Summary: Mei's all grown up but has never forgotten the father she left behind. When she joins the SGC, her Uncle Jack enlists the most unlikely bodyguard for her- his clone. As the years go by the bond between them grows stronger the closer they get to finding a way back to her father and 'Lantis, but will they allow themselves to be happy along the way?
Pairing: Jonathan O'Neill/OFC, Jack O'Neill/Samantha Carter (canon-ish)
Warnings: Adult themes, controversial subject matter, torture, attempted rape
Categories: Drama, family, angst, friendship, romance
Disclaimer: I don't own the recognizable characters I'm just inspired by them.
Notes: Sequel to "Mei and Uncle Jack"
Betas: Special thanks to my fantastic betas kaylashay81, killing_rose, and rocky_no -- you all are the best!
Author's note: This story goes back and forth between time lines. An age/year chart is located at the end of each section for clarification.
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Sheppard settled himself down on the floor of the balcony carefully. His entire body ached and he was beyond exhausted. He tried to make himself comfortable but the raw, itchy spots on his skin made that near impossible. He made do and opened the laptop he had brought with him and powered it up. While it was doing that, he looked out at the beautiful, sunny day that was embracing the city.
A loud voice over the intercom broke his quiet musings to announce, "Self-destruct in twenty-seven minutes."
"'Lantis, can you silence that?" he asked wearily, slipping and using the pet name given to the city by a certain blue-eyed child a long time ago.
"Countdown silenced," Atlantis replied in his head.
He turned his attention to the laptop and quickly located the files he wanted. He queued up all of his home movies and let them play as his eyes grew heavier. He registered somewhere in his mind that Atlantis was singing some haunting, ethereal sounding song. The singing was something she normally only did for one person- and that person wasn't him.
Sheppard's eyes finally drooped shut and his breathing was so shallow that his chest barely moved. It was his end, and the end of the city he had so tirelessly defended all these years.
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Sheppard felt a sting in his arm and tried to summon the energy to swat away whatever bug decided to bite him in his last moments. He didn't feel one under his fingers and with an amazing effort, opened his eyes. He blinked in astonishment at the woman kneeling beside him. A woman that couldn't possibly be there because she had died years ago, unless she was acting as some sort of a guide to help him cross to the other side. He reached out a hand and whispered, "Sam?"
Sheppard could see tears freely streaming down her cheeks and she tried to smile for him as she took his hand and said, "No, Daddy. It's me. Mei. And I'm here to take you and 'Lantis home. I'm sorry it took me so long to figure out how to do it."
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'Lantis - Day 2
He was resting on an infirmary bed. The medication Mei had injected him with had started to combat the plague ravaging his body. But he was still exhausted and weak. The doctor that Mei had brought with her was pleased with his response though.
The doctor wasn't the only thing pleased. Atlantis was practically beaming. Her Mei had come home. It didn't matter that she had only been gone a few minutes in their reality, the city acted like Mei had been gone a lifetime. It made him wonder again exactly how Atlantis viewed time. It was a question they had never been able to get a straight answer to out of the city.
Sheppard heard someone in boots enter the infirmary and he cracked an eye. He saw a tall, lean man a few years younger than himself in what he guessed were the equivalent of BDU's and hair that was absolutely not regulation with his back to Sheppard talking with the doctor and rubbing his temples. He recognized that headache well. All the natural gene carriers had lived with them for a while until they got used to Atlantis buzzing around in their head.
John offered, "You have to tell Atlantis to tone it down. Otherwise all the aspirin in the world isn't gonna help."
The man turned and said, "Thanks." And gave John a shock. It was Jack O'Neill. But that was impossible. The Jack O'Neill from where Mei had been sent would have to be nearing his eighties. John groaned to himself and wondered if his daughter had been collecting people from random time lines in her efforts to rescue him and Atlantis.
Sheppard's questions were answered a moment later when Mei breezed into the infirmary. Stepping over O'Neill she reached over and gave his bicep a little squeeze and asked, "Headache?"
At his little affirmative nod, Mei sighed and addressed the ceiling, "'Lantis, you have to leave him alone. I know he's confusing you. That's okay. But you have to leave him alone."
Atlantis interrupted Mei and her statement was so forceful that it broadcast to all the gene-carriers on the city, "Scans show he is the one known as O'Neill, yet if he is O'Neill he is not correct. He is an anomaly. One must study the anomaly."
O'Neill looked at the ceiling and said, "Hey, I'm not a lab rat, ya know."
John noted that he didn't argue the anomaly part though and that intrigued him. Mei sighed and addressed Atlantis again, "I explained this to you already 'Lantis. He is not the one you know as Jack O'Neill. He is Jonathan O'Neill. And he shares the same genetic makeup as Jack O'Neill because he is in fact Jack O'Neill's Asgard created clone, as I told you before. Now will you please stop pestering him so his headache will go away and we can get started on the work we need to get done to get you and Daddy home to our reality?"
"Yes. But One will continue to analyze the Anomaly's data to confirm."
Mei shook her head. "Thank you, 'Lantis."
She gave O'Neill a little grin and a playful little punch on the arm and teased, "See it's all in how you present the information to her."
