If Wishes Were Horses

by wajag

Cont. of Best Laid Plans series. SGA has woken the Wraith and Methos is off to the Pegasus galaxy to keep an eye on things.

Crossover with Atlantis

Author: wajag

Title:If Wishes Were Horses

Feedback Address:

Rating:R-17

Info:sequel to Best Laid Plans 1 - 8 (X-over HL with SG1)

Character Listing:M, OFC, SG-1 characters, SGA characters

Summary:SGA has woken the Wraith. Methos is off to the Pegasus galaxy to keep an eye on things.

Disclaimer: I don't own Highlander, Stargate, Stargate Atlantis or a new car. I won't be making a profit off of this (or I would own Highlander, Stargate, Stargate Atlantis or a new car.)

This is an Alternate Universe sci-fi crossover between two programs that I enjoy. Please forgive in advance anything that isn't canon or technically accurate, I'm definitely ad-libbing all the science and techno-talk and changing the universe to suit my needs. Having read the story Best Laid Plans-1-8 would make this one easier to understand. Of course having familiarity with Highlander and Stargate characters and situations is assumed.

Note: I will definitely be altering canon as I put Methos into the Stargate Atlantis world.

If wishes were horses,
Beggars would ride.

part of a Scottish proverb.

'Maybe you should remind your team that it's dangerous to play around with explosive drones.' Methos' calm voice whispered into Jack's mind.

General Jack O'Neill stared at the renegade ancient's drone that had gone dead in the snow a foot from his outstretched hand. It had been a few very exciting moments when O'Neill's helicopter had been targeted by the drone as they had approached the hidden base recently discovered in Antarctica.

'Playing that a little close weren't you Pierson?' Jack thought back to the ancient, irritating, pain-in-the-ass he called friend. He felt Pierson's amusement.

'I thought you were going to 'ask' when you needed help?' Methos scolded.

'We had it covered. 'Jack responded. It had actually never occurred to him to call the Ancient Immortal for help. Jack was in charge of taking care of Jack. He was much too old to change his way of thinking now! The adrenalin of the last ten minutes began to wear off and Jack started to feel the cold. He slowly stood and got back into the helicopter.

'Should I expect any more surprises?' He sarcastically asked having felt that the link to Pierson was still active.

'Only if you eat the base food,' Methos mentally snickered. 'I've shut down the drones for now. Your people won't be able to play with them until I release them.' He continued, more seriously.

'Good call, I'd like to at least get to the base before I have to duck and cover again.'

Methos scanned the pre-immortal in the helicopter with Jack. The presence of John Shepherd was the reason that Methos had immediately known what was happening. He continued to monitor Jack and John as they continued on to the Antarctic base.

Later, when John Shepherd sat in the ancient's command chair and activated it, Methos laughed at the reactions of the base scientists. The scientists had not been cleared to know about Immortals so they had no idea that any pre-immortal would be acknowledged by the tools of the Ancients.

'He's one of my clan, but he isn't immortal yet.' Methos sent to Jack before the General could ask.

'One of the wild ones', Jack commented. 'I've read his files.' A few minutes later Jack was saying something similar to Dr. Weir when she asked if Shepherd could join the Atlantis team.

'What do you think about that?' Jack asked, hoping that Pierson would agree. Immortals made outstanding SG teams, and it never hurt to have a back up communication channel to Atlantis despite the distance and lack of a designated ZPM. Pierson could talk to any of his Immortals with or without an open gate or any functioning equipment.

'He'll go.' Methos responded.

'Tell him that.' Came Jack's snide comments a little later when Shepherd denied interest.

'I don't have to, he'll figure it out,' came Methos' confident answer.

In Paris, Methos sat in his favorite sidewalk café and drank his coffee while he thought about Major John Shepherd, Kronos' last son. Apparently, the Asgard-Asunte Laurus had given the other Horsemen several chances as contributors to the Immortal breeding program before removing them from the program. Obviously, the Horsemen had not been approached the same way that Andy, Amber's father had been. Whereas Andy had been approached by Laurus and told about the history of Immortals and the program in the hopes of getting Andy's cooperation as soon as he was mature enough to father children, Laurus had cautiously put altered women into the vicinity of each of the Horsemen and hoped for a pregnancy. Methos could only hope that the women had not been injured or traumatized for the sake of the program. He could query the complex's computer, but decided that Laurus' decision was in the past and nothing could be done about it now.

