Elizabeth had tried to dissuade the boys from going in the pool, but they begged and pleaded and finally she gave in and took a seat on a lounger at the side so she could watch them. Hours passed and still they showed no sign of tiring even though they resembled something more like wrinkled prunes than people. Eventually she had to call them out, it was getting late, John was still outside and she couldn't leave them in here alone while she made the dinner.

In the kitchen Aleena was in her high chair munching on a rusk when the boys came in dried, dressed and hungry.

"Hang on boys, before you sit down, go out front and tell your dad dinner's ready." Elizabeth told them as she struggled with a casserole dish.

They ran out and returned in record time, "Dad's not out there mom," Derrel told her as they sat down and tucked in to the mince and mash potatoes.

"What, are you sure?"

They both nodded their heads, eagerly spooning up their dinner, their mouths too busy to speak.

"Is the car still there?" She asked a little concerned.

More nodding.

"Okay, you two watch your sister while I go find him."

Outside the air had a chill to it, she wrapped her light weight jacket tightly around her. The car was exactly where it had been parked earlier and the tool box sat on it's side, still closed next to it. She called out into the evening for John, but it went unanswered. Several times she called walking around the house, but he was no where to be seen. She started to worry that he had walked off on his own, abandoning them here, then cursed herself for thinking such a thing. John would never leave them here alone. She figured he must have come in and went to check their bedroom. It was cold and empty too. She started to regret saying those things to him before and she couldn't blame him for wanting a bit of space, he had been really angry and she knew he wouldn't want the kids to be upset by his foul mood. She had to tell herself he would come out from wherever he had hidden himself when he was ready.

That time didn't come until hours later. The boys had gone upstairs to play in their rooms and she stayed in the living room with Aleena. When John came in they had just built up a stack of cups, Aleena was poised to knock them down when she saw him and changed her mind. Crawling over to him, she pulled herself up onto her feet clutching at his pant legs, she raised one arm up to him. "Da, da."

John bent down and picked her up. She snuggled in his arms and he gently ran his hand over her head, her baby hair soft on his calloused fingers. "Hey baby," he cooed to her. He looked exhausted, his hair was a mess, not doubt he'd been racking his hands through it, his face was haggard and his eyes were red and puffy.

Elizabeth had moved to sit on the couch and he came to sit next to her. "Sorry for disappearing on you like that." He apologised. "I had to find a place where I could think for a while. I had to find out what was going on."

"And now?"

"Now you need to come with me."

"Why? Do you know what's happening?"

"I think so, but I don't want to tell you straight out, I need to know if you come to realise the same things as me." He stood up and offered her a hand. "Will you come with me?"

"What about the boys?"

"They'll be fine where they are. It shouldn't take too long."

"Okay then." She took his hand and let him lead her upstairs.

The strange room upstairs was still as cold as it had been yesterday, but they didn't stop long enough for it to chill them. Down the spiral staircase and into the room below they went, the candles were lit again and what was left of the daylight shone through the window. John put Aleena in the high chair that wasn't there when he left ten minutes ago then he and Elizabeth took a seat themselves.

"So are you going to tell me what it is I'm supposed to remember?" She asked him.

"I'll guide you through it. I was up here all afternoon just thinking, but you should find it easier to come up with answers when prompted the right way."

"John, you look really upset, is it that bad?"

He ignored her question and asked his own. "What does 'Somnium' mean to you?"

Her brow furrowed in thought, as she rolled the word around her mouth, it had set off the alarm bells in her mind, but the information still lay just beneath the surface. "I know that word."

"Yes you do. It was you who told me what it meant. Nearly a year ago."

She grabbed his forearms, "John, you can remember something that far back?"

"Yes, and even further. Here try this: close your eyes and build the world I'm describing to you in your mind."

She drew in a big breath, closed her eyes and blew it out again, willing herself to relax and focus. "Okay."

"We're standing on a balcony, much bigger than the one in our room, constructed from metal not stone. We're visitors in a city where the architecture is like nothing on Earth we've ever seen before, its an image of beauty and power we could never imagine existed if we hadn't seen it with our own eyes. This place stands taller than any other man made structure and where we are is on the central spire among many soaring towers, in a position to look out over everything below. Take a deep breath now and listen, tell me what you hear."

Elizabeth had allowed herself to be taken to this amazing place, she knew it well, even with the few details John had given her, she felt intimately familiar with it. She took another deep breath and realised there was a salty taste in her mouth, but wasn't surprised by it. She made the image of herself inside her mind take a step forward and let her hands reach out to grip the cool metal railing at the edge of the balcony. Listening carefully she was able to isolate the different sounds around her, until she picked out the one she was looking for, it was like holding a shell up to her ear. "I can hear the ocean."

