Also, the opening and closing lines are from my story Specter. It is where Ronon, Teyla and Sheppard are on an interesting wormhole ride. I make a mention of Season 1's episode, Hide and Seek. I went a little AU for the future since we know not what happens yet. Just a bit of fun, nothing too serious. Hope you enjoy.
Disclaimer: Stargate Atlantis is not mine. Big heavy sigh. They are owned by the man.
A Days in the Life
Part 1
His mind was released out into the immenseness of the Universe and it was devastating. He was sentience searching for sentience and finding it- and more…their minds touched a piece of everything that was in cosmic spitting distance of the wormhole…
"Moab, how long do we have to wait?" He whined it out like the infant of the Universe he was.
"Deference, John the Shepherd, we are in the presence of the Old Ones," she scolded him by shaking a delicate pearly finger.
"How many times do I have to tell you? It's just John Sheppard," he said picking at his uniform's ribbons. If he was going to present himself to such high and mighty beings, he might as well look nice.
"As many times as it takes, John the Shepherd," she replied with mischief in her iris-less eyes.
"Do I know why I'm here?" John turned around the hall. It was unlike any hall he had ever been in. The walls swirled with light and texture- constant movement. It reminded him of Van Gogh's a Starry, Starry Night if it were not a static painting. These beings most likely created it just for him. "How long have I been here?"
"Always and for a very short time." Moab smiled patiently. "We are here because the Old Ones chose you as the beacon. You are not of us and yet you are."
He closed his eyes. The constant swirl was dizzying. "Where's here?"
"Here is here. There is there." The same smile was on her face again. "It will take them as long as it takes them to see us. Patience, John the Shepherd."
He could no longer keep his eyes on the walls. Dizziness overwhelmed him, the floor opened up, and he felt the roar of air in his ears. For a moment in time, he felt wetness inundating his mission gear and he heard voices calling to him. He figured he had better answer them.
He opened his eyes.
"Major Sheppard!" McKay called out to him. "Glad I caught up to you!"
He opened his eyes.
"General Sheppard!" Zelenka called out to him. "Glad I caught up to you!"
He opened his eyes.
"Colonel Sheppard!" McKay called out to him. "Glad I caught up to you!"
"Whoa! Déjà vu," he answered all of them.
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"What?" McKay asked not caring one way or the other. He jogged up to Sheppard as he stood in the corridor. "Déjà vu is just a situation that resembles another. So, now that's out of the way, we're finding so many fascinating things! Look at this little…"
"It's a glass turtle, McKay. My grandmother had a whole shelf of things like that in her living room," Sheppard retorted trying his best to hide his smirk.
"I'm sure it's more than a pretty little knick-knack, Major," scoffed McKay clutching the bauble in his hand. "After my gene therapy, I'll prove it's more than a Cracker Jack prize on my own- thank you very much."
Then the derision disappeared and smugness took over. "It's not even the most interesting find," he said rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet.
"Do tell," replied Sheppard lightly feigning interest. He turned to start walking down the corridor.
McKay stepped in front of him. "This," he held up a triangular piece of metal with strange inscriptions on it, "isn't Ancient."
"Looks pretty old to me, McKay."
"Yes, yes very droll. You're right though; it's very old. Very, very old. I think it's only part of something though."
Sheppard stared at McKay. The man had smugness down to an art form.
"Like a puzzle piece." An interested sparkle entered Sheppard's eye.
"Well yeah." McKay looked at him appraisingly.
Sheppard studied it for a moment and then held out his hand.
"I don't know, Major. This is just an old puzzle piece and you made fun of the little turtle doohickey. Maybe I should just wait until my gene therapy to see where this leads." McKay pulled it back close in to his chest. "For all we know, it's a child's plaything."
"Fine," Sheppard said and began his walk down the corridor again now feigning disinterest.
"Oh twist my arm why don't you?" McKay jogged to his side. He held the piece out when they both had stopped.
Sheppard took it in his hand, the triangular piece fitting neatly into his palm. The bronze shone and the inscription fairly glowed as it rested so neatly.
