Good to be back
When he was called, Sheppard was reading his book, trying to relax after having supervised a group of marines that had embarked with them before leaving Earth. When he heard Woolsey's urgent tone, however, he was already leaving his room.
When he was called, McKay was in a heavy make out session. He could only groan to Woolsey's urgent tone.
"Fuck" Jennifer spat, out of breath. Why did it always have to happen during those moments? She sighed. "Come on, go" she reluctantly pushed Rodney off the bed, with a sour expression.
He got up and rearranged his clothes. He then turned around and gave her a quick peck on the forehead: "I won't be long… hopefully."
...o.o.o...
But when both men got to the conference room, they couldn't hide their surprise; they had been expecting a more… dangerous situation.
"Mom! Dad!" Alexander greeted both of them with a strong hug. "How are you guys doing?" he asked, beaming.
Sheppard was too shocked to answer, but Rodney was quick to shoot back: "What are you doing here?"
Alexander was a bit taken aback by the man's question: "Well, I came to visit." He then admitted: "I missed you guys." He looked around and was reminded that Woolsey was waiting.
The Atlantis leader looked at Sheppard and asked: "So he's not a threat? You know him?"
"Yeah, he came here a few years ago, when Elizabeth was Atlantis' leader… although he was a lot younger" John answered. "He's… huh" he paused, looking at the room full of people, "well, maybe you should read some old reports?" He didn't want everyone to know who was Alexander. He had enough of all the jokes related to that when the boy was with them three years back.
Woolsey seemed hesitant. "Very well. I'll find Elizabeth's reports and do some research." He cleared his throat, trying to sound serious as he talked to Alexander: "Young man, I want to see you at 13:30. My office." He turned to John: "Now if you don't mind, I need to finish this meeting."
"Yes, sir" and Sheppard saluted, before leaving with Rodney and Alexander. "Let's get lunch, guys." He had many questions for the young man, related to his presence on Atlantis.
...o.o.o...
Team SGA-01 sat at a table in the mess hall, eating lunch and discussing, mostly about Alexander's arrival with him.
"So what's new, buddy?" Sheppard asked, not really knowing where to start. He knew the young man had a reason to be there.
Alexander smiled, but his eyes were not. Teyla noticed, but didn't comment about it.
"A lot of things are new." He sighed and spun his fork between his fingers. "I have so much to tell you guys."
"What about that sibling of yours? You know, the one that... when your parents came to get you last time?" Rodney asked, a bit uncomfortable.
The young man stiffened. "Oh, you mean the twins. Laurence and Evelyne. Well... Laurence died when she was around two years old" Alexander admitted sadly. "It was a strange illness, a fever, native from the Pegasus Galaxy that we didn't have the antibiotics for. " He looked at his plate intently. "We also lost a lot of people from the expedition because of it."
Rodney's face changed and he said with remorse: "I huh, I'm sorry to hear about that. I... heard it's hard to lose a child." He cleared his throat uncomfortably. "I shouldn't have asked… it's none of my business."
The young man used his fork to play with the food in his plate. "It's okay, don't worry." He looked up: "Mom fell into depression and dad... dad tried to manage Atlantis all by himself. The next couple of years were difficult." He then smiled widely: "But in the end, everything was fine. Mom snapped out of depression and dad was finally able to cut down on work. Yeah. Now Evelyne is fifteen years old and doing fine." He took a bite.
"How are your parents doing?" Sheppard asked, blowing on his soup, to cool it.
It was then that Alexander's expression darkened. He swallowed the food: "Dad died. Last year."
Silence was permeating the air at the table. No one dared to talk.
The young man then continued: "That's why I'm here. Mom..." he stared into empty space "hasn't been the same since. It's even worse than when Laurence died. He's like... empty." He then put his face in his hands and started to sob. "I t-tried to help h-him, but... I don't know what to do anymore..."
