The Mystery of the Missing Hyper-Drive Element - Chapter 9

A/N: I do not, and will not ever, own the SGU characters used in this story. The characters' names you are not familiar with though are original to me. Please read and review and let me know what you think. On with the story!

When they arrived back on Altera, she was calmer as the medical technicians loaded her onto the medical vehiculum. Everett, Mac, Nicholas and Gaius got into the vehiculum with her, and it drove over to the hospitium rapidly. Dr. Giovanni met them on their arrival. "I received the message when your shuttle landed. Does Melissa have a compeller too?"

"She does, and you should also know…"He pointed to Mac who handed the aide who had come with her a blanketed bundle. "She had a miscarriage on the way back so you might have to do some stuff with that too."

"Oh no! Okay, thank you for telling me. Let's get her up to surgery."

Everett nodded and bent down to the stretcher where Melissa was still gripping his hand. "Missy, we're home. Stacia's gonna fix you up, and I'll be there when you wake up."

Weakly squeezing his hand, Missy nodded. "Love you…Ev."

"I love you too, honey. Always." He indicated for Stacia to take the stretcher, and she and her aide headed for an elevator that would take them up to the surgical wing.

The four men headed for the visitor elevator which took them up to the waiting room. While Nick went to ask about his wife, the others went to a corner where they could see three adults sitting, and three children nestled on a blanket together. When they got close enough, the blonde woman looked up and smiled wanly. "Mac, you're back." She got up and walked to her husband giving him a hug. Then she greeted Everett and Gaius asking, "How did it go? Did you find Melissa and Nick?"

"We did," said Everett. He looked around at the scene and realized someone was missing. "Where's Ronald?"

TJ shook her head sadly. "I don't know. He kind of went nuts after Stacia came out after Lisa's surgery and told him she had miscarried."

"What! Missy was pregnant too. She miscarried on the way back."

She reached out her hand and grabbed Ev's hand squeezing it in support. "I'm so sorry, Everett. Anyway, Ron said he didn't deserve Lisa anymore after all the things he had said to her, and he left. I would have gone after him, but Katie and Matthew were really scared after seeing the explosion and what happened to Erich and Linda."

"That's probably wise." He greeted the other women that were sitting there. "Hello Leia. And this must be your sister."

A slim dark-haired woman named Leia Caligula wearing a uniform designating service in Altera's space corps stood up. "Hello Everett. I am so sorry about everything." She pointed to the other woman. "Yes, this is my sister Elizabeth."

The other woman stood up and held out her hand which Ev shook. "Hello, Ambassador. It's a pleasure to meet you, but I wish it wasn't under these circumstances."

"I do too." He spoke to all three of them, motioning to the kids. "How did they do?"

TJ responded, "Livvy was clueless. She went right to sleep after I fed and changed her. Katie and Matthew, well, like I said, they were scared especially when you left right after we got here. We did everything we could to reassure them—said you were going to bring Mama back. Finally, we let them have those pastries they liked from the cafeteria, and they calmed down. We let them lay down together, and they seemed to like that."

"Good. I owe you. Thanks for taking care of them." They nodded in response as the men sat down with them to wait. Everett leaned down to the blanket and touched his daughter's hair. She stirred slightly and opened her eyes. When Katie saw her father, her eyes widened, and she started to speak. Ev put his finger to his lips. "Shh, munchkin, you don't want to wake Matthew and Livvy up."

The dark-haired toddler sat up and gave her father an excited look saying in a quiet voice. "Daddy, you're home." She climbed up in his lap. "Did you get Mama?"

"I did, but some bad men hurt her. Dr. Stacia is fixing her right now."

Katie stuck out her lower lip in a pout. "Why bad men hurt Mama? That's not very nice. Do Matthew and I have to say leave Mama alone?" She looked around like the bad men would jump out at her.

The adults all chuckled. "No Katie. The good guys caught them, and they'll never hurt anyone again. We just have to help Mama until she feels better. Will you be a good helper?"