Sheppard watched their interaction with interest. It was certainly familiar to them. Not romantic, he decided, then amended his thought to maybe not romantic, then he amended that thought again to possibly not romantic, then he added a final amendment that maybe he needed more information before actually making that particular determination. They definitely weren't family-like. This was not her "Uncle Jack" to Mei. It only took a moment more thought when he realized that watching the two of them was a lot like how he and Sam had acted as their friendship had grown after Mei's unexpected arrival, but even closer. They were friends and comrades and he suspected that there was probably a history of watching each other's six out in the thick of things mixed in there as well. He chalked it up to one more weird bond that the Stargate program had created. Even so, Sheppard was extremely curious about this "Asgard created clone" that he'd be willing to bet they didn't have here in this reality, there had to be an interesting story behind that.
O'Neill took a packet of pills from the doctor gratefully and turned to go. Mei approached Sheppard's bed. "Hi Daddy, how are you feeling?"
"Better. The cure you brought with you seems to be working."
Her eyes softened, "It took them three years to synthesize something that would work. The doctors here just didn't have enough time."
Sheppard found himself staring at Mei. He swallowed hard and whispered sadly, "You're all grown up."
She sat beside him on the bed and held his hand in hers. "I know. I'm sorry. Dad and Uncle Jack said this might be a bad idea, Mom was more cautiously optimistic."
"Dad? Mom?"
"The other you and the other Samantha Carter."
"She's alive?"
"Yup. She and Uncle Jack are retired up in Minnesota. Dad's retired too, but they let him stay on his Atlantis."
"So they did raise you?"
Mei smiled. "It was sort of a group effort. When I got there they were still in the middle of the war with the Wraith and I couldn't stay on Atlantis with Dad so I went to live with Uncle Jack in Washington."
"With Sam too?"
Mei shook her head. "No, Mom had just been given command of a new research vessel. And I think my sudden arrival sort of freaked Mom and Dad out a little. Nobody quite knew what to do with me, except Uncle Jack. Between the three of them though, I think I turned out okay."
Sheppard reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear that had escaped her barrette. "You look just like your mom. When you were little you looked more like me. Now... you're beautiful."
She smiled, his smile he noted, and said, "Get some rest, Daddy. I've got to go see how things are going."
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The plan was simple, they were going to utilize the same method that 'Lantis had originally used to send Mei, only on a much larger scale. Construction on the devices needed to make that happen was underway, but it would take several months to complete. It gave Sheppard time to get to know the vibrant woman that his daughter had become. The doctor allowed him out of the infirmary for short periods as he rebuilt his strength and he enjoyed watching her interact with the team she had brought with her. She reminded John so much of Sam that he kept having weird moments of deja vu and expecting Mei to be Sam when she turned around.
Mei was a natural leader, confident and self-assured. Which wasn't particularly surprising given her parents, not to mention having been raised by Jack O'Neill. The others obeyed her orders without question. Well, the others except O'Neill's clone. He seemed to delight in making himself a nuisance and in general just pushing Mei's buttons. And he was good at it.
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12 years ago -- 2021
"Uncle Jack, you really didn't have to come with me. I am twenty-two years old and quite capable of managing my first day at the SGC all by myself."
"Yes, but this way I can impress upon General Lorne the very real need to keep you out of trouble."
Actually it wasn't Lorne that he wanted to see. After leaving Mei to fill out reams of paperwork in the personnel office, Jack made his way to a particular lab. He stood quietly in the doorway and watched the man sitting at the bench. He was in BDU's and had on a pair of glasses with magnifying loops as he soldered on a minuscule circuit board. He didn't look up from what he was doing but said flatly, "You forget to order the stealth option on that cane?"
Jack stepped into the room, leaning heavily on the wooden cane that had become his constant companion a couple of years ago. "Ha ha. A piece of advice from me to you. Take care of your knees."
The other man put down the soldering iron and pulled off the glasses and turned to face Jack. And as it had ever other time Jack had interacted with his clone in person, Jack's stomach clenched in some weird combination of revulsion and a sense of danger. A person wasn't meant to come face to face with a thirty-plus year younger version of oneself.
"Her first day?" Jonathan asked without preamble.
"Yeah. She's in the personnel office now."
"Any particular reason why you came with her?"
"Yeah. There is. I wanted to talk to you, face to face. Not over the phone."
The telephone conversation that the two men had shared a month ago had been beyond uncomfortable. But when Jack had finally cut to the chase and asked Jonathan to come work for the SGC to keep Mei safe, Jonathan gave his word without hesitation. He had known that Jack was raising Mei, and he knew the circumstances behind her arrival in their reality and her parentage. And even if he might have thought about telling Jack no, there was not a chance in hell he would ever let anything happen to any kid of Carter's, no matter what reality she had been born in.
Jonathan stood up and stepped over to Jack and said, "Okay, we're face to face. Talk."
Jack's expression was stony and he said in a deadly serious tone, "I want your word that you'll keep her safe."
"I gave it to you already. Do I really need to say it again?"
"Yes."
"I'll keep her out of trouble. And, yes, I'll keep her safe. You have my word."