Teyla was fast on her feet and went to hug Alexander. "Let it go, Alexander. Your burden is too heavy for you. Let us help you."
So the young man cried, like a small child. He felt better after that, but still felt lonely.
Everyone else at the table sat there, not really knowing what to say or do.
"I tried to take care of Evelyne, but I couldn't do it while helping out the second in command of Atlantis, on top of caring for mom..." Alexander finally said. "It felt like I was all alone."
Teyla rubbed his back soothingly, but said nothing.
It was then that the young man turned to face her and admitted: "If it wouldn't have been for you, Teyla... well the Teyla in my dimension, I think I would have left everything and tried to find the easy way out of that life."
"Is that why you came here?" Ronon asked.
Alexander looked outside, the ocean reflected in his blue eyes, still shiny from the tears. "Yes, I needed to see my dad... and my mom like they were before this whole tragedy." He breathed in slowly. "It was actually aunt Teyla's suggestion." He then shot a smile at the said woman. "She said it would do me good to see you guys and to learn how to lead a city."
"We're sorry to hear about your losses, Alex" Sheppard said. "But what about your sister? If your mo-... If John is such in a bad shape, who's taking care of her?"
"A few years ago, our communications with Earth renewed. So we met aunt Jeannie and her family. Before leaving to come here, I arranged things so that Laurence would live with aunt Jeannie for a while."
Rodney hummed, but said nothing.
Sheppard shot a glance at the scientist, before asking Alexander, with as much tact he could muster: "How did your dad... die?" He knew Rodney was also very curious about this topic.
But then Teyla intervened. "I think that's enough questions for today. Anyways, as far as I know, Mr Woolsey scheduled a meeting with Alexander in fifteen minutes, so he should get on his way."
...o.o.o...
"So, Alexander... What's your last name?"
"McKay-Sheppard."
Writing down the information on computer tablet, he continued: "From what I read in an earlier report -and from what people told me- you are from another dimension." Mr Woolsey sat back in his chair, trying to analyze the person in front of him.
The young man nodded.
"But how come you are a lot older? You were five back then, and if my calculations are right, you would be eight... But you are what… eighteen, twenty?"
Alexander sat straighter in his armchair: "I'm 20 and will be 21 in a couple of months. You see, Mr Woolsey, on top of journeying to another dimension, I also went back in time... don't ask me how, though, I'm still trying to understand that. So, here I am" he concluded, with a large smile.
"I see." The leader wrote down some notes with his tablet. "And your reason to come back?" He looked up, with curious eyes.
Alexander's smile fell: "My father, Dr McKay, died in my own dimension. I simply needed to see him one more time..." He looked down at his lap, a small wave of sorrow hitting him.
The other man nodded. "I'm sorry to hear about your father," he said solemnly, keeping his eyes on the tablet, as he wrote something down, "but I need to know: how long did you plan on staying here?"
"I... don't know. Didn't really think about it." He looked up: "As long as you'll let me stay?" he said with hope.
Woolsey took a minute to think about it. As long as he helped out, he guessed that it wouldn't hurt to have another person around. "Do you have any specific formation, or studies that could help this mission?"
Alexander's expression brightened: "I always had a fascination about the human body; I remember following Dr. Beckett in the infirmary and asking a lot of questions or looking into his books for more information when I was a kid. In my early teens, I studied under a couple of healers on different planets; I am rather knowledgeable about native plants and their healing properties. Back in my own dimension I also started, a year ago, a military training on Atlantis to eventually become a medic."
The older man nodded; this could be interesting.
"I also know how to use a handgun. Mom showed me when I was thirteen, saying it could save a life to know how to use one in the Pegasus galaxy. I've also been practicing because of my military training."
"Of course. It should actually be a condition to be met for future candidates who want to come here" Woolsey said, as he took note of that. "We never know when it could be useful!" he said, with a chuckle.
