eyes and glared at Jack. "I'm trying to sleep. I've got a pounding headache from drinking all night and now you want to talk to me!"

"Yeah, pretty much!" Jack grinned. Dr. Weir groaned, "Fine, sit down over there and we'll talk about what ever you want to talk about." She pointed towards the chair that was sitting opposite her across the coffee table. Jack walked over and sat down. Dr. Weir reposition herself so she could hear and speak to Jack comfortably.

She took a deep breath, "Alright, let's get down to it. I assume you want to talk about Atlantis' future now that the Wraiths are gone." Jack nodded, "Yes, the leaders of Earth were very happy and excited to hear the great news about the Wraith. Ever since we negotiated that Peace Treaty with the Ori, they wanted the Wraith situation to be 'wrapped up'. The Chancellor herself had asked if Atlantis could be moved back to Earth. By the way, she said to say hello!"

Dr. Weir smiled, "I have thought of that also, but I think we should wait at least one more year before making any plans of bringing Atlantis to Earth. We'd have to find a way to remove all that ice in Antarctica. Still, I have to admit it would be exciting to see Atlantis back on Earth. What a landing that would be! How is the new Earth government doing? What was it called again?"

"It's called The Leadership of United Earth, LUE for short. I really like how it's pronounced 'loo'!" he chuckled. "They're doing fine. They're running into a few bumps here and there. Especially, when it comes to the ratification of the Constitution! I am so glad I'm in the military!"

Dr. Weir laughed, "Well, that's to be expected! Before the unification of Earth, many nations were contented with their own nation, values, and commonality. Now they have to worry about every single person's idea of freedom and ideas on certain issues around the planet. There are over 8 billion people on Earth and another 5 million on Luna (the moon) and Mars."

"Now, see that's where I get confused, of course, I always get confused when it comes to politics…makes my head hurts something awful! How do Luna and Mars have any thing to do with Earth? They are separate planets with their own government," said Jack.

She rolled her eyes at Jack's comment on politics. "Luna and Mars are Earth colonies. They do have their own governments, but they're a part of Earth so they will be a part of the Earth government. What happens here on Earth will affect them no matter what. So, naturally, they would want to have a say in the Grand Senate. That way they can still keep an eye on Earth affairs while running their own governments."

Jack blinked and slowly nodded, "Let me make sure I understand what you just said… Even though they have their own government and affairs to deal with, they want to keep an eye on Earth so the government of Earth won't screw them over and kick them out on their ass?"

She raised her eyebrows, "That's one way of describing it. Vulgar, yes, but still does the job!" Jack grinned. He was about to say something else when the alarms sounded. The comm came on, "Dr. Weir to the control room!" Dr. Weir got up and rushed out her office.

As she walked across the bridge into the control room, she saw that the Stargate was activating. She frowned, Everyone is back, now. There're no off-world teams exploring. So, who could it be?

She walked behind the control panels as people were rushing everywhere trying to figure out whose dialing in. "Rodney, what's going on? Are we expecting anyone?"

Rodney was working furiously on his laptop, "NO! And to make things worse…there's a power drain all over the city! Everything shutting down! Oh no…the shield for the Stargate!" Dr. Weir turned and looked at Jack. He spoke into his comlink, "Attention, all military personnel, this is General Jack O'Neill. Any military personnel that are in the proximity of the Tower get up to the Control room, NOW! We may have foothold situation."

As soon as he was finished, Colonel Sheppard, Sam, Cameron, Ronon, Teyla, Teal'c and dozens of soldiers poured into the Control room. Sheppard ordered them to take position and be prepared to fire. As the all got into position, the entire city shut down. Everyone in the room had their weapons drawn and nobody was breathing. After a view seconds, somebody came through.

He was a tall, muscular good looking guy. He had short, ancient roman hairstyle. He had ocean blue eyes, fair skin, and was wearing a long white robe that seemed to wrap around him. "Wow! So, this is the famous city of Atlantis! Cool!" Rodney looked at Dr. Weir and mouthed 'cool?' to her. She shrugged since she didn't understand what was going on either.