Jack's expression turned into a smirk. And Jonathan was annoyed. "What's so funny?"
"Oh, nothing. I have to warn you though; you might be able to keep her safe, but you will never, ever be able to keep her out of trouble."
"Oh, really."
"Yeah. Picture a combination of Sam and Daniel at their geeky best but with a reckless, fearless streak that puts you and I, and even Teal'c to shame. She's gonna keep you hopping." Jack turned to go and teased from the doorway, "I hope your knees are up for it 'cause I'm going to hold you to your word."
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Mei was in the conference room with Lorne and Jack. She was beaming at the General and talking animatedly when Jonathan quietly entered the room. He watched from the doorway for a moment, this being his first time actually seeing an adult Mei, the file he had read on her only had a picture of her when she had first arrived on Atlantis as a child. She was definitely not a child any more. As he stepped into the room, the three of them turned to face him and he watched the shock then understanding cross Mei's face as she recognized him. She stood up and walked over to him.
With a little wonder and awe in her voice she said, "Wow. I mean, hi. I'm Mei." She extended her hand. Mei had spent the past dozen years learning to treat people that wore familiar faces from her original reality as entirely separate individuals. Jonathan was no different. He might look like her Uncle Jack, and the two men shared some memories, but he was completely his own person in her mind.
Jonathan's mouth had become a desert. She looked just like Carter. Sounded just like Carter. There was something about her reserved little smile that was someone else, but overall she was Carter. And as he shook her extended hand he had a weird sense of deja vu as he recalled meeting a certain brass young Captain in this very room a lifetime ago, albeit someone else's lifetime.
"Jonathan O'Neill," he finally managed to get out.
There was a devilish twinkle in Mei's eyes as she teased, "I'm willing to bet pizza and a six pack that you're the lucky guy that Uncle Jack has roped into being my new babysitter."
He realized in that instant that she wasn't Carter. Sam was never quite that bold or maybe just not that comfortably uninhibited. But even as that thought registered in his mind, the wide smile she gave him was all Carter and he knew in that moment that he was done for.
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'Lantis -- Day 8
John didn't find Mei among the engineers working on the device and queried Atlantis as to her whereabouts.
"Mei and the Anomaly are on the south pier," was the city's reply.
John chuckled at the city's persistent name for O'Neill and headed for the pier. At the doorway to go outside, John could see Mei and O'Neill on the pier, sitting side by side with their feet hanging over the edge, O'Neill with a fishing pole in hand. John was about to go out when he saw O'Neill put the pole down and put an arm around Mei. A moment later John could see Mei's shoulders start shaking and he realized she was crying. He was about to burst out of the door when he watched O'Neill pull Mei into a tight hug. He watched as O'Neill held her and rubbed her back and he could see O'Neill's mouth moving, trying to soothe her and he also saw the way that Mei just melted into O'Neill.
John was thoroughly confused. He asked Atlantis, "'Lantis, why is Mei crying?" He knew the city would have already queried Mei herself.
"One was told it is because she is not as you remember and she feels your sadness."
John frowned. He had been trying to keep that from Mei.
"Sheppard?" the city queried.
"Yes, Atlantis?" John absently replied as he continued to watch Mei and O'Neill.
"Is the Anomaly to be trusted?"
John saw O'Neill keep Mei in a one-armed hug as he fished a bandanna out of his pocket and handed it to her to blow her nose on. "Yes, Atlantis. He can be trusted. The same as you would trust any of the rest of us."
"Incorrect context. Rewording query. Is the Anomaly to be trusted with Mei?"
John blinked for a moment. Was Atlantis really concerned about O'Neill's intentions? He watched Mei undo and redo her hair in her barrette as O'Neill picked his fishing pole back up. O'Neill cast the line and Mei sat there, resting her head on his shoulder. When O'Neill leaned his head towards Mei's, John had his answer, "Yes, Atlantis. He can be trusted with our Mei."
John turned and slowly walked back to his quarters, wanting some time alone with his thoughts.
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11 years ago - 2022
"Why do you play dumb?" Mei asked with a raised eyebrow.
Jonathan looked over at her from where she was standing on the opposite side of a set of prison bars. He gave her a flat glare then returned his attention to the open control panel in front of him as he tried to find the right circuit that would open the door to her cell.
"I mean, I know you have advanced degrees in Electrical Engineering and Metallurgy. And those are just your own. You also have knowledge from... you know... before. So why play dumb all the time?"
A little zap hit his thumb and he jumped back and gritted out, "In a minute I swear I'm gonna leave you in there if you don't stop distracting me."
"No, you won't. Dad and Uncle Jack wouldn't like that a lot and I won't even mention Mom." She gave him a cheesy smile through the bars.
He sighed and turned back to the wiring. It only took him a few more seconds to find the right circuit and with a little pop of electricity the door to her cell slid open.
"My hero," she teased as she walked past him and patted his stomach. Jonathan closed his eyes and let out a breath, she was going to be the death of him. Turning his ball cap back around, he quickly followed her back out of the abandoned prison she had managed to get herself locked into and to the gate and home.
