A/N - Many thanks to honus47 for being my beta on this story and so many others. She is wonderful and I am so glad to call her my friend. Once again, I don't own Stargate Atlantis or any of its characters, just borrowing them for a bit.
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Chapter 4
Nancy was frustrated. Everyone on this stupid base seemed to be heading to a meeting and couldn't stop to help her. She'd finally found someone who was willing to show her to the guest quarters. A short scientist with wild hair, glasses and a strong accent finally took pity on her and led the way. He introduced himself as Dr. Radek Zalenka and almost bored her to tears with descriptions of some experiment he was currently working on. When they finally arrived, she was pleased to see that her suitcase was in the room. Thanking the small man, cutting off his last sentence with barely concealed relief, she closed the door behind her, thankful that the mechanism was at least working on this door. Behind the closed door, she couldn't see the smirk on Radek's face as he turned away. Yes, he'd shown her to her room but by the most roundabout way he could find. He'd watched her memorizing the turns and had had a hard time stopping his smile. When she emerged from her room again, she would spend hours moving about the city, giving the Military CO more time to heal. Colonel Sheppard would not be leaving Atlantis if he had anything to say about it. He hummed to himself as he headed away, pulling out his tablet and making sure she was locked out of the server. Somehow, he wasn't surprised to see that someone had already done so.
The first thing Nancy did, was to take out her laptop and boot it up. In her head, she was already forming the scathing email she planned to send to General O'Neill at the SGC, copying Coolidge at the IOA. A separate one to Dave would follow. She was going to make it very clear that the personnel on Atlantis were incompetent, from the Expedition Leader to the medical staff. John would be going home so fast, their heads would spin. She smiled at the thought. When the laptop was booted up, she was surprised to see she had no connection to the secure server her orientation packet had assured her Atlantis was equipped with. She pulled the packet out and confirmed that it should be working. She slammed the laptop closed. Nothing worked here! Her initial appreciation of the city had long since fled. She couldn't wait to get out of here but she would not be going without John. Standing up, she swept her hand over the box on the wall and the door opened. Peeking out, she saw no one around. She quickly left and retraced her steps back to the mess hall. Why did everything have to be so far apart?
When she finally got to the mess hall, she found someone who could point her to the gate room where she'd first met Woolsey. The harried young woman blurted out directions in a nasally voice, juggling a sandwich, a cup of coffee and a laptop. She hurried away before Nancy could ask her to repeat it. The smirk on the scientist's face was very reminiscent of Zalenka's, although Nancy didn't see it. The scientist hoped her boss would be proud of her. The directions she gave the ex-Mrs. Sheppard were every bit as out of the way as his had been, something he'd taken great pride in when he'd told her about it. She risked a peek behind her and watched the woman walk away, following her directions. She suppressed a snort and did a little skip/hop down the hallway, eager to get back to the lab and let him in on what she'd done.
An hour later, Nancy entered the gate room that was five minutes from the guest quarters. The room was dim as it was night and only the late shift was on duty. She was tired, she was cranky and she was not happy. Someone was going be very well aware of that very shortly. She stormed up the steps and stopped in front of a young man with a Canadian flag patch on his left shoulder. She'd noticed them on the rest of the Atlantis personnel and recognized most of them. In no mood to be polite, she crossed her arms across her chest and said. "You! Get me a connection to Star Gate Command immediately!"
Chuck looked up from the screen he was watching and made a show of yawning in her face. He knew who this woman was and what she wanted. He was pretty much the face of the Atlantis grapevine and all information flowed through him. "I'm sorry ma'am, I can't do that."
"Why not?"
"Because only the section leaders can authorize that."
"And who might that be?"
"Colonel Sheppard, Dr. Keller, Dr. McKay and Mr. Woolsey."
She frowned. None of them would be willing to help her. "Do you know who I represent?"
"Yes ma'am. The IOA, ma'am." His tone of voice let her know what his opinion of that organization was, while his words were respectful on the surface.