"The Old Ones are waiting," he said it with the casualness of everyday conversation.
"Major?"
McKay and the walls began swirling in concentric circles. This was familiar, yet he did not think he had had any experiences like this before. He tried to focus on McKay, but, finally, closed his eyes to keep from falling down.
When the feeling stopped, he opened them.
"Colonel?" McKay stood in front of him not quite sure if he should catch him or let him fall. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, head rush." Sheppard rolled his shoulders loosening them up. "Whatchya need?"
"One of the many labs in Atlantis. And I can already see in your face the question you want to ask. What could he possibly need with another lab?" He grinned excitedly waiting for a reply.
Sheppard stared back with perfected banality.
Disappointed in the apathy displayed on the face of his friend, McKay huffed, "Well gee, McKay, how could I pass up such an intriguing and tempting mystery?"
Sheppard let his quirked eyebrow do all his talking. Why waste words when facial expressions were so succinct.
"It's a private lab. One with side experiments. Private experiments. Probably not sanctioned by the Council. Only problem is- it's in the damaged part of the city. We need a military escort and I thought you might like to be on the detail."
"You still have yet to raise my excitement level past- ooh look, amoebas."
"Patience," cooed McKay. He knew he had his fish hooked.
"Moab!" Now, he was loosing any patience he had mustered.
McKay just looked at him, confused, and mouthed, "Moab?" to himself.
"Well McKay? Continue," John said exasperated and completely unaware of his mistake.
McKay continued while shaking it off. "Puzzles."
"McKay."
"Remember the puzzle piece from the first batch of discoveries?"
Sheppard's demeanor changed. His eyes caught that interested sparkle. The I'm very interested sparkle.
McKay smiled knowingly. "See what patience gets you."
"I'll get Ronon and Stackhouse with his team. Caldwell has them on sentry duty. Time for the young man to be rescued."
He turned around to start back on his way. The walls swirled and spun in the top like circles again. It was again- right? Lightheadedness made him grab the spinning wall because he felt as if he had not stopped turning.
"Colonel?"
He closed his eyes.
"John the Shepherd, you have returned from never leaving." Moab firmly grabbed his shoulders. "The Old Ones grant you entrance when you are all here. Rest, John the Shepherd. Even though this place is made for you, you are not made for this place." She placed a pearly finger on his lips. "Shh."
He felt the heaviness of sleep overtaking him and could barely keep his eyes open. "Have we met before?" He really needed to know because he was sure they had.
"Yes, in a single beat of an infant's heart."
She glowed with a halo of light. Her eyes appeared to be all pupils so she could see into and past everything and everywhere. As if, she was gifted with insight into everyone.
"You remind me of the bath beads my grandmother had in her bathroom. Except you smell better, like home baking, and you have less dust." He could feel the familiarity. It was soothing and added to the heaviness. Sleep was a great idea.
She let out a small feminine laugh as she guided him to a bed. "Perception is in the eye of the perceiver and in the nose of the smeller."
He had started to drift, but he opened one eye because he still could. "That's a joke right?"
"Very good. Sleep." Her smile returning and warming him.
He closed his eyes.
Here is here. There is somewhere else.
What the hell had he been smoking? Because that almost made sense.
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"Major Sheppard?" McKay snapped his fingers in his face.
McKay stopped swirling. "Hmm?"
McKay tried to get him to look him in the eye. "You zoned out on me for a moment. And said something about old ones."
"Old ones?" Sheppard looked back finally meeting his gaze. "Why does that sound familiar?" He looked down at the puzzle piece still in his hand.
"How should I know? I just found this and you're the one who said it." Perturbed, McKay tried to take the puzzle piece back.
Sheppard held on to it.
"You can let go," said McKay rather forcefully.
"Yeah, you'd think." He tried to hand it to McKay. He tried to drop it on the floor. He shook it violently. It would not budge.
A dull shock like pain went up his arm, through his shoulder, down his torso and into his belly button. He felt a tug on his belly button like a string being pulled. He doubled over and clenched his eyes shut.
The water was saturating everything. His boots, mouth, eyes, ears and under his jacket. It was freezing. The muffled voices were now shouting to him.