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Three days later there was a knock on the door to Jonathan's apartment. He opened it to see Mei standing there with a pizza in one hand and a six pack of his favorite beer in the other. She seemed a little unsure of herself, something very uncharacteristic for her, and he wondered what was up.
He stood aside and she walked in and he noticed the heavy knapsack on her back. She put the pizza and beer on the table and slipped out of the knapsack's straps. Her voice was small as she asked with a look of near desperation on her face, "Will you help me?"
"Help you with what? You're making me a little... concerned here, Mei. What's going on?"
She pulled a thick stack of notebooks and loose sheets of paper that were full of equations out of the knapsack and held them out to him. There was an old pain in her eyes as she pleaded, "You have to help me go back for my father."
Hours later, when Mei was sound asleep on his couch under a blanket, Jonathan re-read her theory. He sighed and pulled an empty notepad towards him and began his own analysis. As he went through all of her notes again, he opened an old black and white composition book and was surprised to see a child's handwriting. It meant that she must have started working on all this when she first arrived in this reality. He looked over at her sleeping form and realized that she had been carrying the weight of this for almost thirteen years. Thirteen years. He wondered if her "Uncle Jack" knew.
His expression turned to worry as he looked at her. This was bordering on obsessive. And he wondered if it were responsible for her limited number of close friends and her lack of any semblance of a social or romantic life. He bit back a laugh at that though; he really wasn't one to talk. His own social and romantic life was a hairsbreadth away from being non-existent.
He got up and grabbed another beer out of the fridge and made a quick stop in the living room to pull the blanket up a little where it had slipped off Mei then sat back down and began to brainstorm.
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'Lantis -- Day 13
Mei was diligently making sandwiches and heating up some soup for the team's lunch, they were all taking turns cooking and cleaning up. John was leaning up against the counter watching her work. He reached over and stole a slice of cheese and said, "First date."
Mei blushed and chuckled. Her father was trying to catch up on the past twenty-five years of her life by playing twenty questions. She thought for a minute and replied, "Dennis Fitzgerald. I was fifteen and he was the captain of our hockey team. We went to see some supposedly cool space movie. We only went out once."
There was something in her tone letting him know that the date had been a disaster. He teased lightly, "You picked apart the science didn't you?"
"Maybe. How did you know?"
John chuckled. "There was an unwritten rule around here that none of us would watch science fiction movies with your mother for that exact reason."
Mei laughed and said, "Mom... I mean the other Sam and I'll go to the movies sometimes, just the two of us, so we can pick things apart to our hearts' content. Next question."
John cocked his head to one side and asked gently, "Last date?"
Mei chewed on her bottom lip for a moment then answered, "I should have known that one was coming. Um, so let's see, last date. Last real date I'm assuming you mean and not just beers after a mission. Hmmm, that would be four years ago. A blind date with the brother of one of the Marines I worked with regularly. Let's just say it didn't go well."
Her voice was a little dejected and it cut into him. "Four years is a long time ago, there really hasn't been anyone since then?"
Mei stirred the soup slowly, her back to John. Her reply was soft. "Dating just doesn't seem to work out so well for me, Daddy. I don't know. I think sometimes I'm just too weird for most people. The only person that gets me is Jonathan. And that's because he's equally weird in his own way."
There was something in her tone that let him know she was holding something important back about that, and without even knowing she gave John the perfect segue to the topic he really wanted to talk to her about. "So you two?"
She turned around and he noticed a little sadness in her eyes. "That's very, very complicated, Daddy. The only way Uncle Jack and Dad would let me go off world was if there was someone they could trust to watch my six. Uncle Jack figured that if it couldn't be him then Jonathan was the next best thing. So they pulled him in out of the aerospace firm he was designing and test piloting for and stuck him with me. That was twelve years ago. We've been through a lot since then, personally and professionally. And we're very... close. But there aren't any utopian visions of two point two children and a house with a white picket fence in our future if that's what you're asking."
There was a wistfulness in her voice that she couldn't hide and John suspected there was quite a bit of significant history and maybe even a deep sliver of old pain there that she wasn't sharing and said gently, "It kinda sounds like you might want there to be, Mei."
"What I might or might not want is a moot point, Daddy. You have to understand. When Jonathan woke up thirty years ago he thought he was Jack O'Neill. He had all the same memories, feelings, and mannerisms, everything, only in a teenager's body. When it was all sorted out and they found out he was actually a clone he had to try and make some kind of a new life for himself. But even though he walked away from everything and everybody he ever knew to do that, those memories and feelings were still there inside him. And let's just say that even after all the years he's known me, sometimes when he looks at me, it's not me that he sees...."
"Who do you think it is?"
"Mom."
"Ahh."
"Yeah. So like I said, moot point." She handed him the plates of sandwiches and turned to pick up the soup pot.
John turned to walk towards the dining area trying to process what she had just revealed, then paused. He asked lightly, "Mei, who do you see when you look at him?
Mei looked back at him over her shoulder and he could see the grin on her face as she answered simply with a little shrug, "Jonathan."
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10 years ago -- 2023
"Ahh, this is a great way to spend a rainy afternoon," Jonathan teased as he slid down deeper into the padded seat and waited for the show to start.