Daniel, Vala, and Teal'c ran in and stopped at the sight of the stranger. Daniel walked over to Jack and whispered to him, "Who is he? And why is he here?" Jack shrugged, "I have no idea! But he is apparently responsible for the power drain on the city!"

The Stargate shut down and lights and computers and everything else in the city came back on. The stranger turned to the waiting militia, "Hi, everybody! Hope I didn't scare ya'll! Sorry about having to drain your power, but I didn't want to get hurt while trying to get through the Stargate. Everything should be coming back on though. Do you guys have a room I could change? I hate these clothes and I want to get back into jeans and t-shirts!"

Everyone was baffled and speechless by what had just happened. Colonel Sheppard was the first one to recover and pointed to the door on the right. "Just go through there and take the third door on the left and you should find an empty room." The stranger smiled and picked up his bag, "Thanks!"

Everyone watched him head out to change and then they all stared at each other. Rodney turned to Dr. Weir, "Forgive my rudeness, but WHAT IN THE HELL WAS THAT?" Dr. Weir shook her head, "I have no idea! Did he say 'ya'll'?" Everyone nodded.

A few min later, the stranger walked back in to the room with a bottle of Guinness's that was in his hand. He was now wearing a "GA tech" T-shirt and black jeans with a GA-Tech cap on backwards. "Oh yes! After 5 years of having to wear that stupid robe, it feels great to be able to wear something normal. God, those people have no sense of comfort what-so-ever!" He walked up to the control room, took a sip of the beer, and smiled to group that was still in the room. "So! How's everybody doing?"

Rodney threw his arms up, "'How's everybody doing?' That's all you have to say! You think its okay for you to just drain the power and waltz in and change your clothes! 'Hi, I've come to use the city as a dressing room, but before I do that, I'm going to scare the crap out of all you by draining the power out of the city and giving me a HEART ATTACK!" he panted after he finished his rant.

The stranger smiled, "You finished yet?" Rodney scowled but nodded. The stranger turned to the group staring at him, "Ok guys, you close your mouths now. Let's go over to the conference room over there and talk. We have a lot to discuss about." Jack stepped forward, "Now just what makes you think that we have to do what you say!" He turned back and looked at Jack, "Because I asked nicely?" Jack thought for a moment, "Ok works for me! Let's go kids!"

Sam rolled her eyes and followed Jack to the conference room. As they all sat down and the Stranger walked in, the doors all closed and made the room completely sound-proof and locked. Dr. Weir turned sat back in her chair and folded her arms. She looked at the Stranger, "What's your name? Why are you here? What do you want?"

The Stranger laughed, "Ha! Straight to the point! I like that!" he sat down in the chair facing the entire group and pulled out an Alienware laptop. He turned it on and then turned to Dr. Weir. "First off, my name is Matt. I am from Earth like all you, save Teal'c, Teyla, and Ronon, of course. I am here to 'watch' all of you. I'm here to see how well and how far Humanity has progressed since the opening of the Stargate about 20 years ago. I am the representive of the High Council of the Ancients. I was ordered here by the Supreme Chancellor herself."

Everyone stared at him. Daniel passed out and fell out of his chair. "I do believe you just gave him a stroke," said Vala. "But, forgive my asking, don't you have to be an ascended being to be representative of the Ancients. And don't the Ancients have a strict rule of 'no-interfering-with-lower-life-forms'?" Matt nodded, "Yes, that's true, but the council felt that this time was an exception. They were very impressed by how all you handled the Ori and the Wraith. Especially the Wraith! Thanks to all of you, every single ascended ancient now owes me!"

Daniel stirred and got back in his seat, "Oh…my head! What happened? I had the craziest dream! I dreamt that somebody named Matt came in and said the High Council of Ancients sent him to 'watch' us! Funny, huh?" Jack looked at Daniel, "Actually, Danny-Boy, it's all true!" Daniel stared at Jack and then turned to Matt who waved at him. "Oh my, God! Oh my, God! But…but…I thought it the Ancients didn't like to interfere with the affairs of lower life forms?"