Regardless of the method used, the other Immortal Horsemen had fathered pre-immortal children. Silas had fathered two children: Ursa the giant of underground Paris, and Timmy a savant who loved trains. The limited mental capacity of both offspring explained why Silas had been eliminated from the program despite the already limited gene pool. Ursa was still hiding in a monastery outside of Paris, and Timmy had lost his head to a train and Mac's student Richie Ryan, had received the Quickening. Neither Immortal had been equipped to cope with the Game or moving freely among mortals.

Caspian's offspring were as severely twisted as their sire. Felicia Martins was clever and vicious. Her Quickening had been taken by Steven Keane a few years before the Game ended. She'd stayed too long in Paris and killed one too many immortals by pretending to be a new immortal, or by killing the loved ones of the Immortals she stalked. Keane wasn't any more tolerant of that kind of head hunting than MacLeod was. Slan Quince had been Caspian's second offspring and lost his head to MacLeod when he'd threatened Tessa Noel. Both children had been predatory and violent and it was no surprise that Caspian had been excluded from the program.

Kronos on the other hand, had fathered several offspring that had not turned out exactly like their sire. Capable of great violence when provoked, they tempered that violence with, if not exactly virtuous behavior, at least not evil behavior. Kronos was evil and violent because he liked it, but he'd always been very intelligent and charismatic. Kronos had dropped out of the radar of both Watcher groups when he secluded himself to create his deadly virus and mastermind his plan for world domination. John Shepherd was one of several of Kronos' children that were still alive.

Methos had not brought any attention to the fact that the other Horsemen had sired children. It had probably never occurred to MacLeod or Cassandra that the other three Horsemen had been old enough to sire children, and Methos had not felt obligated to tell them.

As the days went by, Methos monitored the Atlantis team as they arrived in the Pegasus Galaxy. Knowing the weakened state of the Atlantis station ZPM, he briefly considered raising the city to the surface for them, but held off. The Atlantis team was entering the feeding grounds of the Wraith. The use of that much power could waken the life-suckers from their hibernation. Acting upon his tried and true philosophy, he decided to do nothing until action was unavoidable.

Methos was still in Paris when across the galaxy Shepherd touched the necklace that woke the Wraith. Within a short period of time three wraith ships were flying out of one of the Stargates in the Pegasus galaxy.

"Those bloody idiots have woken the Wraith." Methos growled.

Researcher Jillian and librarian Lilith watched in surprise as Methos disappeared in front of them. With an order to MacLeod to return to the SGC, Methos moved to the Pegasus Galaxy.

Methos watched at the tree line as the remaining two Wraith ships went through the Stargate, taking their prisoners with them. He shielded himself against the waves of emotions from the inhabitants. People died; he grieved but accepted this loss. He then altered his appearance to be that of an old man in native's clothing before he joined the rest of the planet's survivors and followed them to Atlantis.

The chaos in the Atlantis gate room wasn't because of the extra uninvited visitors. Methos could feel the city's struggling power systems. With seconds until the city's shields collapsed, Methos thought-activated the city to rise to the surface. He justified his interference and the use of the city's power by telling himself he was just looking out for his own best interests; he wanted to remain in the comfort that Atlantis offered, rather than roughing it on the shore. If the hundreds of people on Atlantis were saved from drowning, then that was just another fringe benefit.

Atlantis crew members quickly began running diagnostics or staring in awe at the wonder of the now floating city and didn't notice when Methos made his way to the control room. A touch to a console began a download, ensuring the Atlantis systems tied in with those of the Complex back on Earth. Methos continued the download even when Dr. Weir, Shepherd and Rodney McKay entered the room. He noted that the ZPM was nearly depleted.