Mei was beside him and not quite as enthused. "I could be working in the lab, ya know."
Jonathan held up a finger to emphasize and said, "Nope. Remember our deal. You have to take one day off a week and do something fun."
She sighed. He had extracted that promise out of her a year ago when he agreed to help her find a way back to her father. Truth be told, the things he dragged her off to were fun and her stress level felt more manageable than it had been in years.
Jonathan was absently picking at the armrest separating them and asked, "Mei, can I ask you something?"
"Um, yeah, sure."
"Do you ever get me confused with... him?"
She smiled and said without hesitation, "No. Never. Sometimes on the phone it might take me a second but I can always tell you two apart. Why?"
His brow furrowed and his voice was a little sad as he said, "Sometimes it seems like you're the only person at the SGC that doesn't look at me and see him."
She reached over and gave his forearm a little squeeze. "Yeah, I know. I'm sorry."
"You've always just accepted me for myself. How come?"
Mei nestled herself down into her seat a little then replied, "When I first got here everyone looked just like people I knew. And I kept expecting them to know me and act like the people I had I had known before. But it didn't work. Uncle Jack was the one to finally explain things to me and after that I had to train myself to not automatically associate faces with familiarity. Everyone I met was a whole new person, even if I had known them well before. So when Uncle Jack explained about you and we finally met, it just didn't faze me. You are your own person, Jonathan. It's that simple."
"That simple huh? So why the "wow" when you introduced yourself?"
She elbowed him playfully and he saw a little blush cross her cheeks. She teased, "You have looked in a mirror lately right? I absolutely refuse to stroke your ego by telling you that, you know, you're a very handsome guy. But I will say that I know of at least five women tripping over themselves to get your attention at the SGC."
He elbowed her back and teased, "You one of the five?"
As the lights dropped and a brilliant star field filled the dome of the planetarium he heard her reply quietly with a little giggle, "Nah, I've already got your attention."
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Six months later Jonathan was settling in to watch a hockey game and was contemplating ordering some Chinese when there was a knock on the door. Mei. And she was carrying a paper bag from the liquor store. She made herself at home and put the beer from the bag in the fridge and opened a kitchen cabinet and grabbed a couple of shot glasses for the bottle of tequila that the bag had also contained.
There was something in her eyes that let him know she wasn't quite her normal self. So he asked lightly, "Chinese work for you?"
She nodded as she grabbed the cutting board and sliced up a lemon.
In short order they were watching hockey and had a couple of shots of tequila in them. Mei seemed to be on a mission to get obliviously drunk and not talk. So he let her. Their food arrived and he was glad to see her eat at least a little, it would absorb some of the alcohol.
Throughout the evening the number of empty beer bottles on the coffee table grew and the amount of tequila left in the bottle went down. Finally Jonathan asked, "You gonna tell me what's wrong?"
She looked incredibly small and somehow fragile sitting there tucked into the corner of his couch, and her voice matched her outward appearance when she said, "You know how they say you never hear anything nice about yourself when you eavesdrop? Well I found out today that a bunch of the guys on base seem to think I'm, to quote one, a "cold fish" that has the personality of a walking computer. And to quote another one, it doesn't pay to wonder what base anyone would get to with me because it's obvious that I don't play ball and that just maybe I'd loosen up if I did."
Jonathan sat up and said angrily, "Who the hell said that? And I want names, Mei." There were significant lessons in manners owed to at least two, and Jonathan was more than happy to oblige.
"It doesn't matter. 'Cause when I thought about it I realized they were right, at least outwardly."
"The hell they are. And yes, it does matter."
"Jonathan, I've turned down every guy that's asked me out since I was about seventeen. You know I gave up once I figured out that dating just... sucks. And I am a walking computer."
"Mei, you are one of the smartest and funniest people I've ever known. And you're beautiful, you know that, you don't need me to tell you that. Don't let a few jerks at the base fill your head with stuff that's just not true. None of them deserve you anyway."
Her eyes held his for a long moment before she capitulated with a drunken shrug.
Jonathan was still seething with anger as they settled back down to finish watching the game. Mei poured two more shots that led to the rest of the bottle being consumed.
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Jonathan woke and carefully cracked open an eye. The little bit of light in his bedroom felt like an ice pick to the brain. He swore off tequila for the umpteenth time in his or anyone else's memory and tried to stumble to the bathroom to take care of nature's call. His memory of the rest of the evening after he and Mei's little heart to heart was spotty. He found the aspirin in the medicine cabinet and had a flash of kissing Mei. He drank right from the bathroom faucet and tried to recall more. He had more flashes of them laughing and in various stages of undress. And he had a flash of them in his bed, making love. Then... nothing.
He stared down at his rumpled bed, evidence that the flashes weren't just something his tequila-fueled brain had dreamt up. He noticed something else and it made his stomach churn from the implication even as another flash of memory confirmed it. As his stomach won the battle and he was hanging over the toilet he wondered why Mei had left. And he also prayed that their drunken indiscretion wouldn't come between them.
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He found Mei in her lab on base. She looked about as hung over as he was. "Hi." he said quietly.
