*Refusing to make eye contact* I know! I'm sorry! It's been forever since I've updated; please forgive - my life's been hectic recently but I promise I won't bore you with that on top of all of my other sins. However rest assured for those of you still actually waiting for this story (I won't blame you if you've given up) I have not forgotten! There's plenty more to come and to make up for the guilt-deserving long gap this is a double chapter update. I promise I will be more frequent from now on.

So summary: John after meeting Mrs Weir has rescued Elizabeth (in FRAN form) who has rebuilt her original human body. They are now returning to Atlantis...

Chapter Four: Welcome Home

"Well, she's definitely human." Jennifer announced hours later.

"I think we realised that," John said. "Tell us something we don't known doc."

"Oh, be quiet," Jennifer's irritated tone completely let down by the laughter in her face.

"Would you like her to leave that detail out?" Rodney demanded, jumping chivalrously to her defence.

John opened his mouth to retort when Elizabeth cut in. "Alright, we've established that I'm unable to beat you all up anymore." She said, shooting John and Rodney hard stares from her position, propped up on the pillows. "What else?"

"Is she really harmless?" Woolsey questioned bluntly, "what other threats does she pose?"

"Right now; none." Jennifer replied, she glanced at Elizabeth. "You're defenceless and vulnerable."

"I never thought the day would come when I'd consider that a good thing," Elizabeth commented dryly.

"Apart from that you seem to be a completely normal, average human being." Jennifer continued, "in perfect health of course, but you are identical to the old Doctor Weir, no one could possibly tell the difference."

"Sounds good." John agreed.

"There is one thing though," Jennifer began hesitantly, glancing down at her tablet again, "its not anything wrong as such, I'm just wondering," she swallowed, "when you first proposed this method, you said you were build a human body that had accelerated healing abilities, you would be less susceptible to injuries and wounds, but as I said your readings have come up normal. Is there something you missed?"

Woolsey frowned, "I do recall that was part of the agreement," he said sternly, "Doctor Weir?"

Elizabeth flexed her fingers once, nervously focusing her gaze on the bleak infirmary floor. "I – I wanted to be human again." She started slowly, raising her head to meet the four pairs of sharp eyes, "I mean fully human, as, I was... before. I wanted you to be able to trust me again, as me. I didn't want to be a replicator human, different, special, stronger." Her eyes tightened, "although that does have certain...advantages, I knew in the long run it would mean I could never be part of you again. I don't want to be invincible; I just want to be..." She stopped, a frown between her eyes, wrinkling her smooth forehead. "Its hard for any of you to understand," she sighed, "but after everything...I've been through; living – embracing life again is the most precious thing anyone could hope for – whatever the cost."

Nobody said anything for a long moment. Elizabeth twisted the corner of the blanket between her fingers; opening herself up like that had never been easy even before living with machines for two years. Expressing her feelings, emotions right then had been unavoidable but that didn't mean she was comfortable with it.

Jennifer broke the silence, "well overall, I can safely say with absolute certainty you pose no threat," she promised Woolsey calmly.

He nodded; "very well," he said stiffly, "If Doctor Keller is certain that I presume there is no reason why you shouldn't look around the city a little, you will of course need an escort –"

"No problem," John intervened, as Ronon and Teyla entered the infirmary to join the crowded bedside. "We can handle it."

"Excellent," Woolsey said, "well, if you'll excuse me I have some work to attend to," he strode out.

"He still doesn't feel completely comfortable here, does he?" Elizabeth observed quietly, staring after him.

"No." Teyla agreed in her soft voice, 'he does not."

Ronon grunted and John shrugged, "do you want to get out of here now?"

"Actually," Elizabeth said, a smile slowly growing on her face, "I'm hungry." Five perplexed faces frowned at her, "although I haven't needed to eat for two years you do miss it," she explained, "replicators don't usually enjoy food much."

"Well, I can't think of anyone who actually enjoys the food served at the mess hall at the moment," Rodney grumbled, "seriously its disgusting, I mean I dread to think how much lemon they much use in all the – "

"Rodney!" Jennifer interrupted, she gave him a slight grimace, "I think she gets it." She whispered apologetically.

Rodney snorted but shut up, something only Jennifer had ever been able to make him do. Elizabeth rolled her eyes and swung off the bed, swaying lightly as she stood.

"C'mon then," John said, "lets see if you notice what's changed."

Elizabeth sat in the mess hall, listening to the wind howl and wail through Atlantis's spires. Surprisingly she actually found it hard to concentrate on the bowl of pasta in front of her; she kept stopping and gazing out of the arching windows leading out to the walkway and ocean below, far more distracting than even the most exotic of sauces the kitchen staff had concocted. Subtly she breathed deeply a couple of times, absorbing the clear air that had that unique mix of sea breeze, a delicate scent that was similar to perfumed candles and another unidentifiable smell she only ever associated with Atlantis. Even being back on Earth hadn't washed away the wild, alien odour that had clung to the city since the moment she arrived.