Wanting to learn more about the players here in Atlantis, Methos eavesdropped on Dr. Weir and Shepherd's private conversation on the balcony. Shepherd's passionate pleas to retrieve the captured crew and villagers reminded Methos of how different Shepherd was from his father. Kronos' goal would have been the destruction of a village, while Shepherd's goals were a little more in keeping with something MacLeod would have done. Kronos would never have given a damn about the villagers or captured soldiers. That Shepherd found the means to do what he wanted regardless of the obstacles reinforced Methos' beliefs that Shepherd was nothing like his father.

Methos compared and contrasted this pre-Immortal son of Kronos. He saw more differences between father and son. Shepherd didn't have the cruelty or anger that his father had, while he did have Kronos' confidence, arrogance, and daring. Methos lightly tapped in to the connection he had with Shepherd as the youngster left on the dangerous rescue.

Methos stood out on one of Atlantis' decks and watched the waves as he mentally followed Shepherd. Rather than directly intercede when Shepherd was captured by the Wraith, he nudged Lt Ford in the right direction. Methos muttered in irritation when the Wraith caretaker died. Could the SGA team be any more obvious than they were already being? Why not just send up a neon space sign broadcasting their location? Methos was unable to relax until Shepherd and the puddle jumper appeared through the gate just in the nick of time.

At a mixer party for the Athosians and Atlantians, Methos again observed the main players at this new base. His attention was drawn to Shepherd's emotions and he listened in as Dr. Weir talked to Shepherd. When she'd had her say and walked away, Methos approached the young pre-immortal.

"She's right you know." Methos said in a soft voice.

"Right about what?" Shepherd asked the old man. He didn't recognize the old man as one of Tayla's village.

"Nothing is certain in life. You came to Atlantis to experience something new. Sometimes you have to stand at the precipice to learn who you are. The Athosians could be the first step on that path."

Shepherd wondered how the old man knew what he knew, but rather than be suspicious or alarmed Shepherd strangely trusted the old man. "And what about the Wraith?"

"What about the Goa'uld? SG-1 brought Earth to their attention again after thousands of years of peace. Abydos paid for SG-1's attack on Ra, just as the Athosians are paying now. It was foolish to have awakened the Wraith but you'll just have to live with that."

"That's not very reassuring." Shepherd muttered.

"Not meant to be." The old man said in amusement.

"I still wish it had gone differently." John said with a sigh.

"If wishes were horses, beggars would ride; if wishes were fishes, we'd all have some fried."

Before John could reply he saw Tayla approaching. John smiled at her and when he turned back to the old man, he was no where to be seen. "Did you see where the old man I was talking to went?" John asked, curious.

"I saw you standing here alone." Tayla replied, a confused look on her face.

With the excitement over for the time being, Methos returned to the SGC to fill Jack in on what had been happening galaxies away. Methos held his amusement in check when he saw Jack's irritation of being surprised in his office by Methos' sudden appearance on his couch. It probably wasn't professional to be 'popping' into the SGC like this but Methos didn't want to run the chance of being spotted by Mac or the other members of SG1 before he'd gotten the chance to talk to Jack first.

After Methos had brought Jack up to speed, leaving out many of the details that he knew but the Atlantian team didn't, Methos fell silent knowing that Jack would have questions.

"Did you know about these Wraith guys just like you knew about the base in Antarctica?" Jack asked in irritation.

Methos shrugged. "I knew that there had been a base in the Antarctic but not that it was still intact. It was turned off."

"You knew it was there and didn't tell us?" Jack restated, didn't Pierson know what they were up against? Hadn't he seen the toll Anubis' attack had taken?

Irritated at Jack's insistence on an answer, Methos sat up straight in his chair. "It's not up to me to be the sole protector of Earth, I gave you the technology for orbital satellites and who stalled the program funds? Gods, look who you voted in as Vice President!" Methos growled.

Senator, now Vice President Kinsey had been the biggest thorn in Star Gate Control's side. After Anubis' attack on the Earth, Kinsey was down but not out. He still had supporters in influential positions.

"I didn't vote for him, don't blame me." Jack grumbled.