"Thats good Elizabeth, you're remembering. Now think back to the time when you first heard the name Somnium, we had just met some people and they needed our help very badly, they told us they were the Somnium." John could see she was still having trouble going back to that time, it had been much the same for him, but it was the key to everything he believed was happening to them.

"I can't, I'm being blocked from it." She shook her head, annoyed.

"Thats okay, we can go back to it later. We'll try something else first. Picture the balcony again."

He watched how her features relaxed as she looked for her place again and the hint of a smile that curled the ends of her lips when she got there. He wished she didn't have to find out the awful truth, that she would be free to laugh and smile, but she was too much like him, she wouldn't rest until she knew what had happened to them, as terrifying as it was. The least he could do was support her through this, make it as easy as possible and be there to comfort her when reality came crashing in.

"Right, tell me, being in this city that floats on the surface of the ocean, what myths and legends do you know that could possibly relate to it?"

Elizabeth was frowning again searching through a lifetime of information and if the cocked eyebrow was anything to go by, John reckoned she'd hit on something.

"Oh now that can't be right. Surely, you can't be serious?"

John picked up on her unintentional quote from the movie Airplane and couldn't help himself, "I am serious... And don't call me Shirley!" He cracked.

"Colonel, that was a bad joke from a bad film! Quit messing around and help me."

John froze in his seat, he knew it was a good sign that her memories were coming to her, but hearing her call him that made something inside of him shrivel up and die. Elizabeth however, didn't catch on to how she had addressed him or to the reference she had made and continued to concentrate.

"I can think of one story, but it doesn't quite fit."

All traces of his humour had evaporated. "What if I told you, when we first came to this city, it wasn't where it is now, but lay far below ocean?"

"You mean it's like Atlantis?"

"Not like Atlantis, it is Atlantis."

Suddenly Elizabeth's mind was flooded with hundreds of memories. Her eyes flew open and she could see the city from all different angles, people she knew, places she'd been to, all rushing to her so fast she couldn't process everything. After being mostly redundant since they came to the house, her mind was on over drive now, trying to compensate for its lack of activity.

John gave her a minute to come to terms with it then asked her, "Do you know who you are now?"

She nodded, "I'm Dr Elizabeth Weir."

Until now Elizabeth hadn't realised she couldn't remember her last name, but she'd had no need to use it and no cause to hear it. It wasn't like her kids or husband would call her by it. A finger and thumb absently sought out the band of gold on her left hand and twirled it.

John could see she wasn't all the way there yet as she played with the ring. With his hands he held onto hers, stopping her nervous fidgeting. He hated himself for having to give her the nudge she needed to come the rest of the way, but it had to be done. "I'm glad you can remember who you are, but now tell me, who am I?"

She was a little confused, "I thought you said you knew?"

They sat so very close together and he tightened his grip on her hands. "Elizabeth, please. Just tell me who I am."

"Fine. You are Lieutenant Colonel John--" She couldn't believe what she was saying or how much the truth behind those simple words hurt her. Finally she knew who they were and had her suspicions about how they had come to be here and for all she was worth she wished she had never questioned how they had come to live in this picture of domestic bliss.

Seeing Elizabeth so hurt like this John wanted to reach out to her, put his arms around her and tell her everything would be all right. Certainly he would have done this if he still believed he was her husband, and even on Atlantis, had they been alone, he would have offered her some kind of physical reassurance, but now? He was equally scared to move any closer or withdraw his hands and back off a few steps. He couldn't tell how she would want him to react. He worried he'd make her feel uncomfortable and the thought of her rejecting his touch pained him to the core. Who was he supposed to be? John or Colonel Sheppard?

The truth of the matter was, even now their real identities were known to them, he still loved her, still felt like they were in this relationship and were partners in life and not just thrown together by chance working on some joint venture under extraordinary circumstances. All he could do was watch her, wait for her to decide what it was she needed and be ready to give it to her. All the colour had drained from her beautiful face, moisture gathered in her eyes making them glisten in the candle light, but she didn't cry. When this revelation was made apparent to him, it was brutal and shocking, there was no one to ease him through it. John had taken it a lot worse than her, getting incredibly angry, but then he was unable to keep himself from breaking down.