"Well, then you know the IOA holds the purse strings to this little jaunt. Get me an open line!"
"Sorry ma'am, I can't do that." Chuck repeated.
"I'll have your job!"
"I'm RCAF ma'am, I don't work for the IOA."
"You all work for the IOA. Everyone here works for the IOA!"
An amused voice sounded behind her. "I used to think that as well Ms. Kingston. Then I arrived in the Pegasus Galaxy." She recognized the voice and rounded on him.
"I need to get an open line out of here now. If you don't accede to my wishes, you will be removed from your position here!"
Woolsey chuckled, undaunted. "I'm afraid we have strict protocols in place for opening a worm hole to Earth and the SGC. Each dial out takes a toll in energy. Energy we desperately need to conserve." He decide to ignore the fact that they were dialing Earth every time they sent an IOA visitor home. Nancy was too aggravated to pick up on that fact. "Every Monday we dial Earth and send a data burst through. Emails and reports from everyone on Atlantis are sent through in microseconds. On Thursdays, the SGC dials us and returns the favor. As this is Tuesday, I'm afraid we won't have an open channel for you for six days." He paused. "If you had read your orientation packet carefully, you would know this. Just as you would have known that John Sheppard was the Military Commander of this base." His censure of her not doing so, was evident. "I'm afraid this lack of attention to detail will have to go into my report on your visit." He added.
Completely ignoring the implication, she asked. "Under what other circumstances can you dial Earth?"
"If we're under attack and need assistance. Personal situations, such as a death in the family."
"What about medical emergencies?"
"We have two of the best doctors in two galaxies here on Atlantis. There's nothing that they can't handle. In fact, both our doctors have been called in to consult on medical emergencies at the SGC. We've never had to dial out for help for medical cases."
"Well, you should now. John needs to go back to Earth as soon as possible!"
"I think Colonel Sheppard would disagree."
"He's hardly in a position to do that now, is he?"
"Actually, he is. He woke up earlier and has had several conversations with his team and his doctors."
Nancy's jaw dropped. "He what?"
Woolsey sighed and spoke slowly and exaggeratedly as if she were a small child or just plain stupid. "He woke up and talked with us. He's going to be fine. Right now, he's sleeping."
"How…?"
"Excellent medical care." He had no intention of telling her, or anyone else at the IOA, or the SGC for that matter, that the city of Atlantis had healed her Military Commander. They'd whisk John away and put him under a microscope for the rest of his natural life and that was not something he would be a party to.
Nancy sputtered, not sure if she could believe what she was hearing. Turning on her heel, she stormed out, headed back to her quarters. Frowning, Woolsey watched the direction she took, wondering where she was going. It was completely the wrong direction to get back to her quarters. He turned towards Chuck just in time to watch a smirk disappear from his face. "Chuck?"
"Yes sir?" Butter wouldn't melt in his mouth.
"Can you explain why Ms. Kingston is headed in the opposite direction from her quarters?"
"Um, no?"
"Chuck?"
"Well, she may have been given directions by several of our more directionally challenged personnel."
"Really?"
"Yes sir."
"Very well. Carry on." Woolsey smiled as he turned and headed back to his office, where he'd been when he saw Ms. Kingston march in. It had been an interesting day, one that was rapidly improving.
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John smiled as he watched the light coalesce again. He was starting to recognize when Atlantis was requesting his attention. "Atlantis? We need to stop meeting like this." He joked.
She wasn't sure what he meant and simply answered. "I am here John."
"What's up now?" He grinned at her and was surprised that she had no answering smile. "Atlantis, what's wrong?"
"John, your people have a visitor. She represents your International Oversight Advisory and is causing problems."
"My team and Woolsey, along with Lorne, will not allow that."
"John, you know her."
"I do?" He wondered who it might be.
"You do."
"Why are you being so oblique? Just tell me who it is." He spoke gently.