Matt shook his head, "I'm not interfering, I'm watching! I'm going to see how you've all done since you opened the Stargate 20 years ago. Now before we go any forward, there's a message for you from an old friend." He pressed a button on his laptop and a holographic being showed up. Daniel looked at the holograph and shouted, "It's Oma! I thought she was still fighting Anubis?"

Teyla was confused, "Forgive me, but who is 'Oma'?" "Oma is the name off a very powerful Ancient. She has in numerous occasions helped us with the Goa'uld, Anubis," replied Teal'c.

The holographic Oma bowed, "Hello, Daniel. It has been some time hasn't it? I suppose you're quite surprise to see me. The others finally decided to do away with Anubis when you revealed yourselves to the Ori. So, in the process, my burden was lifted from my shoulders and I was able to return home. Within the next few years, my people decide that they need my guidance. So, they made me Supreme Chancellor. With the rising threat coming from the Ori and the Wraith growing more and more powerful, we were beginning to reevaluate our no-interference-policy. Then we heard of the Ori-human peace treaty, we were surprised about that. We were not expecting that. Still, we kept an eye on the situation regarding the Ori. When we were sure we did not have to worry about the Ori anymore, we moved our attention to Atlantis and the Wraith. The Wraith was the threat that truly worried us. A race of demons that steals your soul, what a horrible way to die… Anyway, we could see that the Matriarch Queen was mounting an attack on Atlantis to find a way to Earth. We were prepared to come in and stop them ourselves, but we never had to. The Atlantis expedition was able to handle the situation quite well without us," she smiled. "We then realized that there was more to the Human race than meets the eye. So we decided to see just how far Humanity has come since the opening if the Stargate. Please forgive us for any future annoyances Matt may do to you all."

"HEY!" cried Matt. Everyone snickered. "Thank you and farewell. I must get back to planning the party to celebrate the first time we will have had peace and quiet in 5 years," Oma smiled once more and faded out. Everyone was laughing out loud now at the sight of Matt fuming at the comment of Matt and peace and quiet.

He looked at all of them, "It's not funny! So shut up!" Cameron was wiping away tears from his eyes, "Oh yes, it is! The most powerful woman in the entire universe just downplayed you. Forgive me if I laugh at your spitefulness."

Daniel, after calming down from laughing, turned to Matt, "Tell me, are you an ascended Human?" he asked. Matt hesitated then nodded, "In a way, yes." Daniel frowned, "What do you mean by that?" Matt shrugged, "I'm not allowed to really explain it. The High Council wouldn't let me. But, do you mean was I born on Earth? Yes, I was born on Earth in 1989, May 12. I lived there until about 2010 when the Meteor Shower came down."

Sam looked at him, "What? But that would mean you lived in Atlanta when that happened. That city was wiped out from the onslaught. You were one of the 10,000, weren't you?

Matt nodded grimly, "I was. I was with my girlfriend, Carry. A meteor hit the Bank of America Tower and it exploded. It sent thousands of shards of glass and metal. One was coming toward her and I dove in the way to protect her. The last thing I saw was her face then I woke up in a gate room with Oma sitting down on a ramp. She was speaking very Buddha like. After awhile, I walked through the Gate with her and the rest is history!"

Daniel looked at Matt intently, "Wow, you had to give everything up. I know what that feels like. I've been there, bought the t-shirt, and came back naked!"

"Twice!" quipped Jack. Daniel glared at him, "I know that, thank you very much!"

Matt rolled his eyes, "Okay, let's move on, we have a lot to discuss. We do have 20 years worth of material to go over! First let's talk about Michael…"

On a dark planet on the other side of the Pegasus galaxy, a male wraith is running through the hallways. He is gripping a small datapad as if it contains precious information. He arrives at the entrance to an elaborate room. Inside the room, is rows and rows of books and paintings that represents every major historical event in Wraith history.

Panting, he slowly walks up to a large, black cocoon like bed. "My liege, we have received some very important information." At first, there was no reply. "My liege?" he asked again. "Are you alright?"

A deep, harsh voice reverberated throughout the chamber, "Hand me the datapad, my faithful servant." An arm that seemed to should have died eons ago emerged from the darkness.