Alexander laughed nervously; oh how many times his favourite handgun had saved his life. "Of course, Mr Woolsey."
The older man then looked down at his notes, and sighed. He got up and held out his hand: "Welcome on board, Mr McKay-Sheppard. I'm sure your presence will be of great help to this expedition."
Getting up, the young man smiled widely and shook hands with Mr Woolsey. "Thank you."
...o.o.o...
A door to the recreational room slid open. "Whatcha guys doing?"
John, Teyla and Ronon looked up from the TV screen, where a movie was playing.
Sheppard took the remote and paused the film.
"How did it go, Alexander?" Teyla asked.
He shrugged nonchalantly: "Oh you know, it was okay."
John, who was sitting on the sofa besides the Athosian woman looked at the young man with mock suspicion: "Just that? Okay? He didn't tell you anything important?"
The Satedan rose an eyebrow, to support his friend's question.
Alexander sat down on an armchair close to them: "Ahh, comfy."
Ronon laughed at the young man's lack of answer.
Then making a face, as if he was recalling a memory: "Oh yeah… he said that I could go on missions with the teams and that I would be a great addition to Atlantis" Alexander said with a large charming smile.
John smiled widely and got up to congratulate the other: "I knew Woolsey wouldn't pass a chance of having someone new on a team."
Teyla hugged warmly Alexander: "Congratulations and welcome back."
Ronon gave him a pat on the back: "Congrats, kiddo. Can't wait to see how you'll do out there on the field."
Alexander gave a weak chuckle at that last comment; he wasn't exactly like Ronon and John, soldiers. Being more of a pacifist, he preferred collecting data than fighting. But that didn't mean that he was defenseless when in danger. He just hoped he wouldn't disappoint his 'mother' when the time would come.
...o.o.o...
The day after, Alexander entered Rodney's room as the man was sitting on his bed, working on his laptop. "Hey dad."
"Hey."
Then there was a silence.
As he was working, Rodney was getting annoyed by having Alexander staring at him like he was an alien. The clicking sound of the keyboard stopped. "What?" he shot, impatiently.
The young man, sitting on the bed's end, shrugged. "Dunno. It's weird being back. It's still kinda like a shock that things aren't like back home. You, being alive, is the biggest difference."
That last sentence made Rodney uncomfortable: "Huh, well I hope it's a positive difference? Right?"
Alexander smiled lightly. "Yeah, it is." He then switched subject: "Hey, mom told me that you want to propose to Jennifer?"
The older man nodded: "Hopefully it won't be ruined by something like Atlantis shutting down because it thinks it's being attacked by a virus."
Alexander's visible clueless stare got Rodney explaining: "The last time I was going to propose to someone, it didn't turn out so well. She left a few months after that."
"Why did she leave?"
It was a flashback that Rodney had to share with Alexander, who was only four at the time.
"I'm sorry! I couldn't find anyone to watch him, so I had to bring him over" Rodney said guiltily as he entered the botanist's lab.
Katie looked at Alexander, who waved to say hello while hiding himself behind his father. She waved back and smiled slightly, sighing inwardly; she had thought that Rodney and her would have been alone.
The child looked at the numerous plants in the lab: "Daddy, can I go see?"
"Sure, but don't touch anything. Some of them are poisonous." Rodney sat down beside the botanist as Alexander left them. "So, you wanted to meet?"
The brown-haired woman looked intently at the man and sighed as she then looked at the little boy walking around the laboratory: "You know, Rodney... I've been thinking a lot."
Rodney looked confused.
So Katie continued: "You remember last time we had a date?"
"Of course, it was when Atlantis decided to shut itself down."
"Yes, that was months ago" the woman said, sadly.
Rodney was startled: "What? That much? It feels like it happened yesterday." He thought for a second; Alexander wasn't even with them when it happened, which means that it had been around four months since their last date.