"Your ex-wife, Nancy." She'd held that information back when she'd been more worried about his health.
"Nancy? Nancy is here on Atlantis?" He was stunned
"Yes."
"And she's causing problems? About what?"
"You, John."
"Me? Why?"
"She feels…felt…that you needed to be sent back to Earth for proper medical care."
"But Jennifer is the best there is! So is Carson!"
"You know that, your team knows that, all of the Atlantis personnel knows that, but your Nancy does not."
Referring to Nancy as his felt wrong, at a fundamental level. "I'm not going to be sent back, am I?" He was beginning to freak out.
"No, John. Your recovery has made sure that that will not happen."
"Did you know about this before?"
She looked away from him. "Yes." She would not lie to him.
"Why didn't you say something?"
She looked back at him. "What good would that have done? I needed you to concentrate on getting better, not worrying about being taken away."
"That's not your decision! It's mine! You shouldn't have kept this from me!" He was angry with her for the first time.
She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "John? Are we having our first fight?"
His mouth opened and closed, no answer readily available. Suddenly, he started to laugh. "Yes, I think we are."
"I do not wish this."
"Neither do I."
"Can you forgive me for withholding this from you?"
"Yes, I think I can. I know you did what you thought best. I just wish you'd trusted me."
"I do trust you John. I trust you more than anyone who has come before. I simply did not want a distraction from the more pressing need. She was nothing more than a bug buzzing in your ear when you needed to focus." John was surprised at the distaste in her voice and wondered if her reference to a bug was coincidental, knowing his aversion to them.
"You don't like her, do you?"
"This is new to me. And no, I do not like her." She realized her feelings for this woman were similar to those she felt for the scientist named Kavanaugh. He had had a strong dislike for both John and the late Elizabeth Weir. While she had not connected with Weir like she had John, she had recognized the woman's worth. When she had been lost to them, she had felt a slight discomfort but not like that when she had thought John was dead.
"Why?"
"She does not have your best interests at heart."
"How can you know that?"
Atlantis squirmed. This was also new to her, this indecision. "I…I do not know."
John was surprised. The fact that she admitted not knowing something kind of freaked him out. "What do we do now?"
"You need to let her know that you are well now and have no intention of leaving me…I mean leaving your people."
John laughed at her, amused at her fumbling over words, his city becoming more human to him by the moment. He sobered. He knew Nancy, better than most. She was not easily swayed once she'd made up her mind about something, he should know. She'd made up her mind about their marriage and he'd ended up being a divorce statistic despite his continued assertions that he still loved her. He wondered how different his life would have been if she'd been different. He thought he wouldn't be as happy as he was now, with Atlantis, Teyla and Torren. "Do you have any ideas?"
She thought and then smiled, he found himself thinking that the smile was a little smug. "Yes, I think I do."
"What?"
"This will be for me to do John. You need to rest."
"Atlantis!"
"I will be back later John." And she faded from his sight. He huffed out his frustration and found himself comparing her to the other women in his life, past and present. He had to smile when he realized there were many similarities. He suddenly realized he had a type. Tough, strong, opinionated and Nancy, Teyla and Atlantis fit the mold. He smiled widely, then yawned and the light faded.
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Nancy had made her way back to her quarters, exhausted from the long walk. She plopped down in front of her laptop again, determined to find a way to get contact with the SGC. She was surprised when her efforts brought her to a group of video files. The first one opened without her clicking on it, showing a young man she'd never met, the file name showing the name of the man to be a Lieutenant Aiden Ford. As the replay began, she realized she was listening to a farewell message to his family. After the goodbyes to his grandparents and cousin, he started talking about his commanding officer, stating how much he liked him and how selfless the man had been, putting his life on the line for every one of them. He never mentioned Atlantis, instead calling the city their base. The man obviously had strong opinions and his admiration for his commanding officer came through strong and clear. She knew that man was John. She wondered at how he'd gone from the solitary commando she'd been married to, to the leader of men that the young Lieutenant raved about. The video file ended with the acronym KIA displaying across the screen. She felt bad that the vibrant young man was gone.