"I'm not blaming you, but I hold the governments responsible for the protection of Earth." Methos paced. "I can't just annihilate all threats that show up in orbit."

"Why not? You live here, your kids live here."

"We do, and have for thousands of years. But the mortals don't know that. If the mortals find out about Immortals before they're ready to accept us, they'll attack my children. I don't want to fight a war here."

Jack paled at the thought of what Pierson could do if his children were being hunted. Pierson was an Ancient. He had no limits to his power except the limits he placed on himself.

"Okay, okay, we guard the home front. Now tell me about the Wraith. How bad is it?"

Methos told Jack what he thought Jack could handle about the Wraith.

"Life suckers, superpowers, jeeze! Can't you give me any good news?"

"They can't get here unless they have the Atlantis Stargate, or get one of your ships with wormhole capabilities."

"Then get me another ZPM or create a wormhole so I can send more troops."

Methos shook his head, "It's complicated…"

"Damn it Pierson, I have people in danger!"

"And they got themselves into that danger. You can't just go mucking about the universe like you own the place. What ever happened to the Prime Directive?"

"This isn't Star Trek, this is real. They didn't wake up the Wraith on purpose. You of all people know that shit happens when you're out there."

"But they did wake up the Wraith. If I go in and bail them out, what happens next time? Hey Methos, some gang called the Ori called to say they were headed this way, handle it will you?" Methos sighed. "It doesn't work that way, Jack. Might doesn't make right. I told you that when Anubus was coming. Do you know how hard it was for me to wait until you sat in the chair in Antarctica?"

"I know it! I just…"

"Jack, I know. I will step in if I have to, but only if I have to."

Jack nodded grudgingly, accepting that Pierson had a code of ethics he followed and no amount of arguing would change that code.

Methos saw Jack's reluctant acceptance. "The team you sent to Atlantis doesn't know me. I can blend in and watch for trouble. They'll either dig themselves out or I'll find a way to help them and drop something into their laps. No promises of mass destruction, Jack. I don't want the entire universe to know that I'm here."

"Just promise to keep an eye on them?"

Methos nodded. "A couple of them are family, Jack."

Jack paused and remembered that Pierson had said that Shepherd was a pre-immortal. He said in relief, "the Ancient gene."

Methos nodded. Jack felt better after hearing that. Methos would watch out for his children and the Mortals with them.

Methos left Jack's office and headed for his quarters to pack for a trip to the Pegasus galaxy. The changes in the government had made Methos nervous. A new President and Chiefs of Staff knew about Immortals now, including the very untrustworthy Kinsey. After disclosure, Methos had been summoned to a meeting. He'd only told this group an abbreviated version of what the former President and staff had known. Methos had sidestepped the group's questions or given them half answers.

He remembered Kinsey's aggressive questions at that meeting so many months ago...

"Do you commit your army of Immortals for the defense of Earth in exchange for residency here?" Kinsey had asked.

"My army consists of Earth natives, gentlemen; confirmed by the previous administration. I commit my resources to Earth as a last defense."

"Are you saying you won't use your army if we're attacked?" Kinsey challenged.

"I will call them if we need them. I'm not offering them for you to use in place of a planet-wide satellite defense system or ships for planetary defense. My army is for ground defense. It's up to the governments of Earth to keep the enemy away."

When Kinsey would have argued further, the President took back control of the meeting.

"We can work out the details of planetary defense later. This meeting was to meet Dr. Pierson."

Methos was excused and met SG1 who waited for him outside the building.

"How'd it go?" Jack asked, nervously thinking that he already knew the answer and wouldn't like it.

"I hope none of the galaxy's nasties hears about the change in management or they'll be by for an unfriendly visit." Methos said ominously.

Months later Anubis attacked and Earth was saved yet again by the efforts of SG1.

Methos returned to Atlantis and helped himself to quarters. He was curious about the station but rather than wander the facilities and activate systems with his presence and further deplete the ZPM, he explored the station with his mind. There were some very interesting things on the station. He wondered what Dr. Weir would think when she found herself in cryogenic sleep in one of the labs. Methos' philosophy was to do nothing unless he had to. The SGA would just have to deal with the surprises hidden on the station and in this galaxy.