He noticed she wouldn't really meet his eyes and her reply was weak, 'Hi."
"How's your head?"
"Probably about as good as yours." Her tone was a little icy.
He fiddled with something on the bench to keep his hands occupied and said, "I woke up and you were gone."
She took a deep breath and let it out as she said, "Yeah."
Jonathan was getting a little annoyed at her demeanor and his own temper surfaced a bit. "Last night shouldn't have happened."
She met his eyes fully for the first time and he could see that she had been crying. There was a little defiant tilt to her chin and she replied, "You're right, it shouldn't have."
"Look, most of the night after you told me about what those guys said is missing up here," he tapped his temples then continued, "But I think we just had way too much to drink and some lines were crossed. It shouldn't have happened."
He was waiting for her to say something of substance, something that would give him some sort of clue as to why she was giving him the cold shoulder. She didn't. "I just agreed with you. But let me repeat myself. You're right, it shouldn't have happened. So we'll just forget it ever did and move on."
His irritation flared, "Damn it, Mei. I saw the bed. Your first time shouldn't have been on the tail end of some tequila bender. And it sure as hell shouldn't have been with someone as old as me, mentally or physically. It should have been with someone your own age. Somebody you really cared about."
She went to walk out of the room, but his hand wrapped around her bicep in a heartbeat. Her back was towards him and her voice was low and full of pain and he knew she was trying not to cry as she said, "For your information, it was with someone I really care about."
"So why did you leave? And why are you so upset? Did I hurt you?"
"No, you didn't hurt me. Not the way you mean anyway. That part was great. Now please just let me go."
His tone was that calm, deadly serious one that brooked no nonsense from anyone as he asked, "Please tell me what I did."
If she had turned around and sucker punched him he would have been less shocked then what her four simple words did to him, "You called me Sam."
His hand opened of its own accord and she walked out of the room without another word or a backwards glance.
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'Lantis -- Day 32
They had been on the city a month. The progress on the device was right on schedule. Not that the schedule mattered much. When they finally returned home to their time and reality, it would be within an hour of their original departure.
Jonathan tied his sneakers and stretched before setting off on his morning run. He was surprised when John joined him part way. Jonathan slowed his pace a bit, not out of any sort of deference to the other man's age, but rather because he knew that John was still regaining his strength and though he was almost back to his normal self, there was no need to push it.
They paused and caught a breath on a far pier. John huffed out, "You know when I first saw you I thought Mei had been jumping around in different time lines or something and recruiting people."
Jonathan chuckled and mopped his face. "Don't give her any ideas."
"Hey, don't take this the wrong way or anything, but I did some digging and I didn't find any record of a version of you in this reality."
"Yeah. Mei checked that right away too. Looks like I'm unique. But then again, we didn't have a Mei in ours so maybe she and I cancel each other out."
John met Jonathan's eyes and said, "I don't really know what to say to you."
"I get that a lot."
John held up a hand. "I didn't mean it like that. It's just... well... technically you've known my daughter longer than I have. And you know her... as an adult I mean. It's just... she went and grew up and somehow turned into this strong, capable woman that I keep expecting to be Sam when she turns around. And I'm not dealing real well with that."
Jonathan's eyes softened. He felt for the other man. "Yeah. That I get. It took me a little while after I met her to not see Carter," Jonathan dropped his eyes to the floor and continued in a tone tinged with regret, "We had some... bumps in the road because of it. But I think she's forgiven me for the most part." Jonathan looked up, his expression masking any emotions and added, "Mei is the most dedicated person I've ever met. She has spent every spare minute of the past twenty-five years trying to figure out how to get you home. She's worked harder than a dozen people and sacrificed a lot, more than most people will ever know, to make this happen."
John contemplated that for a moment and said thoughtfully, "I'm starting to sense that. And I'm also starting to think she wasn't the only one."
There was something about John's expression that made Jonathan feel like a butterfly pinned to a board.
---------------------------------------------
9 years ago -- 2024
Jonathan tried to go for casual as he stepped in Mei's lab. In the seven months since their disastrous drunken night, he had avoided her lab like the plague. Their formerly close personal relationship had de-evolved into a strictly professional one.
"Hey," he said lightly as he entered the room, "I just got your message."
"Yeah. I'm doing a little schedule shuffling. Dad's coming in for a week and wants me to head out to San Diego with him. I guess some guy he went to college with's son is getting married and he asked me to tag along."
"You haven't seen him in a while, so that'll be good." He rocked back on his heels and she nodded in agreement.
"Yep. Not so keen on the whole wedding where I don't know anyone thing, but that's only one day. Dad said he intends to be parked on the beach for the rest of it. And that I can totally get behind."
"So are they sticking us with a temporary until you get back or are we on stand down?"
"A little of both. Sanders wants to take a few days off as well. But one of the other teams offered you a mission spot if you're interested."
"Which mission?"
"The detailed mineral and topographical survey of Mini-Minnesota."
They had playfully named the small moon Mini-Minnesota after their first mission there last year. It was lushly wooded with countless small lakes and streams that were teeming with fish. Jonathan had been in his fishing-loving glory and had been dying for the opportunity to go back.