Paralyzed with fear, he handed the pad to the arm. The arm upon receiving the pad withdrew back into the darkness. "Hmm! Now, this is very interesting!" The voice of the arm began to laugh and it seemed it would not stop…

After a couple of weeks of going over everything Humanity has done since opening the Stargate, Matt decided to take a day off before going over the last part with the rest of the group. He wanted to look up on what has happened to Earth since his Ascension.

Matt was at his seat in the guest quarters. He was looking over the history of what he had missed on Earth since he died that fateful day. He was engrossed in a political report about the Earth Government, LUE, when a knock on the door was heard. Matt snapped back to reality and went up to the door. He opened it to reveal Colonel Carter, "Colonel! What are you doing here?"

Sam smiled, "Please call me Sam! You don't have to call me Colonel."

He smirked, "I may be an Ascended being but I still have manners! Unlike a few I know! Please come in!" He opened the door wider so Sam could come in. She stepped into the room and sat down on the couch on the other side of the room. He sat down next to her after grabbing his cup of coffee. "So, what can I do for you?"

"Actually, I came here to see how you were doing. I know you've been reading about what's happened on Earth in the past several years. Some of the things you were reading up on had to be…personal?" Sam looked into his eyes and saw nothing but intense sadness. She realized he gave up more than he needed to.

Matt blinked and smiled, "Yeah. I looked up on some information on my sister and old girlfriend. I'm very impressed with my sister though. Who would've thought she'd become the Senator of the United States!"

Sam blinked in shock, "I'm sorry, did you say that your sister is the Senator of the US? Your sister is Angela Lewis!" Matt nodded, "Yep! That's my darling sister! She gets her love of politics from me." Sam shook her head, "You are full of surprises, Matt! What about your—" The comlink suddenly came on, Colonel Carter, please report to the Control Tower. Colonel Carter, please report to the Control Tower.

Sam got up from the couch and headed out the door. She stopped outside the door and turned back to Matt. "Are you coming?" Matt looked up, "Why? You don't need me. Oh, when you see Jack, tell him to wipe the smudge of his nose."

Sam, in confusion, nodded, "Okay, if you say so." She turned and left the room. As she walked to the tower, she ran into Jack. Remembering what Matt said, she turned and looked at Jack's nose. Sure enough, there was a pink smudge on the tip of his nose. "Um, Jack, you have a pink smudge on your nose. You might want to wipe it off."

"Doh, how many times do I have to tell you people? There is NO PINK SMUDGE on my nose!" yelled Jack. Daniel, who was engrossed in another report on the Ancients, looked up, "Oh, hey, Jack. Did you know you know there's a pink smudge on your nose?"

Jack groaned, "I do not!"

"Do too!" replied Daniel.

"Don't!"

"Do!"

"Don't"

"Do!"

"Don't!"

"Do!"

"Don't!"

"Do!"

"D—!"

"If you say don't one more time, you won't be able to say anything!" Sam yelled. "Don't!" Jack whispered to Daniel before shutting up. Sam, having heard Jack, raised an eyebrow, "Just for that, you ain't getting anything tonight!" She turned on her heel and headed for the gate room.

They arrived to see a group of people emerge from the 'Gate. Jack walked up to Dr. Weir, "What's going on? Who are they?" She turned to look at him, "It's a surprise visit." Daniel furrowed his brow in confusion, "Who is visiting us?" Dr. Weir sighed, "The Council of Earth." Jack groaned, "Oh…what do they want now?"

"What we want is for Atlantis to come home!" said a voice from the group. "Jack, I want you to meet the Supreme Chancellor of Earth, Maria Aurelia." Maria Aurelia walked up the stairs in the center of the room to Control room. She was wearing a formal, yet casual, business suit. On one of the lapels, there was a pin with Earth being surrounded by olive branches. She had dark hair that tied into a power ponytail. Her eyes were an olive green that was filled with eagerness and excitement.

"Madam Chancellor, we are in the process of trying to get another group to come here so we can let people come home. But that's going to take awhi—." The Chancellor cut her off, "No, no, no! You don't understand! The council has voted that, since the Wraith threat has taken care of, it was time to bring Atlantis home to Earth!" Dr. Weir stared at her in shock and amazement, "Oh no!"

To Be Continued