Stargate Atlantis: S7 The Fossil Key

Part Three: Mesopredator Release4

John was running.

The only sounds were John's footfalls as he ran through the hallways. His boots rang heavily on the floor as he ran. His heart was pounding in his chest and he could hear it as he rushed, dreading what he would find and trying to work his mind around what was happening to the city.

Mostly he feared he was too late.

Like he had been too late the last time.

He ran into the infirmary and stopped short. His breath caught in his throat as her name died on his lips. He stared.

The infirmary was an ocean of darkness. One light was flickering, flickering like a bad television screen, and like a horror movie it was shedding sporadic light on one bed where a figure lay. Where a woman was reclining, head rolled to one side. She was strapped to the bed by wrist and ankle restraints. Dried blood was a dark stain on the white sheets near her head.

"Moira."

The word finally escaped his lips, like a cold breath that sent a shiver up his spine. He quickly moved to her. He reached out a hand. It shook slightly as he touched her pale, pale cheek. His chest felt constricted and he couldn't breathe, couldn't think and he froze.

Until she softly, softly moaned.

Relief flooded John, a relief so palpable he felt tears. "Moira? Moira! Hang on, sweetheart, I'm here now!" Quickly he undid the restraints, one by one, hands gentle as he revealed the vivid bruising on her flesh. He moved round the bed as she stirred, moaning and moving slowly. "Hang on, baby, I'll get you outta here! What did they do to you, Moira? What did he do?" He glanced at the tray full of instruments and electrodes. He looked at her, seeing the marks on each side of her temple. Anger filled him, a fury that chased away the cold.

Moira opened her eyes and began to struggle. There was a man. His hands were on her, holding her down. The light was behind him and all she could see was his dark form. His features were obscured. "No, no, no, please, please, not again not again not again please!"

"Whoa, Moira, Moira it's me!" John caught her and helped her to a seated position.

"John?" She stared, grabbing his arm as the light revealed the alarm on his handsome face. "John? Are you, are you real?" she asked shakily.

"Yes, Moy, I am real. Moira." He lunged towards her and kissed her. It was a hot, fervent kiss. It was sloppy, passionate and warm. Their lips entwined, seeking and sucking. His lips parted hers and his tongue dove into her mouth, playing wickedly until the kiss ended.

Moira blinked as he pulled back from her. "Wow…okay. John!" She hugged him, fighting tears and the lethargy that was drowning her.

"Let's get you outta here, sweetheart. What the hell happened? Here, can you walk?" He helped her to her feet. "Where the hell is he?" he growled.

Moira swayed, holding onto his arm. She looked round fearfully. There was only darkness. "John? John, are you real?"

"Yes, Moy. Let's go." He guided her carefully out of the infirmary, alert for any danger. "Moy, let me carry you," he said as she stumbled.

"No! I can walk I can walk!" she insisted, voice quavering as pain shot up her legs. Her head was pounding but at least she was free, out of the restraints and away from that bed. And John was real, very real and solid and was helping her. "John!" she yelped in protest as he paused and swept her up into his arms.

"It's quicker this way and you are injured, Moy!" he said, losing patience. He wanted her someplace safe and fast. "Where is he?"

Moira clung to him, hiding her face against his shoulder as the darkness enfolded them. Lights weakly flickered as they moved down the hallways. She peeked over his shoulder. It looked as if the shadows were chasing them, but it had to be trick of the light. There were no Homo erectus, at least, and no other hallucinations.

"Moira? Where is he? What did he do to you?" John asked as they reached her room. He carried her to the bed and gently set her upon it. "Moy?" She was cold, so cold to the touch and pale, too pale as she stared up at him. He sat close to her, catching her hands in his. "Moira?"

For a few fateful heartbeats he feared he was too late.

"John! John, are you real?" she asked again, as if awakening from a trance. "No! I mean get me out of here! It wasn't Carson! I mean I mean it was but it wasn't! There something in him, John! There's something in him, orchestrating all of this! John!" She turned to face him, her nails digging into his arm to gain his attention after she looked round the room. "It's not Carson! It's something inside of him! I saw it! I saw her! I sa woman a a a—"

"The city. You saw the city, part of the AI," he confirmed quietly. He caught her as she swayed. Her brown eyes were huge and the purple ring around her pupil was vivid as if it was glowing as the light hit her face. "Don't you worry, sweetheart. I will get it out of him, one way or another." He eased her onto her back. "You rest now. You're safe now, Moira. Don't open the door to anyone but me, all right?"