"Sure Daddy."

They all settled back to wait. A few minutes later, Nicholas walked up to them. Everett updated him on what was going on with Lisa, Ron, and the kids while he told them what was going on with Linda. He said, "I'm going to sit with Linda. I just wanted to make sure you knew where I was. Will you let me know when the lass is out of surgery?"

"I will," said Ev. "And you tell Linda we're all pulling all for her."

"I will. Thank you."

For the next few hours, they alternated between sleeping and taking care of the kids. When it was dawn, Mac, TJ, Leia, and Elizabeth offered to take the children down to the cafeteria which left Gaius and Everett in the waiting room alone. After they had left, Gaius turned to Everett. "How are you holding up?"

"Okay, I guess. Just trying to figure out how I'm going to report this fuck-up to Earth." He gave Gaius a sideways look. "Missy and Lisa's names are cleared now, right? There won't be any more problems because of that?"

Gaius shook his head. "I spoke with Leopold right before we left. He was going to facilitate the process. And I got a call from him a little while ago after they got the report from the officers that were still at the base. You will be getting a formal apology from the government along with complete coverage of any medical costs incurred."

"Good. I wonder if…."

His train of thought was interrupted by the security guard who had appeared before them. "Ambassador Young?"

"Yes."

"We took a member of your staff into custody a few hours ago at the imbibo talea a few blocks from here. He was very intoxicated, and we took him to the excolo station so it could wear off. It's just been in the last few minutes that he's been able to tell us that his mate was a patient here."

"You're talking about Ronald Greer, right?"

"Yes."

"Where is he?"

He pointed to the desk where Ron was standing with another officer. "We just wanted to make sure it was you before turning him over."

Everett stood up. "That's fine. You can turn him over to me. Is there a penalty?"

"No, after he told us about his mate, everyone felt sorry for him. All of the charges were dropped."

"Thank you." He walked over to where Ron was, and the officers said farewell to them. Ev then gazed at Ron. "This is probably a stupid question, but I have to ask it. You doing okay?"

Ronald looked at him sadly. "No. When Dr. Giovanni came out and said that Lisa had miscarried along with everything else, I went crazy. You knew we'd been trying, right?" At Everett's affirming nod, he continued, "Well, when I found out about the guards at the prison sleeping with her and her saying that it was part of them being her patron and acting like it was totally natural, I said some terrible things to her. I didn't know that anything had happened. I just thought she had just thrown our marriage away. And then she had those pains in her head and collapsed. Before she lost consciousness, she said she was sorry and that she loved me, and I didn't say anything to her. She probably thinks I don't love her anymore." An expression of agonized pain came over his face. "And that is the most untrue thing that's ever been said, but I don't know how to fix it. That's why I got drunk. I'm sorry." He looked around the waiting room. "Where is everyone?"

"Mac, TJ, Leia, and Elizabeth took the kids to get something to eat."

"How did it go with the terrorists? Did you find Melissa and Nick and the element?"

"Yes to all of it. And when we were coming back, Missy had a miscarriage too. Ron, I am so sorry, but you can fix it. All you have to do is tell Lisa everything you told me. You know, Missy had one of those things in her head too, and the way I'm processing it is that she was raped by those men in the terrorist group. If you think on it like that, you'll be able to start healing."

The younger man nodded determinedly. "I'll do it. Thank you, Everett. Have you gotten any updates?"

"No." He saw Stacia walking towards them. "But this might be one." She came and stood in front of them. "Hello, Everett, Ronald. Everett, Melissa's surgery was successful. We got the compeller out and cleaned up everything from the miscarriage. You shouldn't have any problem trying to conceive again. It will take her awhile though to recover from the hormonal imbalance."

"I understand. Can I go sit with her? I promised I would be there when she woke up."

"Of course."

Stacia started to walk off, but stopped when Ronald touched her arm. "What about Lisa? How is she doing?"