In the time they had been here, Elizabeth had the liberty to show her emotions, express her feelings and not have to keep track of how her behaviour may appear in public and now, already the mask that Dr Weir presented to all but the few people she trusted most was changing the way she appeared. Still though, she clung to his hands, not letting go of that link between them. John was tracing small circles with his thumb on her soft skin, there was still hope for them yet he hoped.

The tingling sensation he was causing in her made Elizabeth look down and watch the way he was gently caressing her hand. She felt broken up, unable to define the parameters of the different nature of their relationships. She knew he was the head of the military contingency in Atlantis and in her capacity as leader of the expedition they had to work closely to assure the safety and well being of everyone else. Because of this they had become more than just colleagues, they were friends, and their near isolation meant they had a bond that went further than that. And this is where things started to get grey for her. She knew that without him, the pain of loosing him, it would be unbearable. He was such an important fixture in her life, someone she depended on to let her know if her choices were for the best for those who relied on them. He was always the one person she could turn to if she was in need of council when she doubted herself and guided her to the right decisions. They would spend time together out on the balcony, sometimes not a word would be spoken, they'd just be there for each other, a silent exchange of comfort and support. But now there was this whole other experience to contend with too. As well as their lives on Atlantis, they both knew of this existence where they lived together as a married couple with three young children who they loved dearly.

She was becoming increasingly aware of his touch now and how good it felt. The small circles radiating warmth out from her hands to the rest of her body until she was burning to touch him back. In that moment she didn't care who they were supposed to be or the boundaries they had to respect, it was just the two of them here so who would care if she threw her arms around him and let him hold her tight? And if her hunch was true and they were dead or close to it, what difference would it make to take comfort in each other now? The only reason he hadn't done so already was because even in this predicament he was letting her choose how they would proceed. Well she had made her choice and didn't delay any longer in taking action. In a sudden rush she was wrapping her arms round his neck, her head buried in his shoulder while he wound his hands around her waist and for a moment they remained like this.

Elizabeth risked a glance at Aleena, quietly sitting in her high chair and it nearly broke her heart. This beautiful little girl was not their own, nor were the boys. "So what are we going to do now?" She asked, her words muffled by his shirt.

John's hand stroked the back of her head catching her curls in his fingers and twirling them gently. "I don't honestly know if there's anything we can do. You've seen this place, there doesn't seem to be a way out."

She sighed heavily. "Maybe, but I remember now though."

John pulled back slightly to look down at her. "The Somnium?"

"The Somnium," she nodded. "I don't think this would have been possible without them."

"So you think what they told us about their spiritual beliefs were true? You think we could be dead?"

"Standing here now, can you doubt it? I think this pretty much proves what they believe."

"That would mean the boys, maybe even Aleena are responsible for most of this, but how could they know about so much that is typical of Earth. Look at the house, the car, the things we have here, they don't know what that stuff is."

"I guess it's possible that being here is because of their ability, but this place is based on our knowledge." Had they not been marooned in purgatory, Elizabeth would have found it all intriguing, but this was hardly the time to get into the semantics.

Outside it was completely dark now, the ghostly light from the candles was all that was left for them to both see the room they were standing in, in the house they had found when neither of them knew where they were going.

"The last thing I can remember of my life before coming here is hearing the landslide on the mountain and being in that cave with you, the boys, Aleena, Talen and Marai," she told him.

"Okay, let's say I buy the whole 'we can make what we want of the hereafter' line, that much is evident I guess, but what about Talen and Marai? Shouldn't they be here with us?"

"I suppose so, but who knows?" Tired of trying to make any more sense of this she pulled him tighter, needing the closeness and for once not afraid to ask for it. At least if they were dead they were still aware of each other, things could definitely be much worse.

John was more than happy to comply with her little tug and pulled her close to him, but there was something she hadn't thought of yet. "Maybe we should bring the boys down here? Ask them if they know anything?"

He felt her go still under his hands and knew like him, she didn't want to scare the children, but if there was anyway to figure this out, the boys appeared to be their only hope. Stepping back a little from him, Elizabeth shook her head softly, "John..."

"I know," he cut off her protest before she could start. "I love them and want to protect them too," he said, then added hesitantly, "all of you, but we need to find out what happened if we can."

His admission had shocked and thrilled her all at once. They had been very open with their affections here all along, however this was the first time either of them had said those words knowing exactly who they were. He remained where he was as she moved to him again leaving a tender kiss on his lips letting him know she felt the same for him. "I'll go get them if you want to stay with Aleena?"

"Sure." Was all he could manage as he watched her go back to the stairs.