He opened his eyes.
"General, how have you been?" Zelenka asked walking as briskly as his arthritic joints would allow.
Sheppard stopped to wait for his very old and dear friend to catch up. "Pretty good. Can't complain. Kind of excited to see some of the old gang today. Those of us that are left that is."
"Very exciting. I was surprised that the city hasn't changed too much. There're families here now and since we've figured out how to engineer a ZPM, the Wraith must find other ways to occupy themselves." Zelenka leaned on his cane as they walked the familiar corridors from so long ago.
"You're retired now?" Sheppard asked. "Teaching part time at…"
"MIT." Zelenka said as he grabbed his friend's arm. "You know what I have, do you not?"
"Of course, Radek. I have been waiting and not realizing it for most of my life in this city. I knew that I was coming back most likely for the last time." He gave a rueful smile. "The circuit must be completed."
"McKay left instructions if a third piece was found to let him or me know." Radek looked at his shoes. "Since I am left, it fell to me."
"I miss him too. It seems my life's all about the funerals now. A wedding here and there, but mostly saying goodbye to friends." Sheppard looked around the hallway. "Let's not do this here."
"Come with me, I found an empty room just up here."
They stepped into a room no bigger than a walk-in closet. Zelenka withdrew the piece from his pocket. It was bronze and triangular like the other one. The writing fairly shining on its face. Sheppard held out his hand and accepted it. A dull shock like pain went up his arm, through his shoulder, down his torso, and into his belly button. He felt a tug on his belly button like a string being pulled. He doubled over and squeezed his eyes shut.
He opened his eyes.
"Not yet, John the Shepherd," soothed Moab. "The Old Ones are patient. You are caught in its song. It calls to itself and you are the string." She stroked his forehead as he balled up further.
"I feel like something's trying to pull my insides out my back." He tried to breathe, but then the string tightened. It was a temporal game of tug of war and he was part of the rope.
"They used it to build their Stargates. They should have returned it, but they thought it would help with their ascension. They hid it by taking it apart. Foolish young ones." Moab ran her hand through his hair as he lay in a bed of sorts. "Your kind are embryos and such power is too much for you."
He laughed through his clenched teeth. "We call them the Ancients. What would we call your kind?" The warmth from the bed was all around him but it did not help with the pain.
"We are called nothing and live quite nicely within it." She smiled beatifically and continued smoothing his forehead.
The string tightened further and he cried out.
The voices were closer and hands were grabbing at him. They just could not move him. The coldness of the water flooded his lungs.
He opened his eyes.
"Colonel?"
He caught the wall and stopped the rotation. "I'm fine…I think." He straightened up while still hanging on to the wall. "We'll need a structural engineer. . . Pearson's the guy's name? We need to get to that room."
He clicked his radio and requested all personnel to meet at the transporter nearest the control center. The walls continued a slow rotating swirl. He stopped. "The Old Ones' are ready; we need to hurry."
"Old ones? What are you on about now?" Bewilderment threaded every inch of McKay's face.
"Hmm?"
"You said old ones…just like when I showed you the first puzzle piece." McKay scowled.
"I did?" He seemed preoccupied, as if he was splitting his attention. "Weir already knows and you have everything else set-up right? You just needed the escort?"
"Correct. Are you sure you're alright?" McKay grabbed him by the arm and whirled him around, except instead of stopping, the whirling continued. He thought it would never stop.
"We need…we need…"
Air in his ears, dropping into darkness, spiraling out of control, the water so frigid…
"…to get to that room."
"Colonel?"
It was over. He stood up straight. "It's important…I don't know why. They used it, but it wasn't for them."
"What, who, hunh?" McKay looked worried and contemplated contacting Beckett. Sheppard was holding two conversations, one with him and one with himself.
"Come on…Stackhouse, Ronon and Pearson are meeting us at the transporter. I must complete the connection."
Now his hand hovered over his earpiece. Even though the urge to call Beckett was strong, something held him back. McKay did not make the call because- Sheppard was right.
Hunh?
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A/N: Part 2 will be up tomorrow.