With a smirk he asked, "You did tell them yes for me, right?"
The playful little grin she flashed back was one he hadn't seen in very long time and she replied, "Don't forget to pack your bug spray."
He turned to go, wanting to leave before the friendly atmosphere had the opportunity to turn cold. He had just reached the doorway when she called out to him, "Jonathan?"
He turned, his hand on the doorjamb and said, "Yeah?"
With an almost nervous little smile she replied, "Have fun."
He slapped the door jam lightly and said with a grin, "You too, Mei."
As he headed down the corridor with a spring in his step that hadn't been seen in quite a while, Jonathan was optimistic that maybe, just maybe, he and Mei were going to be okay. And he hoped so. He missed her, more than he ever expected to.
---------------
John had splurged on a posh hotel right on the beach for himself and Mei. He flipped his dog tags over his shoulder to hang down the back and settled down into a beach chair in the sun with a cold beer, a new golf magazine, and an audible sigh of contentment. Mei shook her head and laughed and teased her father, "Dad, you always act like you've never seen the beach before."
Mei was getting a kick out of the appreciative looks her father was getting from women of all ages. Even at fifty-seven, he had women tripping over themselves and he was still oblivious to them all. Or at least pretended to be.
Mei had just settled in with a physics journal she had brought to read when her attention was pulled away from it by the unexpected arrival of a volleyball in the sand next to her. She picked it up and looked around for its owner. A moment later a buff, tan man about her age walked up with a grin. He had dirty blond hair that was cut short, Hawaiian print swim trunks in day-glo orange, and dog tags around his neck. He teased as she tossed him the ball, "I couldn't have aimed that better if I had tried. But then again I did try so I guess maybe I'm just good."
John snorted behind his magazine and Mei's cheeks flushed red and she chided, "Not a word, Dad."
She turned back towards their visitor and teased back, "Don't get too cocky. If your trajectory had been just a little off, you might have hit the general's beer instead."
The young man's eyes grew wide and he looked towards John and catching sight of the ball chain around John's neck, straightened his posture automatically.
John dropped the magazine in his lap and said to Mei, "That was mean." He addressed the man and extended his hand, "Relax, son. I'm on vacation. General John Sheppard, Air Force. And this is my daughter Mei."
He visibly relaxed and shook John's hand and introduced himself, "Lieutenant Christopher Burton, sir, Navy. Very pleased to meet you, sir. And you, Ms. Sheppard."
John picked up his magazine and started leafing through it again and said casually, "Feel free to ignore me, Lieutenant. You can recommence flirting with my daughter whenever you're ready."
After an awkward moment and an equally awkward invite to go play volleyball, John watched Mei walk away with Burton. He had to bite back a chuckle when he heard Burton ask, "So do you always read physics journals for fun?"
And when Mei nodded and shrugged in affirmation, Burton surprised both Mei and John when he said, "Cool. Me too. Dr. Martinson's article on page seventy-nine is fantastic, have you gotten to it yet?"
---------------
A week later Mei was in her lab, looking relaxed and sun-kissed. Jonathan stuck his head in her lab to say hi. He was equally relaxed; the mission itself had been a cakewalk and the after-hours fishing a much needed break.
The mood in the room was light and they were chit-chatting almost like old times when a respectful knock at the door to the lab got their attention. An airman was there carrying an enormous arrangement of roses and lilies. Mei looked questioningly at Jonathan and he held up his hands and said, "Don't look at me."
She found the card and read it with a grin. They were from Christopher.
After their initial beach encounter it turned out that they were attending the same wedding the next day. Christopher was the son of a Navy rear admiral that was the godfather of the bride. He was also a Navy engineer working on missile targeting system design and had graduated from MIT. And he was, for lack of a better word, smitten by Mei. They spent the entire wedding reception practically hip to hip, and they talked about everything and anything that came to mind. And there were more than a few comments whispered about what a handsome couple they made as they danced. When John stole his daughter away for a dance the smile on Mei's face was all Sam as she conspiratorially whispered that Christopher hadn't thought it was weird that when he came back from getting them fresh drinks that she was scratching down an equation on a napkin, he had just chuckled and pulled a small notepad half-full of his own scratched down notes out of his breast pocket and tore off a few sheets for her. Later on, John made a point of introducing himself to Admiral Burton, sensing that the younger Burton just might be making future appearances in his daughter's life. And sure enough, Christopher spent a goodly amount of time with Mei during the duration of their stay in San Diego.
Mei stuck her nose in one of the roses and inhaled.
Jonathan watched her intently. Mei wasn't someone that could hide her emotions. And he could see the thrill the flowers had given her on her face. It was plain as day for anyone that knew her. Or at least to him.
He asked lightly, "You make a new friend in San Diego?"
She shrugged and said, "Yeah. He's a Navy Lieutenant, an engineer."
Her eyes met his over the flowers. He could see the question in them and he knew that there were only two ways he could play this, the truth or a lie. The truth would hurt them both and most likely leave both of them miserable in the end. The lie would be easier, at least at first, and better for Mei, but it would be one he'd have to live with for the rest of their lives.
"You should call him and tell him you like the flowers."