She took in his bloodshot eyes and nodded sympathetically. "Her situation was a bit more complicated because the memory suppressor was still in her brain along with the compeller. And she had the miscarriage during surgery like I said before. But I got everything fixed, and she's going to be okay. When she wakes up though, she's going to be very confused because she's going to remember everything that's happened over the last week including what happened at the prison. And probably feel very guilty and ashamed. You'll need to be ready to support her. Can you do that?"

"I can."

"Good, I'll show you what rooms they're in."

The doctor showed them to their wives' rooms, and after Ev told Ron he would talk with him in a while and asked Stacia to tell the visitor's desk to tell the others where they were, he walked into his wife's room. Sitting down in a chair next to the bed, he took Melissa's hand in his. "Hi baby. I'm here." The surroundings of the hospitium room were very similar to every other hospital he had ever been in, and he noticed how pale his wife's skin was against the sheets. "You know, we really have to stop doing this. Have I ever told you how much I hate sitting in these places?" When he saw that his wife wasn't going to answer, he continued, "That's all right. You need your rest, but you also need to know how much I love you—how much I am always going to love you." He noticed Missy blink her eyes a few times. "Come on honey, wake up. I'm right here." Her eyes focused on him. "Oh thank God. How are you feeling?"

Melissa heard a voice as she returned to consciousness and then opened her eyes to see her husband smiling at her. "I feel…very weak."

"That's understandable. You've been through a lot." He saw a look of panic and then shame come across her face. When she turned it away from him, he turned it back. "Uh, uh, you don't get to do that. I know all of it, Missy, or I've figured most of it out. I don't care. I'm just glad you're gonna be okay. Do you remember anything about being on the ship with me?"

She thought for a moment, scrunching her forehead. "Yes…you said…they put…something in…my head."

"Yes, at the prison."

A look of abject misery crossed her face. "It was…Brutus…and Draco. They…were going…to make me…have coitus…with…whoever…they…said. How can…you not…care about…what hap-pened…with Par Pro Aulum? You don't…know…what…I did."

Everett leaned over and gently kissed her forehead before answering her. "I don't care because I love you. And even if it might not seem that way to you, I'm thinking of it like you were raped. That's why I don't care. I know you hold our vows as sacred as I do and that you wouldn't have gone to them willingly." He noticed the uncertain look on her face. "Do you want to tell me?"

"Yes…because…I need to…know…you don't…blame me."

"Blame you for what?"

"For what…happened."

He reached out and squeezed both of her hands. "I don't, but I think you need to tell me so go ahead."

"Okay. After they…took me…from where…Nick…was, my mind…was…in a fog. We…went to…Arianna's…room, and…she…told me…to change…clothes. I did, and…we went…to Lucius' room. It…didn't take…long for the…rest of them…to show up and…he said…he was…going…to have me…first. We…had…coitus, and…I didn't…have…any pain. But, when…we were…done, he gave…me this…weird look, and…went in…the…corner with…Colin. He said…she's pregnant…and…asked…him…why I…didn't say. Colin…looked at…me…and said…she…doesn't know. Lucius said…it wouldn't…work…if I was…pregnant…and then said…he had…heard…that rough sex…could make…women…lose…their babies. Then…I…could be…a meritricis…for them. He…came back…over…and said…that they…were all…going…to have coitus…with me…and that…I deserved…what…they did." Tears started to form in her eyes. "The pain…in my…head was…already…starting to…come…back…so I did…what…they said…and…it really hurt…but…I thought…I deserved it. Then…when the…shooting…started, they…took me…back to Nick. Can…I ask…you a…question?"

Everett, who was crying as well, tenderly kissed each of her hands. "Sure, baby."

"Am…I…pregnant…or was…I…pregnant?"

Considering his answer for a long moment, Ev thought about not saying anything as he could see that it was going to take his wife a long time to recover from what had happened. But, he also knew that they had always had a policy of being honest with one another, and he didn't want to lie to her about something so important. With a sad look in his eyes, he said, "Yes you were, honey, but you miscarried on the way back here."

