AN: This was just an idea that popped into my head. I don't profess to be any sort of great author, but I thought it wouldn't hurt to share. This is set after the premiere of Season 4.

Chapter 2

John awoke to the familiar sound of the ocean. He stared at Teyla, who had fallen asleep on a chair next to his bed. Sensing his discomfort, she chose not to share the bed with him that night. The secret crush he had for her churned his stomach. The Teyla he knew was so reserved, waiting for him to make the first move. This Teyla didn't hesitate at all.

John tried to imagine what could have happened to him. Had he been ambushed on some planet? Did something so terrible happen that it forced him to forget? He shuddered at the possibilities.

With these fears lingering in his mind, he got up and looked around the room. John realized how different it was. Teyla's personal affects were scattered about. A photo of the two of them stood proudly on a shelf.

"That was our wedding," she chimed in suddenly. He turned. It didn't take much to wake her.

"I just can't get over this whole marriage thing."

Teyla's eyes squinted, and her mouth formed a thin line. "You do not approve?" she questioned.

John knew a look like that could kill. His ex-wife used it on him often. He chose his words more carefully. "I just, uh, think this is all a little strange. Well, more than a little. You and I were never in a relationship, last I remember."

Her hard look transformed into one of annoyance. "John, upon some reflection, you will realize that there was always a special bond between us. More than you seem to realize." That last sentence trailed off. His memory loss made him revert back to his oblivious, younger self. It frustrated her just as it had before.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Later that morning, John and Teyla joined Elizabeth, Rodney, and Dr. Heightmeyer in the briefing room. "Let me get this straight. The Wraith are gone?"

It was Rodney who clarified. "In a manner of speaking, yes. Most of the hive ships were destroyed in the final attack. Some Wraith still exist and terrorize a few planets on the edge of the galaxy. But they do not pose a direct threat to us."

"And Michael, too?" John asked, with a questioning look. The senior staff nodded. "So Lt. Ford is dead. The Replicators have disappeared. Lorne got a promotion. Hell, I got a promotion."

"That's correct, Colonel" Dr. Weir confirmed. She smiled at him. In John's most recent memory, he had just been promoted to Lt. Colonel.

"What about Ronin?" he asked.

"Hunting the last of the Wraith," Rodney exclaimed. A big smile covered his face, as if relief had flooded him. "I can happily say that Atlantis has been in 'peacetime' mode for about a year and a half."

John could not hide his skepticism. This was too good to be true. Elizabeth spoke up. "I know this is all a lot to take in, Colonel. Believe me, a lot has happened in the past five years. But we couldn't have gotten to where we are now without you."

"Yes," Teyla added. "And since you went missing three months ago, none of us knew how we would get along without you. Especially me." She squeezed his hand and smiled.

Everyone in Atlantis had volunteered to search for Sheppard. Teyla traveled to every world she knew, searching for a shroud of evidence that he had been there. She and the other search teams were able to follow a trail, but recently, it had simply gone cold. And now, suddenly, here he is. With a huge piece of him missing.

The psychologist tuned in, "I think now is a good time for Colonel Sheppard to take a break and absorb the information we just...

"Dr. Weir!" A voice interrupted her from the hallway. Dr. Keller rushed in. "You have to see this." She handed over a report pad. "His blood doesn't contain a trace of the toxin! His system is completely clean, as if he had never been infected in the first place."

"That's impossible..."

"Normally, I would think that not being poisoned is a good thing," John commented. No one responded. "But what do I know?"

Elizabeth shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "John, this is going to sound crazy, but when the Wraith realized they were about to lose the war, some of their scientists developed a biological weapon. It was a desperate attempt to subdue all humans in the city and quickly take control of Atlantis. I can regretfully confirm that our very own retrovirus was the inspiration for it. They succeeded in killing about a third of our expedition before Dr. Keller could develop an antidote. You were infected. Small harmless remnants of the toxin have been in your system ever since. Or, they should be."

John snorted. "You're right. It does sound crazy."

Elizabeth turned to Dr. Keller. "Did you figure out how Colonel Sheppard's system was cleansed?"