She clicked away from the files, only to have another one open without her command. This time is was titled Doctor Carson Beckett. The man was listed as a member of the medical team, although she hadn't met him in the infirmary. His video began with a rambling goodbye to his 'mum', asking her to keep up on the medical regimen he'd set up for her before he'd left on his current mission. When he was done, he started to talk about the people he worked with, Rodney McKay being his main focus but John, John had his own portion of the video, the man's admiration and respect coming through loud and clear. She looked at the timestamp of the video and realized it was several years ago. She wondered what the man's current opinion of John was. The video stopped with KIA once again displaying, then it flickered out. She had no idea what that meant.
The next video was another one of a woman she didn't recognize. The name indicated this was for a Doctor Elizabeth Weir, the annotation showing she was the expedition leader. That must have been before Woolsey, she thought. The messages were all for the families of the men who had lost their lives here on Atlantis. When she was done, the woman turned her attention to the living members of the expedition. John's name was the first to come up. Her affection for John was evident as she outlined the many times he had saved the lives of every man and woman on base. She strongly suggested that the SGC and IOA were wrong in their opinion of him, the woman's glowing words striking a chord deep within her. Her sense of jealously reared its ugly head again as she sensed that this woman was important to John. She was startled when the transmission came to an end with KIA once again appearing on the screen.
She was resigned to the fact that she had no control over what her laptop was showing her, not surprised when another video appeared. This time, though, she recognized the man. Rodney McKay, astrophysicist and Chief Science Officer. The man kept referring to index cards he had in his hand, talking about leadership and then rambling off on another tangent. John's name came up and it was obvious the arrogant man she'd sort of met, had strong feelings about her ex. At first she though they were negative until she realized that the man on the screen cared about John. His sarcasm and witticisms hiding a deep and abiding respect. She remembered the scene in the command center and wondered about the dynamics of John and his team. The video came to an end, this time with no KIA at the end.
She sat back and waited for the next video to begin, only to find mission reports instead. She considered not reading them, but her curiosity was piqued. The first report was from a Sergeant Markham and had to do with John and something called an Iratus bug. She remembered McKay mentioning something about this creature after John's team had come through the wormhole and he was begging Dr. Keller to not give up on John. The report was short as he'd been something he termed 'demolecularized' during the majority of the incident. She wasn't surprised when she read the part where he stated his admiration for his commanding officer, writing that he'd heard from Dr. McKay and Lieutenant Ford that, even while his own life was in danger, he'd been more worried about his men and had refused to give up on him and someone named Stackhouse. Her breath caught in her throat when she read about the doctor trying to get John's heart started again in something called the jumper bay. When she got to the end of the report, KIA again flashed across the screen. She sighed, so many lives lost here in the Pegasus Galaxy. "Why do they all stay here if it's so dangerous?" She mused out loud.
The next few reports were from other members of the expedition, different than the last one in that they talked about the wonders the various writers had seen in this galaxy, John popping in here and there, mostly mentioned due to something he'd done to ensure the success of whatever mission the writer was on. As she read through them, she started to understand why they stayed. As the reports continued to come up on the screen, she finally threw up her hands and said out loud to the room. "Okay, okay, I get it! Everybody loves John and the Pegasus Galaxy wouldn't be the same without him." The reports stopped. She frowned at the screen, wondering who was really messing with her. She still didn't believe the city was anything other than inanimate and that someone was trying to get her to change her mind about taking John home. Fat chance. She yawned, feeling tired and decided she'd pick up the fight the next day. Either John really was better or he was still in no condition to be moved. She didn't know what to think. Either way, the IOA would be getting an earful from her once she was finally able to make contact. She stood and got ready for bed.