His quiet response wasn't what she expected and like every other emotion, it showed on her face. He gave her a gentle smile as he turned to leave the lab.
He had gone with the lie. And it wasn't the first time in his mind that he denied having deeper feelings for a brilliant blonde that he felt he couldn't have.
---------------------------------------------
'Lantis -- Day 40
"You have no offspring?" was the city's query out of the blue in his head. He paused in his sorting out of the wiring that needed to be reworked to get the city home.
"What?" was Jonathan's short reply. The city had taken to asking him odd questions here and there, often at the most inconvenient times.
"You have not reproduced?"
Even as a flash of Charlie's face filled his mind he answered, "No. I don't have any kids."
"Mei has informed One that you do, in fact, enjoy children."
He sighed; it was going to be one of those conversations with the city. It was as if she was trying to get in his head and figure out how he ticked. If John was her favorite, and Mei her baby, then Jonathan was the city's shiny new toy.
"Yeah, I like kids. And they like me. I just haven't had any."
"One has analyzed your genetic code. You and O'Neill are classified with Sheppard."
"You mean we all have a strong Ancient gene?"
"Affirmative. One would request that you sire offspring and pass on the needed trait so One will not be alone in a future time."
"It's not that simple, Atlantis."
"Problem. Solution. One wanted offspring. One created offspring. You are able to do the same. It is not a complex problem."
Jonathan laughed. "Well, for us it's a little more complicated."
"Are you unfamiliar with the mechanics of biological reproduction? One can instruct."
Jonathan hit his radio and whined, "Mei, make her stop."
---------------
John found Mei sitting cross-legged in the middle of her bed. The room was obviously still that of a child and Mei looked around at her childhood things haphazardly lying around fondly.
John sat next to her and teased, "Still a slob?"
"Of course. Why do you think I never joined the military? I would never have survived basic training."
He chuckled then changed the subject, "Has Atlantis been a little quiet to you the last couple days?"
She dropped her head and laughed hard, "No, Daddy. She's just preoccupied with driving Jonathan absolutely crazy."
"What do you mean?"
"She's just pestering him about life, the universe, and everything."
"That is an inaccurate assessment. The Anomaly has limited knowledge of the universe. One's queries to the Anomaly are valid to the gathering of personal information for analysis."
Mei looked up and said with a shake of her head, "The Anomaly has a name, 'Lantis."
---------------
"Sheppard?"
John looked up from the tablet computer he was reading from and answered, "Yes, Atlantis?"
"One is confused."
"About what?"
"Mei and the Anomaly."
"What about them?"
"One does not understand why they have not reproduced. Both are physically healthy and in the prime of their reproductive years. Yet neither will confirm plans for potential reproduction."
"We talked about this a long time ago, Atlantis. There are a lot of factors that go into humans reproducing. And we've explained to you that there is more involved than just biology. People can choose when they want to have a baby, or not have babies at all."
"One desires Mei to reproduce. One wishes to interact with her offspring."
John grimaced. He had a flash of envy of the other Sheppard in not having to deal with a sentient city. And a sentient city that apparently had designs on becoming a grandmother.
"Atlantis, I'm still trying to get used to her being all grown up. Let's not rush grandchildren."
---------------------------------------------
tbc...
Age table for those interested:
Mei
2008- 09 (Mei arrived in this reality)
2021- 22 (Mei & Jonathan meet)
2033- 34 (Mission to go to other reality)
2037- 38 (Epilogue)
Jonathan (physical age)
2003- 15 (Jonathan created by Loki)
2021- 33 (Mei & Jonathan meet)
2033- 45 (Mission to go to other reality)
2037- 49 (Epilogue)
Jack
2003- 51 (Jonathan created by Loki)
2008- 56 (Mei arrived in this reality)
2021- 69 (Mei & Jonathan meet)
2033- 81 (Mission to go to other reality)
2037- 85 (Epilogue)
Sam/John (this reality)
2008- 41 (Mei arrived in this reality)
2021- 54 (Mei & Jonathan meet)
2033- 66 (Mission to go to other reality)
2037- 70 (Epilogue)
Sam/John (alternate reality)
2010- 43 (Mei born)
2014- 47 (Sam dies)
2019- 52 (Mei sent away, arrival of 2033 mission)
2037- 56 (Epilogue)
Laura Cadman (this reality)**
2008- 27 (Mei arrived in this reality)
2037- 56 (Epilogue)
**I am basing her age on personal opinion
given her appearance and rank in "Duet"
This was the storyline I had originally envisioned when I wrote "Mei and Uncle Jack". My idea at first had been to have a fully adult Mei arrive unexpectedly on Atlantis, but then I hit on the idea of her as a child and ran with it instead. When I started thinking about a sequel to "Mei and Uncle Jack" I kept coming back to the original idea of a Carter look-a-like and how Jack (and ergo his clone) totally has a "type" (ie Sara, Sam, Weir v1.0). So here it is. Almost 30,000 words of a fic that I wasn't going to, but found that I couldn't not write ^.^ Special thanks to my fantastic betas kaylashay81, killing_rose, and rocky_no -- you all are the best!
~CJ