Methos headed for the dining area and helped himself to something to eat. He spotted the Canadian scientist Rodney McKay just sitting down at an empty table. He smiled in remembered amusement at the man's pompous and egotistical comments the other day. This man was going to be so easy and Methos was easily amused.

Rodney McKay had heaped his tray with food. Intellectually he accepted that he wasn't THAT hungry, but emotionally he was still upset by the Ancient's shield device that had prevented him from eating or drinking. Rodney took a bite of the potatoes and gravy and savored the flavors. His peace was disturbed when an old man in native clothing set down a tray of food and slid into the chair across the table from him. The old man must be one of the Athosians, thought Rodney. Shouldn't they stay in the quarters Dr. Weir had so generously assigned to them? Did the Athosians realize that by wandering around aimlessly they were wasting precious power that would be better spent on diagnostics and surveys of Atlantis?

The old man took a bite of the food on his tray and looked over at Rodney's heaping tray. "Eating for two?"

Rodney glared at the old man. "It's really none of your business but I'm trying to get my blood sugars back to normal after practically starving to death."

The old man nodded knowingly, "oh I can see that, you're practically skin and bones. How long did you wear the Ancient's device, a whole six hours? How ever did you manage?"

"It wasn't six hours; it was seven and a half!" Rodney sputtered indignantly.

"My mistake." the old man said graciously.

"Wait, how did you know about the Ancient's device?" Rodney challenged.

"You know, people talk..."

"What people? What did they say? Because it was perfectly understandable that the artificial gene caused an unforeseen reaction causing the device to stay activated..."

The old man nodded sagely. "Perfectly understandable, how could you know it wouldn't stop shielding you until you wanted it to turn off?"

"That's not how it was!" Rodney's continued tirade was cut off when one of the techs approached the table with a question for Rodney. When Rodney turned back to finish his argument, the old man was gone.

Methos finished his dinner in his quarters, still amused at having pushed McKay's buttons.

In the following weeks, the SGA team struggled with the station's command systems and equipment. At first, only the few people with the ancient gene could activate the critical station systems. After figuring this out, Dr. Weir had those people on standby to activate systems as needed.

The SGA team's determination was admirable. The addition of the Tok'ra at the SGC had greatly advanced the technology level of understanding of the SGC teams and staff. Without that help, the SGA's efforts to understand some of the Ancient's systems might have been impossible for them. The Tok'ra, like the Watchers, had embraced the new paths they had chosen. The Watchers had opened their academy to Immortals and the Tok'ra were contributing to the efforts to make peace.

It didn't take Shepherd long to get into trouble again. He was attacked by an alien Wraith ancestor bug while on a mission. Methos could feel the pre-immortal slowly moving towards his first death. As he had with the other pre-immortals that had passed over into their immortality, Methos monitored their vital signs carefully, waiting for the moment of transition. Methos reached across the distance and spoke directly to Shepherd's mind.

'Calm, remain calm.'

'Delirious…' John thought. He was starting to hear voices in his head!

'Yeah, that's it. You're delirious,' said the amused voice in his head.

'Then leave me alone.'

'Wouldn't dream of it,' laughed the voice.

'It hurts.'

'You have to die, John.'

'What? Shouldn't my delusions be on my side?'

'I am. Why would the bug stay attached to a dead guy?'

'Good point,' John thought.

The voice in his head pestered John until he gave in and told the group to defibrillate him.

John gasped his first breath as an Immortal while Dr. Beckett was trying to revive him. John kept silent about the remembered voice in his head, not sure that he wasn't delirious when he heard it.

Methos smiled at John's confusion and decided to keep the newest Immortal outside of the link to the other Immortals. Methos didn't want John to endanger himself or feel alienated from his fellow Atlantians. There was always the possibility that Shepherd would take dangerous chances if he knew of his immortality. Methos would be nearby to help if John needed it.

Methos was careful to closely shield his Quickening and stay out of Shepherd's immortal buzz range so that he wouldn't be felt. On the other hand, since his first harassment of McKay had gone so well, Methos made it a personal mission to look for opportunities to further irritate the scientist.