"No. But I did compare yesterday's samples to some samples Dr. Carson took five years ago. They're identical." Dr. Weir's eyebrows shot up. Someone out there had a cure for the Wraith toxin, someone other than the Atlantis expedition. Someone advanced enough to become a powerful ally. "But I would like to run more tests, just to be sure I didn't miss anything." The doctor looked at John.

John stared back. It took him a few moments to realize that she meant now. He reluctantly stood up and followed her out of the briefing room.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

The buzzing of an alarm bell made Rodney stop cold. He checked his watch. It was 1:30 P.M. Butterflies rose up in his stomach. He had been anticipating this moment for days. He dropped everything and ran.

Rodney found himself in the control room, out of breath, staring at the Stargate as an incoming wormhole engaged. He was giddy, but would never show it. A figure began to pass through. Rodney's heart jumped.

Daniel Jackson walked through and Rodney's mouth hung open in disbelief. 'That's not her.' In that moment of disappointment, another figure began to materialize. This time, it was more feminine. His hope grew. But, a woman with dark hair appeared, holding the hand of a small child. No, it was just Vala Mal Doran.

McKay clung to hope for a few more seconds. No one else seemed to be coming. He turned around to return to one of his labs, disappointed. "At ease." He stopped. When he swung back around, he noticed all of the military personnel had stood to attention. And there, in the middle of the gateroom, was Samantha Carter. The butterflies came back.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Ouch." John looked down at the needle in his arm. "You would think with all this technology around us, you could come up with better ways to draw blood." The nurse simply smiled. When she finished, she gathered up her instruments and walked away.

Teyla joined John in the infirmary. She kissed him affectionately on the cheek. "Dr. Heightmeyer says you might be able to trigger your lost memories by immersing yourself in familiar surroundings. She suggested that we tour the city."

"If that's what it'll take." He stood up and offered Teyla his arm. It felt good to have her arm wrap around his. A jolt of excitement sped through him. In his last memories of Teyla, they had only begun to make this sort of friendly contact with each other. They began to walk slowly through the city.

They spent hours walking around. John didn't recognize most of the men he passed, who were supposedly under his command. But they all greeted him with more warmth and respect than he ever remembered getting. Teyla was patient, at first. But soon she began to grow tired of sharing him with the others.

The pair found themselves alone on one of the balconies overlooking the ocean. Teyla finished catching him up on all the major and minor events he had missed. The sunset danced over the horizon, turning the sky autumn shades of red and orange. She snuggled up to him as they looked out across the water. John reveled in her touch, her scent. He loved the way she felt in his arms and wondered why he had never held her like this before.

"John?" She looked up at him. 'God, her eyes are beautiful.' "I need to tell you something."

He gazed down at her, mesmerized by the way the sun's rays highlighted her face. Her caramel skin seemed to glisten. Her caring eyes gazed up at him in expectation. He could swear he was falling in love at that very moment. "Okay." He gently brushed a lock of hair out of her face.

"What I am about to share with you is not known to the others. Not even Elizabeth. I didn't want them to exclude me from the search for you."

The look on his face gave away his sudden worry. "No, no, John. This is a happy occasion." She smiled her sweet smile for him. "I am with child."

John froze. All he could do was stare at Teyla with a blank expression. Then slowly, the meaning of her words began to dawn on him. A child. A child with Teyla. He never knew he wanted one until now. John's hands shot up in the air. "WOOOOOOOOOO-HOOOOOOOOO!" he yelled out over the ocean.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Daniel looked up from his book. He stared at the empty ocean through the window of his quarters. "Vala, did you hear something?"

She yelled from the other room, "I can't hear anything with your son screaming like this. Will you come over here and help me, please?" Daniel put down the book and sighed. It was his turn to put his son down for a nap. 'Ah, the joy of fatherhood,' he thought sarcastically.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sam cut Rodney off mid-sentence. "What? What's wrong?" he asked.

"Shhhhh." She strained her ears to listen. "I thought I heard something... Never mind. It's gone."

