Before leaving the infirmary, the technician suggests that John come back for further testing if he experiences anything out of the ordinary. He agrees to do so and leaves with Rodney and Radek.
John's comm. buzzes and he clicks on it, "Sheppard here."
"Colonel Sheppard, I just heard that you hand a mishap with one of Janus' devices. Are you all right?" Woolsey asks.
"Yes, sir. I was actually just clear by the infirmary," John responds.
"Well, that's wonderful," Woolsey answers with a jovial tone. "Keep me appraised if things should change."
"I will, sir," John says before he clicks off his comm.
Rodney looks at John curiously, "You sure you're feeling ok?"
John smiles widely, "Actually, I feel better then ok. This morning I was feeling sore and stiff, but now I feel… I feel like I did five years ago."
"Really?" Rodney asks with excitement.
"Rodney... we are not going to have you get in there unless we know for sure what the side effects may be. You, most of all, should know how complicated and deadly these ancient devices can be," Radek reprimands softly. "Let's give it a couple of days. This way, if anything does go wrong; we won't have to treat both of you."
Rodney rolls his eyes and sighs, "Fine, whatever." He looks at John. "So what are you going to do now?"
John pats Rodney on the shoulder, "I think I'm gonna go for a run and then get something to eat."
"Fine. Let me know when you go to the cafeteria and I'll join you," Rodney says as he walks away with Radek.
"Sounds great," John replies as he jogs away.
--
A half an hour later, Ronon, Teyla and Keller arrive back to Atlantis. Woolsey meets them in the gate room and informs them of the day's event. They are relieved that John is all right, but Keller suggests that she run another series of tests in the morning to make sure he remains fine.
Ronon, Teyla and Jennifer, meet up with John and Rodney in the cafeteria. They notice that John seems to be a little more hyper than normal. John sees the concern look on Teyla and Ronon's face.
"I'm fine," he assures them. "Actually, better then fine. How about I prove it with us doing some sparring after this?"
"I don't know," Ronon begins. "Last time you acted like this you it was because you were…"
"Becoming a bug? Thanks for reminding me," John blurts out. "Plus, this time it's different."
"How so?" Jennifer asks.
"I don't know how to explain it, but it's just different," John says with some frustration.
They all decide to let the subject end and Ronon, Teyla and Jennifer begin to talk about their day off world.
--
When Ronon, Teyla and John go to the gym, Teyla suggests that she just observes instead of participating. John can see a worried look on her face and pulls her aside.
"Teyla, you ok?" John asks gently. "It won't be like last time. I would never do that to you again…I promise."
Teyla gives him a gentle smile, "I will see how you do with Ronon and then I will decide whether to join in or not."
John gives her a boyish smile, "That sounds fair."
While John sparred with Ronon, they noticed that his skills didn't improve, but endurance has. He spars with Ronon for an hour and then another hour with Teyla before he gets tired. They all agree at the end of it all that it is time for them to retire for the night.
They know they have an early morning staff meeting and they don't want to be late. None of them wants to hear Woolsey's tiring lecture.
It takes a while before John falls asleep and before he knows it's morning. Teyla is banging on his door. He slowly wakes up and struggles to get out of bed. His legs feel weak and he figures it's because he overdid it the night before.
"I'm coming!" he shouts.
"John, you are running late for this morning's meeting!" Teyla yells back through the door. "I was worried when you never answered your comm."
John opens the door, "I didn't even hear it."
Teyla's eyes widens in fear as soon as John opens the door and he can see the fear in her face. She quickly clicks her radio and tells Keller that she needs to get to John's quarters right away.
"What? What's wrong?" John asks with concern.
"Something has gone terribly wrong," she says wearily.
He looks down at his hands and sees they are wrinklier then before. He begins to walk towards the mirror in his room. Teyla tries to stop him, but it only makes him more determine to go look. What he sees shocks him. He has aged about twenty years.