When McKay was working on a console in the command room in an effort to figure out its function, Methos approached him and looked over McKay's shoulders to see what the scientist was doing.

"It sends signals to the gate room but what does it do?" McKay muttered softly to himself. McKay typed rapidly into the laptop that he was using as a translator but to no affect. McKay's hand hovered over a series of execute symbols as he considered just pushing the buttons to see what the console did.

Methos wiped the smile of amusement off his face and in a straight face he leaned nonchalantly on the consol. "I wouldn't activate that if I were you."

McKay had been so focused on the console and laptop that he hadn't noticed the old man's approach. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be off doing Athosian things? This is a secured area, authorized personnel only." McKay muttered as he tried to make sense of the lights now brightly lit on the console.

"I'm authorized. I wouldn't activate that if I were you." Methos repeated.

"You are not authorized." McKay argued before he pushed the activation button that his hand had been hovering over. No one, especially not an old villager was going to tell him what not to push!

Down in the gate room, Shepherd and some of his men staged equipment in preparation for a mission. They were going to try a couple of gate locations to see what they could find. Hopefully there would be a safe place to move the Athosian refugees to.

Shepherd looked up at the command room and saw Rodney talking to the old man that had approached Shepherd at the party. Impulsively, Shepherd wanted to know who the old man was; there was something about the old man... He started towards the stairs that would take him to the command room when shouts rang out behind him. Shepherd spun in place and tried to identify the cause of the excitement.

Small robots were coming from cubbyholes in the wall. It only took a couple of seconds to determine that the robots were cleaning the floor. The special ops soldiers were laughing and jumping around as the little robots quickly went about their tasks.

McKay looked up in surprise when he heard the shouts from the gate room, but he relaxed when he saw the floor cleaning robots moving around.

"I told you I wouldn't activate it right now." The old man said with a smirk.

"McKay! Turn those things off, we have work to do." Shepherd shouted as he watched the soldiers jumping around to avoid the scurrying robots.

McKay started pushing buttons on the console. When McKay would have continued pushing buttons randomly in his haste to shut down the robots, Methos leaned over and activated a button.

Methos pointed to the first button that McKay had activated. "Clean in the future tense," and then he pointed to the button that he had pushed, "Clean in the past tense."

Another technician had hurried over to the console when the shouts had risen from the gate room. After the old man had translated the console buttons the technician read them.

"He's right Dr. McKay."

McKay glared at the technician. When he turned towards the old man to tell him to go find someone else to bother, the old man was gone.

Shepherd jogged up the stairs and came to a quick stop when he saw Rodney talking to a technician. The old man was no where to be seen. Shepherd joined McKay and the tech, "Where did the old guy go?"

"Good riddance I say!" McKay grumbled before turning back to the console. "How can we get any work done with civilians wandering around interrupting us?" The tech smirked and before he walked away he whispered to Shepherd, "The old man translated the Ancient language and turned off the cleaners."

"I was getting to that. He was just in the way." McKay defended.

Seeing that Shepherd was watching for the 'old man' now, Methos stayed closer to the Athosians. He enjoyed learning their language and culture. Still in the guise of an old man, he helped by keeping track of the children from the village. He kept them distracted and entertained by telling them stories, linking up with his children and sharing the stories with them as well. He let his children see through his eyes so that they could see what children several galaxies away were like. His children were every bit as enthralled with his storytelling as the Athosian children were.

'Poppa, can I come and play with the kids?'

'Maybe later Zoe, we'll see how long they're going to be staying here.'

'If Zoe gets to come, can we come too?' Nicholas and Joshua asked. Matthew followed with a, 'me too!'

'We'll see, your mothers will have to give permission because this place is very far away.'

Knowing that they'd have to be satisfied with that answer for now, the Immortal children settled down to listen to the next story.

Tayla sat in the back with a small child in her lap. She'd heard Holling's son telling his father how great the storyteller was. Tayla had joined the children the next time the old man came to the common area used by the Athosians. He was indeed a talented storyteller.

