Home to Me
John drummed his fingers against the conference room table as Rodney droned on about the latest planet the probe had visited. He hadn't put much stock in probes before, but seeing as how it had helped them in the past, he gave the hunk of metal some attention.
"Rodney, what's the point of this speech?" he asked loudly, stopping his drumming.
Rodney looked around at the rest of his team; Teyla looked interested, though it was more a polite interest than anything, he could tell. Ronon looked restless, having had to cancel his 'lunch thing' with Dr. Keller. Even Sam looked just this side of bored.
"My point," he gestured to the projected screen, "is that this planet looks to be at the same point of technological advancements as we are; they have similar structures to Atlantis, what little of the people we've seen look human enough too."
"And you want us to go there?" Ronon asked irritably, slouching back in his chair.
Rodney glared at the bigger man, "Yes,"
"Why did you not start with this request, Rodney?" Teyla looked at him questioningly. Was that a hint of annoyance in her voice?
"Well, if I had, you wouldn't have found all this out about the planet."
"Do you really think we actually remember anything you were just rambling on about?" John asked, leaning forward on his forearms resting on the table top.
Sam stepped in, "What do you want to do there Rodney?"
"Same old stuff, no need for violence," he glared at Ronon again who just smirked back and prepared to stand.
"Is that it? Can we go now?" he asked, already half way to the door.
"Yeah, that's all but-," Sam stopped as Ronon left the conference room. "He doesn't like me does he?"
John smiled, "Don't worry about it."
"Someone tell him you have a go, you can leave 2 hours."
When Elizabeth awoke, the sun was filtering through her window, warming the room to a comfortable temperature. Her head was pounding and her arm hurt. There was a white bandage around it.
Just as she was sitting up, the events from the night before came to her mind.
She got out of bed and changed from the previous night's clothes into a similar set of green colour and pulled on her boots. Rushing to the door, she almost collided with it as it swung open.
"Ah, Elizabeth, you're awake; how are you feeling?"
Elizabeth looked Edith up and down; all the panic from the night before was gone from her form.
"What happened last night?"
Edith ushered her into the room and Elizabeth noticed she carried a small tray with food and tea on it. A tall cup of water rested on the tray too. As Edith set it down, Elizabeth picked up the water.
"The ring opened; a machine came through. There were people on the other end who wanted to talk! Who knew that was what the device was for?"
Elizabeth felt hope swell in her chest, "Really? Did these people say where they were from?"
Edith eyed the younger woman, "Yes, a city called Atlantis,"
Elizabeth dropped the cup and water sloshed across the floor. "They found me," she whispered, a smile beginning to grow.
"Have the people come through yet?" she demanded anxiously. Edith fought down the disappointment that Elizabeth was so eager to leave.
"Not yet; they're coming soon." Edith watched as Elizabeth grinned happily, moving around the room, pacing.
"This is excellent news! My people are coming! I can go home!"
Edith smiled, enjoying Elizabeth's obvious giddiness. "Yes; I told you your people would find you when they were ready. Your home has found you at last."
Elizabeth could hear the note of sadness in the old woman's voice; she turned and moved across the room to hug the woman. Edith smelled of spices and flowers and breakfast and Elizabeth squeezed her tight.
"Oh, of course I'll come back and visit, Edith! You saved my life! I'm not sure how, or from what, but I owe you so much. I'd miss you all too much to stay away,"
Edith smiled into Elizabeth's shoulder and squeezed back. "Maybe, it's time we told you the truth, my sweet."
Elizabeth pulled back, but Edith caught her hands and led her to Elizabeth's bed. They and Edith chose her words.
"We found you, a little under half a revolution ago in the forest; there was a small clearing and you had wrecked in a ship of some kind. Mind you, we hadn't seen many ships, just small models we'd been testing."
Edith peered around the tree as her husband came around as well. "What happened?"
Kennyth moved forward slowly, watching for signs of life. "I'm not sure; call Roder,"
Edith moved off to find the leader of the hunters, picking her way through the undergrowth.
Kennyth moved closer, pushing aside a scrap of metal. It sizzled, but his skin remained unburned. He gasped as a young woman was revealed. As he watched, her torn and ragged skin slowly pulled back together.
The woman was pale and twisted among the wreckage; blood soaked her uniform and the surrounding ground and plants. She had dark hair and freckles.
Kennyth stepped next to her, setting his bag down on the ruined seat of the craft. He hesitated only a moment before laying his fingers against her pale throat. A pulse beat strongly against the skin and he felt some relief.
The sun was high in the sky and he was beginning to sweat among the debris. The woman stirred.
He shifted forward to touch the skin of her forehead; where a gash had once pulsed blood, a puffy pink scar was forming and fading before his eyes.