"Where are you going?" she asked, clutching at his hands as he tried to free them from her.

"I'm going to take care of this, all right?" He leaned close and kissed her. "Don't be afraid, Moy. I'm here now. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I never should have left you. I never should have…" Emotion choked off his words and he looked away for a moment, mastering them.

"John? John, please don't go. John, please, please don't…" Her voice fell softly as the lethargy was making her limbs heavy. Pain was a constant in her wrists and ankles and head. Tears made her vision swim and made the one John into two Johns.

"Easy, Moy. I'll be back, I promise. You are safe here." He kissed her again and drew up a blanket over her. "Rest. Nothing else will happen to you, I swear."

"John…are you real? Are you…" Her eyes fluttered as she was having trouble keeping awake, as if the brief exertion getting to her room had been too much for her.

"I am real, Moira, and I love you."

John stood a moment, watching as Moira softly smiled. Her eyes closed. He turned to leave. He turned back again, debating. There was one thing he had to do before he left her.

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John strode purposefully through the hallways. He paused now and then, pressing his palm to the wall and activating the lights. He circled round and entered the infirmary. Without a word he strode up to Carson as the doctor was staring at the empty bed where Moira had been imprisoned.

Carson turned, hearing the distinct sound of boots on the floor. "John? John, you made it! Where the devil is—"

John's fist ended the sentence. He swung a vicious right hook into the doctor's face. Carson spun and landed hard onto the floor. Blood spewed out of his mouth.

"John, no! John!" Rodney ran to his friend, grabbing his arm before John could take another swing or do far worse.

"He hurt Moy! You should see what he did to Moy!" John growled, but now that he had vented his fury he forced himself to think before acting.

"What? What did he to do her? Carson?" Rodney asked in disbelief, but his sore jaw reminded him that Carson wasn't exactly the kindly doctor anymore. It was shocking and Rodney couldn't quite wrap his head around it. "Where is she now?"

"She's safe in her room. Help me get him up."

"Carson hurt…what? How?" Rodney's gaze darted to the tray of medical instruments and he felt a shudder, seeing the electrodes, seeing the restraints on the bed. "What are you going to do with him?" he asked, helping John pull the nearly unconscious doctor to his feet.

"We're gonna get the bitch outta him! Let's go!"

"Go? What bitch? Go where?" Rodney was completely baffled.

"The Chair," John replied tersely.

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"Anything?" Ronon asked. He was standing guard near his wife, keeping his gaze on the shadows and the darkness that surrounded them. The city was quiet; too quiet as not even the water was bubbling in the walls. It was creepy, and Ronon half-expected a Wraith to jump out of the shadows.

He would have preferred a Wraith to a fugly any day.

Amelia shook her head as she squatted near the ZPM container unit. "Nothing. It's got power, it's not damaged, but it's like something is blocking it! I need McKay down here! This isn't exactly my area of expertise!" she fumed. She pushed the ZPM back inside and checked the controls again. They were all dark but the readings were normal.

"Radios are still not working," Ronon reminded. "What happened here?"

"I'm not sure." Amelia sighed and moved to her feet. "It's weird. It's like the city is, is acting against itself. It's almost like it caught a computer virus and refuse to reboot. That doesn't make any sense, I know."

"Nothing much surprises me anymore. Let's go."

"Go? Colonel Sheppard said to stay here."

"You can't fix it. Let's see if Reynolds can do anything in the control room. We need to round up all of our people."

"Ronon? What happened out there?" she asked, catching his arm.

"Not much," he admitted. "We had to blow up a fugly ship that was underwater."

"You what?"

"We didn't have a choice, and it will look like a self-destruct on ours. That landing party was beamed up, so I am guessing they didn't find what they were looking for."

"You think they might move on?" she asked, following him out of the room. "Ronon, tell me exactly what happened out there!"

"I'll tell you on the way. Let's move."