After the storytelling session, she approached the old man. "You are not from my village." she stated.

"I travel a lot to trade. I was near your village when the Wraith came. I was invited along when the Atlantians brought your village through the Stargate.

"Will your people worry that you have been taken by the Wraith? I'm sure that Dr. Weir or Major Shepherd will consider getting word to them." Tayla offered.

"Thank you for the offer. I've already sent word and they know that I'm safe."

"What is the name of your village? Perhaps I have been there or heard of it."

"SeaK'vr" Methos said with an accent similar to the Athosians.

"I have not heard of it, is it far?"

Methos nodded, "It is very far from your village. This was my first time to your area."

"You are very good with children; do you have some of your own?" Tayla asked, wanting to get more details about this pleasant man.

"I have several, grandchildren even." Methos said proudly.

"Then you are many times blessed." Tayla said with a smile. After the old man had walked away Tayla realized that she had forgotten to ask his name.

Methos found other ways to fill his time in addition to telling stories and baiting McKay. When the Atlantis staff with the ancient gene were busy, he discreetly activated the systems that were waiting activation or helped out with little repairs he came across. Methos was repairing a water purifier for the greenhouse and chatting in Russian with one of the technicians when McKay came into the greenhouse control room. Methos was pleased at the irritated look that appeared on McKay's face when the scientist spotted him.

"What is he doing here? This is a secured area." McKay challenged the technician.

The tech shrugged. "He's authorized. Besides, he was helping me fix the water purifier so that you can continue to eat."

"What can he know about water purifiers?" McKay grumbled.

The tech smiled at the old man and said something in Russian. The old man smirked and said something back which made the technician laugh.

It irritated Rodney that he hadn't understood what the two had said that was so funny. "I was told that you have a console that needs to be activated." McKay said gruffly, eager to get out of here and get on with more important tasks.

"It's already done." The technician said.

"What? You mean I've wasted my time?" McKay exclaimed.

At the technician's nod, McKay hurried from the greenhouse. He was going to have a few words with Dr. Weir about wasting his time. He had too many things that had to be done and had no time to waste running false errands. He was still grumbling as he entered the command center and spotted Weir and Shepherd.

Weir and Shepherd were speaking with the heads of the linguistic and technical departments and other than giving McKay a nod to acknowledge his presence, they continued their conversation.

"It will slow down our assessment of the equipment if we can't free up more people that can translate Ancient." the technical department director said.

"I understand, but everyone we have is already working on critical systems." The linguistic director said patiently.

"Why don't you use the old Athosian, he has time on his hands." Rodney interrupted in a snide tone of voice. "I just saw him down in the greenhouse pretending to work on water purifiers, which brings me to the question of why I was sent down there if the temperature console had already been activated to respond to anyone without the Ancient gene?" McKay said, his arms crossed and his expression reflecting his irritation. Perhaps he could get the old man assigned to tasks that would keep him out of his way.

"The old Athosian?" Shepherd asked.

"The Athosians don't speak Ancient." Dr. Weir said, her suspicions becoming aroused.

"Or Russian," McKay said, "but I was just down in the greenhouse and he was talking Russian like he'd been born there."

Dr. Weir and Shepherd looked at each other in alarm. "Now that I think about it, he knew about the Goa'uld and the SGC."

Shepherd turned and bolted down the corridor towards the green house.

"Lt. Ford, get a squad and meet me at the greenhouse, possible intruder." Shepherd said into his comm. Shepherd slowed down his run when his head began to hurt and he became nauseous. He turned a corner and came to an abrupt stop when he spotted a dark haired young man leaning casually against the corridor wall, obviously waiting for him.

"I thought you were getting a little complacent. You do realize that I could have caused a great deal of damage in the weeks I've been here." Methos said.

Shepherd pointed his gun at the man and clicked off the safety. "Who are you and what do you mean by the weeks you've been here?"

Methos had blocked Shepherd's transmission to Lt. Ford and knew from a mental scan of the area that they would not be disturbed.

"Dr. Adam Pierson, formerly of SG-1," Methos said by way of an introduction.