Katie then took Rodney's hands into her own and, with all the courage she could muster, declared: "Look, Rodney. I think that your heart can't belong to me, as it already belongs to someone else." She lowered her eyes. 'Although you don't seem to realize it yet' she thought sadly. "I don't feel that we're in a relationship. So I won't burden you with those things again." She got up and left the botany lab. "Goodbye, Rodney."
The doors whooshed and Rodney felt emptiness in his mind. He didn't understand why he was feeling like that, since Katie was right: they hadn't been in a real relationship. But what did she mean by his heart belonging to someone else?
Small hands brought him back to reality.
"Daddy!"
"Dad!"
Rodney felt a hand shake his shoulder. His eyes focused on Alexander, now all grown up. "Huh, sorry." He cleared his throat: "So yeah, after that, she left with the next group when the Daedalus came to Atlantis."
"I see. And now you think that Jennifer is the one you feel is the 'right one'?"
"Yeah, I think so." McKay then cleared his throat awkwardly. "So, uh, Alexander, did you have a… girlfriend, back in your own dimension?" He looked back at his screen, but not focusing on anything.
The young man blushed slightly and looked at his shoes intently. "No. But there was that girl…" He bit his lower lip and continued: "But she left Atlantis because her parents moved back to Earth when we were able to get communication with Earth working again." He then looked up wishfully: "What about you and mom? How is it going?"
"What?" the scientist croaked out, after choking on his saliva.
"You know-"
"NO!" McKay cleared his throat. "-I mean, no" he got a hold of himself. "I'm going out with Jennifer, and we're happy together. Sheppard doesn't fit anywhere in this."
Alexander was speechless, but managed to let out a weak "Oh, ok." It did sadden him a little that the Sheppard and Rodney from that dimension still couldn't see that they were made for each other.
"You know what, I have a lot of work to do, so if you'd please…" Rodney gestured his computer screen. But in reality, it was his way to say that the conversation was finished.
The young man knew that the last part had made his father uneasy, so he got up and as he left, he declared: "Well, I'll go see mom, to see what he's up to if you don't want to talk to me. Bye."
...o.o.o...
A week after they were back on the planet MGK-640, Atlantis' home before they left for Earth, they were ready to get back to exploring the different planets of the Pegasus Galaxy. Thankfully, the Wraith didn't seem particularly active at that period, so they had a break to re-settle things with their trading partners, as well as the Athosians.
"Like good old times." Richard Woolsey declared sarcastically. He then turned to Sheppard: "Colonel, good luck with this planet." And then to Major Lorne's scientist team: "Don't forget to be careful." They were going to explore a planet that hadn't been visited yet, MRT-044.
"Yes, sir" both major and colonel answered swiftly.
Lorne's team was to collect environmental data about the planet, as there was close to none in the Ancients' database. There was Zelenka, Simpson and Alexander; even though he wasn't a certified medic, Alexander was still very helpful when it came to experience on the field. He was happy to help, and Woolsey didn't mind the extra 'free' help.
Sheppard's team was to try to meet with the natives of the planet... although hey had no idea of who they were. Again, there was no other information found in the database; only that they were called the Khajiits.
Everyone was finishing strapping their gears on, while Woolsey gestured Chuck to activate the gate.
Sheppard sighed deeply with a smile on his face, anxious to get back on the field.
"Well, Let's see who those Khajiits are" Ronon said. He hoped for some kind of challenge.
"I just hope they have advanced technology we can learn about. Gettin' bored here" Rodney added, as he pointed himself.
Sheppard chuckled as he motioned them to walk through the gate: "There's only one way to know."
A/N: Hi there! Already posted chapter 2. Now, for chapter 1, I mentioned that I thought it was a bit rushed and that I might edit it; if I do, I'll mention it. However it won't be major stuff that would change the storyline.
Even though this chapter has a little over 3000 words, I feel that it's... empty, not enough stuff in it :( Please you guys, tell me what you thought of it so I can improve it! :'(