"I didn't hear anything."

"I wonder why," she said dryly.

He stared at her for a moment. "Ha ha. Very funny. Anyway, as I was saying..." Rodney continued talking at lightning fast speed about the new time travel research he discovered in the Ancients' database.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

John and Teyla sat down in the mess hall at breakfast. The food was much more varied than John remembered. And he liked it. "What are we going to do today, now that Elizabeth has banned me from going off-world?"

"I thought we might take a jumper to the mainland. Perhaps the ride will help your memories."

A smile crept across his face. "Don't have to ask me twice." He raised a forkful of food to his mouth. A small boy, not more than 2 years old, ran into the hall. His high-pitched squeals indicated he was happily being chased. A vaguely familiar woman ran in after him. John stared. "Who's that?" Teyla turned to look at the boy.

John looked around. No one was paying attention to the child. "That is Dr. Jackson's son. He joins his father whenever Dr. Jackson is here to do research."

"Jackson. You mean Daniel Jackson? Of SG-1? He had a kid?" Teyla nodded in confirmation. "Time flies. I'm guessing that woman is his..." He whistled unconsciously, drawing an annoyed look from Teyla. He realized that the mother was Vala. THE Vala Mal Doran. One of the hottest women in the universe. A quick smack to his arm reminded him who he was currently with. "Oh. Sorry." Having a wife took some getting used to.

"Colonel Sheppard?"

"Colonel Carter." John stood up and shook her hand. "I heard you got promoted. Congratulations."

"Thank you, Colonel, but that was quite some time ago." She mentally kicked herself for forgetting that he didn't realize that. "So, I happened to see the report on your experience, or lack thereof, and I'm curious. If you don't mind."

"Please." John gestured for her to sit down.

"Your report says you might have seen a flash of red light on your last jump through the gate. Did you notice anything else?"

"Nothing. All I know is I ended up back here. I don't remember making it to the planet for the mission."

"The reason I'm asking, sir, is because all this sounds disturbingly familiar to me." Teyla raised an eyebrow. "You see, I had a similar experience myself. This must have been ten years ago, but I remember stepping through the gate on Earth with SG-1 and finding myself back in the control room like you did. But we had actually traveled back in time to 1969."

"Sounds cool." John chewed off a piece of toast.

"Well, in hindsight, yes. But, at the time, we were nearly disintegrated by a missile-test that was going on in the exact location that we gated to."

"Oh. Not so cool."

"Anyway, I checked the original mission report for the planet you were last traveling to in your memory. And I found a discrepancy."

"What kind?"

"It says here that you went missing for 20 minutes after you stepped through the Atlantis gate. Apparently, you never showed up on the other side." John dropped his fork. Sam went on. "Major Lorne and a team went looking for you around the perimeter of the gate while Dr. McKay scrambled at command to find out where the gate had actually sent you. Major Lorne wasn't far when he heard the Stargate re-engage and then heard a small explosion. He found you unconscious next to the MALP. You didn't remember a thing. Your 20 minutes missing were never accounted for."

John sat there absorbing the mouthful Sam had just given him. It was Teyla who finally responded. "What exactly are you saying, Colonel Carter?" A hard ball was forming in the pit of her stomach.

"Well this is just a theory, but I think I know why there are no Wraith toxins in Colonel Sheppard's blood. And why he's suffering from memory loss."

"Please, Dr., do tell."

"If the Stargate could be used to go back in time, there's no reason it couldn't propel someone forward in time as well. All you need is a solar flare to occur at the exact moment a wormhole is passing by a sun. John, I checked the records. There was a solar flare at the exact moment that you stepped through the gate."

He thought about it a moment. "You mean I might have traveled through time? Sweet," John said.

Teyla's concern had grown. She didn't want to believe what she was hearing. "Is there any way to prove it, Colonel Carter?"

"Actually, I think there is. Dr. McKay just discovered some research in the Ancient database about time travel. He also found a device that might be able to tell us if John really belongs to this point in time."

John stood up. "Well, then what are we waiting for? Let's go check it out."