Shepherd recognized the name, and there was something familiar about the voice even if he didn't recognize the face. "The Dr. Pierson who was on extended leave granted by General O'Neill?"

Methos nodded.

Something clicked in Shepherd's mind. "But you were an old man." Shepherd said, still trying to get it straight in his mind. He was sure the voice belonged to the old man he'd spoken to and been looking for.

"I looked like an old man. A simple disguise really."

"How did you get here?" Shepherd said doubtfully.

"I've been here; no one looks closely when everyone is a stranger to each other."

"That's not good enough." Shepherd challenged.

"Would it matter if I said that General O'Neill knows that I'm here and that he approves? He couldn't spare Dr. Jackson so I came in his place."

"Why didn't you check in with Dr. Weir or me?" Shepherd asked, still not comfortable despite the rational explanation.

"I'm introducing myself now. It doesn't matter why I chose to remain silent. I'm working under General O'Neill's authorization and I'm not undermining Dr. Weir or your authority."

"How do I know what you say is the truth? Conveniently for you there isn't any way to check with General O'Neill."

Methos had been anticipating this and had mind-spoken Jack. Jack had quickly handwritten a note, signed it and held it out. Reaching across the galaxy, Methos had pulled the note to him and pretended to pull it from behind him.

"I have this." Methos said and presented the note from O'Neill.

I thought you were going to keep your head down. Did they catch you? Jack thought to Methos with amusement. It would serve the old immortal right if he'd been caught sneaking around. The troops that had been assigned to SGA were all highly skilled soldiers.

Actually, I set Shepherd up so that I could have a little talk in private.

Shepherd read the letter while keeping an eye on Pierson. "How do I know if this is real?"

'Enough. You know who I am.' Methos mind-spoke Shepherd, putting a compulsion into his words. He gave Shepherd a brief brush of the immortal link.

Shepherd's eyes widened at the brief exposure to the many powerful immortal minds. He accepted the truth of what Pierson told him and the feel of danger disappeared. He relaxed and clicked the safety of the gun back on. "It wasn't a delusion then." He stated. He remembered the voice in his head so vividly, and now he could explain it.

"I can talk to anyone the same way that I spoke with you. The headache that you felt as you approached me is because you have the Ancient's gene and I am an Ancient."

Shepherd thought about it for a moment. "Can everyone here with the Ancient gene feel you?"

"No, only one other person here has the right Ancient gene. The others have it in a dormant and muted form."

"Where does the gene come from?"

"In your case, the gene comes from your biological father. He was the grandson many times removed of an Ancient descendant. He and others like him were intended to be the ground defense against the Goa'uld. It was these descendants that fought Ra and buried the Stargate on Earth."

"Who knows about you?" Shepherd asked, "Just General O'Neill?"

"I've been with the SGC for a few years now. Only the President and his Chiefs of Staff, Generals Hammond and O'Neill, and the original members of SG-1 know about me. My continued secrecy is something that I've insisted on. I hope that you'll respect my wishes and keep this between us."

"So why are you telling me this now?" Shepherd asked without committing himself to secrecy.

"I'm returning to Earth for a while. There are things that I need to take care of personally."

Shepherd snorted. "And just how are you planning to get back? We don't have enough power in the ZPM to open a gate connection."

Methos smiled, "I don't need a gate; it's an Ancient thing."

Methos reached with his mind and let Shepherd see as he moved across the galaxies. 'I'll be in touch.'

"Pierson?" Shepherd looked around frantically, still wanting to believe that he was delirious. "Ancients crossing the galaxy without a Stargate. I must be crazy!"

'It's a mad, mad, mad, mad world,' came Pierson's words. Shepherd could hear the amusement in the other man's thoughts.

Methos was surprised at his growing bond to Kronos' son. The intensity of it reminded him of his immediate bond with Duncan MacLeod a few short years ago. Despite the history that Methos had had with Kronos, Methos had loved his 'brother'.

Methos reappeared in his quarters at SGC and took a hot shower before looking up General O'Neill. They had some details to work out now that the president was going forward with the orbital satellite system and had authorized the building of several more star ships.

TBC…