"Ma'am?" A voice inquired.

Her head shot up, eyes widening with surprise as she took in the two figures standing over their table. "Major Lorne! Chuck! It's good to see you again."

"You too Ma'am," Lorne replied as calm and stolid as always, "we just heard you'd returned, though Sheppard didn't exactly try to keep it quiet." He shot a look at John, sitting by her side and he gave a lazy grin back, unrepentant. "We're glad he managed to get you back after all."

Chuck laughed, "The city hasn't been the same without you Ma'am," he added. "We all missed you."

Her expression warmed, genuinely touched. "Thank you," she said softly, "that means a lot to me."

The two of them grinned and she could still read human emotions easily enough to see the honest sincerity in their expressions, "do you have time for a break?" She asked, "Take a seat."

"The boss isn't going to report us?" Lorne teased, dropping into the chair beside Amelia, who had joined them a couple of minutes before and was now absorbed talking to Ronon, Chuck joined opposite him.

"I'm sure they would –" John began,

"– if they were around," Elizabeth cut in, narrowing her eyes in warning. John shrugged looking unconcerned but there was a faint glimmer of something in his eyes; Elizabeth frowned and glanced around suspiciously.

Chuck saw her look and leaned closer, "don't even ask what else he's up to Ma'am, trust me you don't want to know." He muttered in a low voice, "You should have seen him convincing Stargate Command to get you back, half the city was terrified for days on end." He paused and gave her a wry grin, "not that it stopped them from supporting him." Elizabeth laughed lightly and was about to reply before another voice interrupted.

"Doctor Weir!" A Czech accent was more intense than usual in its excitement. "Is it really you?"

"Doctor Zelenka!" Elizabeth looked up again to see yet another familiar face.

"I havze been offworld for the last two days, since Rodney" he emphasized that name and gave the scientist a familiarly frustrated groan, "claimed the people on the planets erm, difficult diet was a problem for him." He shook his head and waved his hands in a gesture of despair, "You can have no idea of how glad I am to have you back. Truly there have been times when I was being driven to the very limits of my sanity!" He said tragically, collapsing into the remaining place at the end of the table.

Rodney scowled at him, "don't blame me!" He protested, waving his knife precariously and consequently dropping it on Lorne's foot; the Major winced and picked it up from under the table. "It's not my fault that you're so blatantly incompetent. I'm surprised I haven't been driven to the limits of my sanity."

Elizabeth met Teyla's amused gaze across the table and she laughed silently, wondering how her friend had managed to stand this for two years. The Athosians women's mouth quirked slightly and she gave the slightest of shrugs to her unanswered question.

"Elizabeth." She said suddenly, her voice quiet but carrying clearly through the other conversations and bickering going on either side of them. "Kanaan and Torren have just returned from New Athos, I was wondering if you would –" she stopped for a moment and then summoned up a smile, "– if you would you like to meet them?"

Elizabeth looked at her at her, studying her face. She knew how much this meant to Teyla. John had told her how protective she was of Torren; this wasn't just a polite courtesy, the smile she was wearing wasn't just a false mask to make her feel comfortable. It was the smile of old, the sweet smile of friendship that they had so often shared in those unseen, quiet moments in between the sudden panics and "problems" that so often cropped up. Elizabeth allowed the same smile to blossom on her face. "I'd love to."

"Teyla." Kanaan's eyes lit up the moment the two of them entered, "I was just putting Torren to sleep, he's very restless." The young Athosian man moved over from the decorated wooden crib in the corner of the room, gently rocking a small baby in his arms. He gazed down at Teyla, "he doesn't like sitting still much," The baby let out a yelping cry as if to further the impact of his statement, "or keeping quiet," He added.

Teyla stroked the dark hair tufting over her son's forehead, automatically moving closer to them, "I wonder where he gets that from?' She mused softly; Kanaan gave a slight grin and leaned forward, slipping an arm around Teyla's waist and drawing her close to him, gently kissing the crown of her head. The family stood in silence for a long moment, Torren's cries gradually quietening, though his eyes stayed wide and alert, watching his parents.

Elizabeth stood uncertainly by the door, not wanting to intrude on this moment. Her gaze trailed around the room, Teyla had obviously moved quarters; these were far larger than her old ones, with two bedrooms and a lot better view. She stared out the window, aware of a sharp pain building in her chest.