She started to shake with sobs. "No….no….no! It's my fault! I…killed our…baby!"

"That's not true! I promise! That's not true!" He started to put his arms around her, but was surprised when she turned away. "What's wrong?"

"I can't…I can't…let you…hold…me right now. I don't…deserve…it." Missy turned on her side and began to hysterically sob.

Gazing at her helplessly, Everett reached the end of his rope. He bent down next to her back. "Please, oh God, please Missy, don't shut me out. We need to hold onto each other right now. You didn't deserve any of this, and I don't blame you for anything. So much has happened. I don't know what I would do…"

His voice trailed off as he saw his wife's hopeful face turn toward him, eyes streaked with tears. "You really…don't…blame me?"

"No, I don't. Honey, it took so long for us to get together, I couldn't imagine blaming you for this. Actually, I blame myself. If I had told you no about this thing with Par Pro Aulum, you might still be pregnant."

Melissa touched her husband's hand. "It's not…your fault…Ev."

Glad she had reached out; he took her hand and brought it to his lips, giving it a gentle kiss. "Can we agree it's not your fault either and begin healing?"

Her mind pulled in two directions; Missy stared at him for a long moment before answering. What had been done to her was horrific in every sense of the word, and it was hard not to do what her mind said which was to push everyone away. On the other hand, the bond she had with Everett had been there for many years, and she knew, in her heart, that it would help her start to heal. She sat up part way and held out her arms. "Yes."

"Oh, thank God." He sat down on the bed, gathered her in his arms, and held her as both of them cried, mourning what had been lost. They stayed that way for what seemed like hours to Ev, but he didn't regret any of it because he knew the hole that would have been in his heart if something had happened to the love of his life. Melissa had just cried herself to sleep when there was a quiet knock at the door. Everett responded just as quietly. "Come in."

Nicholas Rush entered the room and walked over to the bed. Pointing to Missy, he asked, "How is she? Has she woken up yet?"

"She did. Just cried herself to sleep. It was pretty bad, Nick. They made a point of making sure she would lose the baby."

A look of fury replaced the look of despair. "What! Did Gaius tell you where they were going to keep the prisoners? I have more things I would like to say and….do."

Everett gave him a grim smile. "Me too. What's going on with Linda?"

The look of despair came back. "That's why I'm here. She's gone."

"Oh no. I am so sorry."

"Thank you. I told her everything that had happened with the lass, and she made me promise, made me promise not to give up. Said that we were all a family and that you all would need me."

Nodding briskly, he replied, "She's right. Do you need help with anything? Missy should sleep for a while, and I need to check on the kids."

"The hospitium liaison is starting the arrangements. I had a question for you though. That's why I'm here."

Standing up, Everett gave his wife a kiss before turning to Nick. "What is it?"

"Well, I was wondering if you were going to bury…" He motioned to Melissa. "You know. Because if you are, I was wondering if we could put both the babies in Linda's casket. So they can have an escort…you know…" His voice broke, and tears started coming down his face. "To heaven."

"Of course." He put his arm around Nicholas' shoulders as tears came down his face as well. "They'll need their grandma. Come on. Let's go see Stacia."

The two men quietly left the room and went to see Dr. Giovanni as well as the person handling the arrangements for Linda's funeral. As soon as they had done that, they went back out to the waiting room. When Matthew and Katie saw them, Matthew yelled out, "Daddy! Grandpa Nick!" The children ran to them, and each man picked up a child. "How's Mama, Daddy? Can we see her?"

Katie spoke up as well. "And how's Grandma Linda? I want to see her too."

Both men gave each other sad looks before sitting down with the children. The other adults noticed their reactions, and TJ gasped as Mac put his arm around her and Olivia. Everett addressed the children. "Mama's doing better. She's just going to be very sad for a while, and we'll need to be very gentle with her."

"What about Grandma Linda?" The young toddler gazed up at her father, her eyes full of worry.

"Do you remember me telling you about Erich and him going to heaven?"

"Yes, Elizabeth said it was the same as going to aura." She started crying. "Is Grandma Linda there now too?"

