Stargate Atlantis: Dragon's Lair
"John? John!"
John Sheppard glowered at the reprimand. Dutifully he returned to sit on the bed, to recline and endure yet another round of tests. He was silent, sullen, arms folded across his chest as the nurse placed the electrodes on each temple. He glared at the ceiling at Carson Beckett started the machine and watched the monitor. At the same time a green beam of light swept over the stubborn patient, slowing across his face and stopping momentarily at the top of his head.
John was sick of being treated like an invalid.
Ever since his too deep connection to the city he had been off-duty, restricted to Atlantis and barred from the use of any of the systems except the most basic ones. He had had to watch teams come and go as missions were resumed. He had watched them come and go through the Stargate, since he was not allowed to go through that either. He had had to watch his own team be led by Jason Reynolds. He knew it was all SOP after being compromised, even though it hadn't been an alien entity in his brain but the city. Still it rankled.
Still it made him angry and morose.
Still it soured his mood and made him even more withdrawn.
John hadn't said much about the experience. He wanted to keep it close, for now, until he could ask someone about the details and work out his own conclusions. Since he was barred from any 'Gate travel that would have to wait as well. He was unable to get the answers he needed and it only added to his resentment.
He understood the concern, the reasoning. He knew the protocols by heart, and had even enforced them from time to time. Just never on himself. He knew his friends were worried about him, concerned. He had to agree it was troubling, and he had to agree he had not been acting like himself for weeks now.
He really didn't know why.
It was none of their business anyway.
He sighed, impatient. "Well?" he snapped.
"Just a tic," Carson scolded. The doctor examined his scanner, the readouts and the monitors. He removed the electrodes. "You're clear."
"I already knew that!" John snapped. He sat, swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood.
"Just limit your access to the city systems," Carson reminded.
"I've been doing that! When will you clear me for active duty?"
"When I am satisfied you are fit for active duty," Carson replied. He returned the military commander's glare with a mild expression. "John, it would help if you would talk about it."
"I have."
"All that you've said is that you went to a different city in the past to learn about the new species."
"I did."
"Nothing else?"
"No."
"You're being obstinate."
"I need to get more intel before I can say more and to do that I need to go through the Stargate," John stubbornly asserted.
"No."
John sighed, suppressing a slew of curse words. "Then I have nothing to say."
"Then you are still restricted to the city." Carson shook his head and moved away from the recalcitrant military commander. He knew the man could be stubborn, but this was bordering on paranoia and it had the doctor very concerned. Not that John had ever been a chatty sort, but when it came to the city or a mission he was usually very forthcoming, especially if it was important. This stubborn reticence made Carson wonder.
John followed the doctor across the infirmary. "What do you want me to say, doc? What I, um, found merely confirms my discovery in the database. I just need to clarify some things and then that mission will be a go. I don't want to walk in without all the necessary intel."
"And this necessary intel just happens to be off world?" the doctor asked, setting down his data pad on a desk full of books and papers and computer screens.
"No. The clarifications are off world. I just need to, I just need to talk to someone who can clarify a few things for me about that place." John felt awkward as he tried to explain it.
Carson turned to him and the colonel looked round, avoiding eye contact. "I see. Can't you do that via a radio link?"
John shifted his stance, eying the table. "Ah, no. Not really. I want to keep this classified until I can confirm some things and present the mission." He met Carson's gaze and felt chagrin seeing a flicker of amusement in the doctor's blue eyes. "Look, Carson, I know I sound paranoid but this whole thing is well, weird. I mean this thing with the city and seeing the past by being there. I am trying to protect Atlantis from a very real threat."
"I know that you are, John, but who is going to protect you?"
"From the city?"
"Aye, and from yourself. I don't doubt you, John, but I do doubt your methods. The city is having a deleterious effect on you, but it's not just the city, is it?"
"I don't know what you mean," he evaded, suddenly disliking the assessing gaze of the doctor.
"Don't be so bloody stupid, man! I may be able to clear you for next week. Now go on, get out of my infirmary."
John stared, puzzled as Carson moved past him. The doctor was concerned one moment, berating him the next. He shook his head and exited the infirmary.
The city was quiet. People were going about their daily tasks, their daily routines, giving the military commander a wide berth. Curious looks crossed over him, followed him. The city itself was quiescent, as if chastened by what it had done to its favorite son and consequently sulking over only having his limited touch. Or so it seemed to John as an occasional breeze would ruffle his hair or a door would whisper open as if in consoling greeting.
He strolled into the control room, stopping just short of the consoles. "Hey. Anything?"
Chuck Campbell shrugged. "Not yet, sir. We're scanning and monitoring." He pointed to the screens which were tracking every ship in the galaxy and their approximate position.
John stepped towards the screens, gaze moving from one to the other. The blips were indistinguishable, moving slowly but steadily towards Atlantis. The other screen showed a host of blips. Some were Wraith and some were the new enemy. John frowned. He reached out to touch the console. Thinking better of it he withdrew his hand. "Can you overlay Rodney's maps over this?"
"Yes sir." Chuck hit a few buttons.
John scowled, feeling foolish, as if he was a child having to ask permission before he could play with the grown-up toys. He eyed the screen again. He rubbed his temple as a dull ache was a small discomfort he could ignore. "There's some movement. Judging by where the Wraith are, anyway. Why can't we get a solid fix on the fuglies?"
"Doctor McKay says it has to do with their cloaking capabilities and their energy signatures. We can't quite get a lock on their position," Chuck explained, glancing at John. The military commander was staring at the screen, gaze pensive, solemn. "Doctor Zelenka is working on a way to get round that, he says, as well as trying to find a way to contact Earth." John was silent, still staring at the screen as if entranced. "Colonel Sheppard?"
John broke from his thoughts. "Yeah. Okay. Thanks." He glanced up to see Richard Woolsey staring at him. He shrugged and strolled out of the control room.
He hated feeling like an outsider in his own damn city.