Atlantis watched her, wishing the woman had the gene so that she could connect with her somehow, try to figure out what made the woman…what was the word John used…tick? What would work to make her realize that this was where John belonged. Even though he was better and would be able to tell her himself, she worried that the woman would still make trouble for her people. She also knew John would not be happy with her for both invading the woman's privacy and messing with her computer. She was willing to take the chance as she knew this IOA were the ones who had taken Samantha Carter away from her and replaced her with Richard Woolsey. She'd fought against him at first, not letting doors open for him, misdirecting him. That was until he won her over with his actions when Jennifer had been infected and was turning into a wraith ship, shortly after his arrival. The incident had been painful for her as the organism invaded her and drew power from her. John had risked his life to save both of them and Woolsey had been surprisingly humble when visiting him in the infirmary, sharing his insecurities about his ability to be the expedition leader. John had seemed to change his mind about him and she'd followed his lead. When the Lanteans had been put on trial by the coalition of planets, it had been Woolsey who got them out and she'd realized he really was a good man, if a little too rigid for her liking.
When the woman's breathing indicated that she had fallen asleep, Atlantis withdrew and turned her full attention back on John. Teyla now slept in a bed next to him in the infirmary, her face turned towards him even in sleep. Beside her, on the floor, lay Torren in his playpen. She reached out to the young boy's mind, feeling pleasure in the innocent dreams the boy was having. His sense of comfort at John's nearness made her happy. This small family was safe for the moment. She wandered away, checking on the rest of her people, finding most of them sleeping, just a few up late, working in labs.
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Nancy was up early the next morning, refreshed and ready to pick up the fight to get John home. Showered and dressed, she made her roundabout way to the mess hall. She walked in and every head turned her way, all conversation ceasing. The silence that had once been a cacophony of voices when she'd walked in, was uncomfortable. She searched the room and realized she didn't see a single friendly face. She sighed, it appeared word traveled fast on Atlantis. She selected some fruit and a yogurt from the offerings laid out, added a cup of coffee and made her way to an empty table, to face a solitary breakfast. Conversations began again but were softer this time. She had a feeling she knew what they were about and that she figured largely in most of them. She straightened her back and held her head high. She wouldn't be here long enough to need to make friends. They may not approve of her plans to take John home for treatment, but she knew she was right. She was concentrating so hard on ignoring the looks that kept coming her way, she was startled when someone approached the table.
"Do ye mind if I sit with ye this fine mornin'?" The broad Scottish accent was pleasurable to her ears and she felt relief that someone in this place had some manners. She looked up to find a stocky man with dark hair and piercing blue eyes standing by the table, a tray of food in his hands. She recognized him immediately from the videos she'd been shown last night, the odd one with the KIA that had flashed and then disappeared.
"If you'd like." She replied cautiously.
He sat down and reached across the table, holding his hand out. "Dr. Carson Beckett, Chief Surgeon of Atlantis."
She shook it and then frowned. "I though Dr. Keller was the surgeon?"
He smiled, even though he was surprised she didn't know all this already. The last two IOA visitors had seemed to know everything about all of them, including that he was a clone of the original Carson Beckett who had died in an explosion several years ago. He figured they'd all been provided with the information by the IOA. "She is a surgeon, among other things and the Chief Medical Officer. I'm the Chief Surgeon. I'm surprised ye weren't told who's who on our little base."
She stifled her resentment at what she thought was yet another censure aimed her way for not reading the dossiers on the staff. "I didn't read the information on the personnel here as I wanted to form my own opinions of them. And I have." Her tone let him know in no uncertain terms what her opinion was.
Carson sighed. He'd arrived back on Atlantis very early that morning, worn out from trying to stop people from dying on Cremulos from the disease Michael had unleashed on several unsuspecting worlds. He thanked all the gods that the hybrid had been stopped before infecting even more worlds. He'd wanted a shower, a large dram of good Scotch whisky and his bed, in that order. Instead, he'd been regaled with the tale of how Colonel Sheppard had been badly hurt off world, how his ex-wife was on Atlantis representing the IOA and how she now wanted to take him back to Earth, claiming there was no way he could get decent care here. He suppressed his resentment that information had caused him and decided to check her out for himself, once he'd gone to the infirmary and been assured that John was no longer in danger. "Good choice lassie. Best to form your own opinions."