Torren broke the quiet a second later and started howling again, Kanaan laughed. "He definitely takes after you," he said tenderly to Teyla. He turned to Elizabeth, "Doctor Weir," he continued, "Teyla told me you were returning; there was great joy among the Athosians that day." He frowned slightly, exchanging a quick look with Teyla, "would you like to hold him?" He offered, stepping towards her, sliding Torren into her arms.

Cautiously Elizabeth took the baby, forming a natural cradle for the body; he was warm but sturdy and very soft, her nervousness vanished instantly, staring into his dark eyes, "hello," she whispered, Torren's expression was perplexed as he looked up at her, this new strange person. However he must have liked what he'd seen as with one last squawk and satisfied yawn, his eyelids dropped and drifted shut, leaning against her chest.

"He likes you," Teyla said warmly.

"He's beautiful," Elizabeth replied softly, "you must adore him."

"Yes," Teyla said simply, "we do."

"Yeah I'd say," A voice said, "he's the most spoilt baby I've ever met."

"If I recall it was not me that did the spoiling," Teyla answered, narrowing her eyes at John who slouched, lounging in the doorway. She shook her head, "that is the last time I ever let you babysit him."

"Hey, at least I'm better than Rodney," John defended himself, "I didn't drop him."

"What an achievement," Elizabeth snorted.

"Yeah well, I guess I don't have that natural woman's touch," he said, eyeing Torren asleep in her arms, "if you can bear to put him down for a minute, your old quarters have been cleared out. You reckon you can remember the way?"

Elizabeth ran her hand along the dusty surface, her fingers coming up streaked with grey powder. "No one's been here for a while," she said softly, looking around. The whole room was covered in a thin layer of dust, despite the wind and sunlight streaming through open windows. There was also had a faint feeling of emptiness and abandonment in the air, even though various photos and possessions had been scattered around, obviously collected from people on Atlantis. There was one of her old cushions on the window seat, a couple of her favourite books, a framed photo of SGA-1, her and Carson on the desk and even a crafted Athosian pot. She picked it up, tracing the patterns decorated on the outside. "You still have this then," she commented.

"Yeah well, we couldn't really send it back to Earth." John shrugged. "It was easier to leave it here,"

"So who kept it then?" Elizabeth asked. As far as she knew there weren't any security warnings against bringing clay back to Earth.

"Uh, well I didn't really want to explain about it being your birthday present and everything," John explained, "I mean, as far as I know I don't think Rodney even knows you have a birthday. So, um," he looked away, suddenly awkward, "I, uh, kept it in my room."

Elizabeth placed the pot back on the bedside table and gave John a hard stare, "you never did mention how you found out it was my birthday," she said casually.

"Didn't I?" John stared back, "wonder why not."

She sighed and looked away, floating over to the double doors leading out onto her small balcony with the ocean glittering hundreds of feet below.

It wasn't like the other balcony of course, 'their' balcony as she used to call it in the privacy of her mind. But it was close enough. She sighed again and her hands curling around the metal railing, John joined her.

"I've missed this," she said softly, her voice almost getting carried away by the wind.

John didn't say anything in reply but she heard the faintest of noises deep in his throat; like holding in a sneeze – or as if he was valiantly attempting to swallow a lump buried stuck in his throat.

"They all seem so happy," she went on, ignoring the reaction. "I've never seen Ronon so – full of peace, as he is with Amelia." She glanced up at him, "And I've never seen Rodney less grumpy either, what's Jennifer's secret?"

John gave a lopsided grin at that, "believe me, I wish I knew."

"And Teyla, she and Kanaan, Torren, you told me about it but..." she leaned against the arching beam. "They make such a beautiful family together."

"Yeah," John murmured, "I mean, for a while there – when she thought Kanaan and all of her people were dead, and Michael desperate to get hold of Torren – it, it..." he faded off, staring over the sea. "It was hard for her." He finished, his hands gripping the side.

"But it paid off in the end," Elizabeth said, "it was worth it." John nodded, his features softening.

"John..." She began uncertainly, and then stopped.

He put his head on one side, his expression inquiring. "What?"

She kept her eyes on the view. "Are you happy?" She probed gently.

No response. Glancing sideways Elizabeth could see the faintest of creases between his eyebrows; a frown that told her exactly how uncomfortable he was with that question. His gaze suddenly flicked over to her before shying away again, but not before she'd managed to read the intense pain deep in his hazel eyes.

"Sure," he replied easily, "Life's pretty good, I suppose. I mean c'mon, shooting around the galaxy battling aliens for a living? Doesn't get much cooler than that. And you get paid for it!"

Elizabeth nodded, "true." She agreed, turning away again, neither of them mentioning that he hadn't actually answered the original question.

"What about you?" John said a minute later. "Are you happy?"

"Maybe." She said simply.

John gave a half grin at her cryptic answer. Yeah, that was Elizabeth. "Well, I know it's a bit late," he said, "but – welcome home."