"Please," the voice was weak and pitiful, full of pain and pleading. "Don't touch me,"
"You are safe, child, rest still; we'll help you."
"No," but she was losing the battle with conscious thought. Edith and Roder emerged through the trees.
"Kennyth, what are you doing?" Roder hissed, moving forward cautiously, weapon raised.
"She's a young woman; she's injured. I think she's confused too. We must help her,"
"Roder lift her; we'll bring her back to Terradyn," Edith said without thought. Roder sighed and obeyed his elder. Lifting her, she was light and didn't resist him.
They began moving away from the wreck.
"We brought you back here, to this room, and watched as your injuries healed before our eyes; we didn't know what to think."
Elizabeth sat stunned; so she'd been injected with replicator parts. Maybe that was why no one came looking for her for so long?
"What did you do? I don't heal like that now," Elizabeth held up her arm as proof; the bandage wasn't blood soaked, but it needed to be changed.
"It wasn't until the elder Minhe saw you that we knew something was different,"
"She is of the enemy army, making its way across our skies," Minhe spoke confidently. She was an old woman, hair snow white, but thick and long. She was dark-skinned from time outdoors and she had and air about her that commanded attention.
"The army?" Edith asked, sitting as close as she was allowed to the young woman.
"Yes; every few solar days, one will fall to our planet, damaged beyond repair. The council has found a way to remove what makes them so formidable; presently, they fall apart as if made of ash when we remove their pieces."
Edith looked down at the woman, beautiful and young; surely she was no enemy?
"Could I try to-,"
"No. You must never use your gift on her, Edith; I forbid you. We don't know the extent of their capabilities."
Edith nodded in understanding, but her heart went out the woman.
"You took the nanites out of me?" Elizabeth gasped out, looking down at her hands as if they held the answers.
Edith smiled thinly, "Yes, though you almost died doing it; apparently, they were the only things keeping you alive. This we found the difficult way,"
"She's dying!" Edith yelled as the woman's monitor beeped its distress.
"She's not fully made of the enemy virus cells," Minhe spoke, shock and surprise coloring her face and voice.
"Use the charges," she continued.
After a day of work, the monitor stopped alarming them every few moments and the woman was more stable.
"She has shown us a miracle, she herself is one. We are lucky; perhaps, when she is feeling better, she can tell us of her ordeal." Minhe spoke before leaving the small hospital and the two other women in peace.
Edith stroked the woman's hand, "You're safe now, you can wake; no one here will hurt you. You're our miracle from the skies,"
The woman remained asleep for days, Edith and Kennyth by her side. When she did finally rejoin the conscious, she was weak. It would be a long road to recovery.
"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Elizabeth asked in awe, tears filling her eyes.
"You were so weak before; Kennyth, Minhe and I were worried about telling you so much when you didn't remember it yourself. We were afraid it would cause more damage. Forgive an old woman and her older friends?"
Elizabeth smiled and pulled the woman into another hug. She was still in shock.
"Is that why Minhe doesn't ask about how I am? Because she thinks I won't forgive her?"
Edith looked away, smirk on her face, "Minhe's flaw; she worries too much. I told her you were of a forgiving nature."
Elizabeth smiled and leaned back on pillows as the old woman stood to bring the tray back over.
"Now, eat something; Minhe wants to know if you will help greet our visitors."
John and Ronon stood in the gate room, waiting for Rodney to arrive. He was already 5 minutes late.
"So, how was your date with Keller?" John asked casually.
Ronon didn't react much, "Wasn't a date; just lunch between friends. I have other friends besides you and Teyla you know,"
"And me," Rodney objected, finally entering the room.
Ronon smirked, "Yeah, sure,"
Rodney grinned and zipped up his vest and adjusted his pack, "Ready?"
"For about 6 minutes now," John answered, turning and motioning for the gate tech to dial them up.
"So, excited?" Rodney obviously was; this break in tradition from too advanced and not enough to something on a level playing field was something to celebrate.
"Oh, yeah," John said sarcastically as the gate whooshed open.
Ronon smirked and moved to the gate first, "No fighting,"
Minhe had allowed her to greet the arriving travelers and Elizabeth was bubbling over with excitement. She became more and more anxious as the gate lit up, one chevron at a time.
She wondered at first who would come through; John and his team? A different team? Right now she didn't care; Elizabeth just wanted to see a friendly face from Atlantis. Any friendly face.
The gate exploded out again and Elizabeth held her breath. 'A friendly face, a friendly face,' she chanted in her head.
When the travelers stepped through, her breath left her and Elizabeth staggered back a step. This was not a friendly face; it was her own.
DUN DUN DUN lol :)
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