She stared at him in surprise. "Not everyone would agree with you. Mr. Woolsey for example."
"Och, the man is very conservative in his views of the world." She snorted her agreement and Carson frowned at her. "Still, he's a good man and has done his best for those of us here. We've all come to appreciate him."
Nancy tilted her head at him, trying to determine if he meant what he said and came to the realization that he did. "Well, I don't know him very well so I'll bow to your greater knowledge of the man."
"Aye, ye might do well to take that tack with everyone here."
She sighed, now she knew why the man had sat with her when everyone else had frozen her out. "Look, if you're here to talk me out of taking John home, then you're out of luck."
"He is home."
"What?"
"I said, he is home. More than anyone else here, Atlantis is home to John. Ye know about the ATA gene?"
"Of course I do! I may not have read the information provided on the personnel here but I am very well aware of what the IOA does and all things related to the Star Gate Program."
"Then ye won't be surprised when I tell ye that John has the strongest ATA gene ever measured. It was why he was chosen to join this expedition. He has an extremely strong connection to the ancient technology that is Atlantis."
Her spoon clattered to the table. "John? John Sheppard?"
"Aye, that's the one." His eyes twinkled at her.
"That still doesn't mean he wouldn't receive better care back on Earth. Once he's recovered, he can always come back."
"I checked in on him when I returned this morning. He's doing quite well and was peacefully sleeping."
"I think I'd like a second opinion on that, if you don't mind."
"Mine is the second opinion. Dr. Keller's was the first. Look, Ms. Kingston, ye need to understand that taking John away from Atlantis would be detrimental to his health, not to mention putting the city herself in danger."
Nancy rolled her eyes. "Herself? Don't tell me you've bought into this delusion that the city is sentient?"
"Aye, I know she is."
"This city is nothing more than a collection of glass, metal and wiring. She is no more alive than..than…this coffee cup." She held the cup up.
He chuckled. "Ye never know lassie, that cup might be thinking bad thoughts about ye right this moment." He ate the last bite of his breakfast. "Would ye like to go to the infirmary and see for yeself how John is doing?"
She nodded and they stood up from the table, Carson gallantly taking her tray as well as his own, depositing them in the area designated for dirty dishes. He motioned for her to precede him from the mess hall and stopped her when she turned right. "It's this way lassie."
"But…" Her eyes narrowed when she realized that people had been giving her bad directions since she'd arrived. She wondered how many hours she'd wasted walking around these halls. She wasn't paying attention to her companion, fuming at the tricks that had been played on her, until he stopped in front of a closed door she didn't recognize and waved his hand over the box on the wall. The door opened to show a small closet and he stepped in. She stayed where she was.
"Are ye comin'?"
"Into a closet?"
"Did no one explain the transporters to ye?"
"Transporters?"
"Aye, another ancient wonder. Come along and I'll show ye." She entered the small room and the door closed behind her, making her feel trapped. She watched as he touched a light on the screen that was in the middle of the back wall, showing what appeared to be a map. There was a white light and suddenly the doors opened behind her again. She turned and looked out, astounded that they hadn't opened on the same hallway they'd entered from. "This way." Carson stepped out and took a right, heading to the infirmary. She followed behind him, bewildered at the turn of events. They entered the infirmary and heard laughter. Carson smiled and followed it, Nancy trailing behind him. He wasn't at all surprised that the Colonel's team were present and the laughter meant all was well.
When he reached the curtained area, he held one aside and allowed Nancy to enter ahead of him. She stopped, her mouth open when she saw John sitting up in bed, a small child held in his arms, surrounded by the members of his team that she remembered from the prior day, although they were significantly cleaner. "John?"
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