Author's note: Okay, this is a story unlike anything I've ever written before. It's AU and set 20 years in the future and after the end of the show. I don't often write AU and tend to stick to stories that could easily be episodes so I hope this gamble pays off. This is very angsty and light on the Shep Whump which is different for me too :). I have no beta so all mistakes in this work of fiction are mine and the Stargate: Atlantis show and her characters are the property of MGM. All I can lay claim to is my passion for the show and the original characters within this story. This fic is dark and deals with several major characters deaths. If this bothers you, this story is probably not for you.
Introduction
What if...
Those are powerful words and ones capable of both changing the past for the better, and dooming it. Yet we humans throw this phrase around so casually.
What if...
They're frightening words too; for no matter how many times we utter them, they can never truly show us for certain what it was that could have been.
Or can they?
What if the Wraith transmission broadcasting the location of Earth had reached every Hive ship in the Pegasus Galaxy?
What if every last one of those Hive ships had set a course for Earth?
And what if John Sheppard had been the only one with the Ancient gene strong enough to fly Atlantis back to the Milky Way in time to try and stop the Wraith before they decimated the world?
This is a story of 'What if's' and I invite you to come with me on a journey to see what becomes of our intrepid Atlantis Expedition when they didn't get the happy ending they deserved, but were instead betrayed on the most reprehensible level and changed forever in the process.