"Yes." The children both started crying, and the adults showed varying degrees of emotion on their faces too.

TJ asked, "Have you started making arrangements, Nick?"

The older man nodded his head. "The hospitium liaison has helped out tremendously, and we're going to put, you know…"He spoke quietly. "The babies in the casket with her. We also talked to Stacia. She said the lass and Lisa should be okay to go to the funeral in hover chairs in two days so that's when it's going to be."

"Good." She motioned to Mac. "Didn't Gaius leave a message for Everett with you?"

Mac nodded. "Yes. Everett, Gaius had to go see Leopold. He said you could call him if you needed anything."

"Thank you," said Everett. He turned towards Leia who had joined them. "I really appreciate all of your help."

"You're welcome," said Leia. "I was going to tell you that we could still help if you needed us and that it might be helpful if the children were taken home."

"I agree. I want to take them to see Missy if she's awake, and then you can take them home."

"Very good."

Turning back to the kids, Ev said, "Ok, we're going to go see Mama, and then you two are going to go home with Uncle Mac, Aunt TJ, and Leia and Elizabeth."

"Sure Daddy," said Matthew.

The group stood up, and Nicholas and Everett each took a child by the hand as they walked to Melissa's room. When they got to the entrance, TJ said the rest of them would wait outside. Before they went in, Ev bent down to both children. "Ok, if Mama is awake, you have to be very gentle with her. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Daddy," said Katie.

After Matthew nodded in agreement, Everett smiled at them. "Okay." They walked into the room quietly. When they got close enough to the bed, he saw his wife open her eyes and greeted her. "Hi honey. I have some people that want to see you."

He and Nick picked up the children so she could see them. When Katie saw her mother, her eyes lit up. "Hi Mama. You feel better?"

Melissa, who was still very weak, smiled at her. "A little…bit, munchkin. Are…you…being…good?"

Her son eagerly nodded. "Yes Mama." He pointed to the space next to her. "Can we lay down with you? We'll be gentle. I promise." He gazed at her hopefully.

"Sure, Matthew." The men lifted the children up on the bed, and they lay down next to their mother. She stroked both of their heads before reaching out to squeeze her husband's hand. Then she noticed the tear tracks on her daughter's cheek. "What's wrong…Katie? Why were you…crying?"

Katie pursed her lips and started talking, not seeing the men frantically shaking their heads. "I was crying because of Grandma Linda going to aura like Erich."

It took a moment before Katie's words registered with her mother, and then Melissa looked over at her husband with a sad expression on her face. "I guess…you have…more you need…to tell me, right?"

Ev nodded solemnly. "Yes." He told her everything that had happened since she and Nick had left Altera. By the time he had finished, he saw tears coming down her face once more. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, just…very sad. Are you…going to…let them…go home?"

"Yep. Stacia said that you and Lisa could go to the funeral in hover chairs in two days so that's when we're going to do it. And Nick and I thought it would be nice if we buried the babies with her. Is that okay?"

"It is."

Telling the kids it was time to go, he had the others take them home while he continued to spend time with his wife.


Two days later, the group from Earth was at the sepultura locus which was a few miles outside of the capital city of Altera. It was a perfectly sunny day with no clouds in the sky and Altera's three moons visible in the distance. Everyone was quiet as the Alteran praeter spoke giving blessings on the souls who had departed this world. Missy gazed at the capulus sadly thinking of how much her life had changed and thought to herself, 'Thank you Linda for everything you did for me and my family. Take care of the babies until we see you again.' She looked at Lisa who was staring at the scene numbly and her heart ached for the gulf she saw between Lisa and her husband. Her gaze shifted to Everett who was holding Katie and Matthew, and she saw the sadness he was struggling not to express. She touched his shoulder, and when he turned to look at her, mouthed the words, 'I love you.' He nodded in thanks as the praeter finished by saying, "I think Ambassador Young wanted to say a few words."

Everett stood up and motioned for the children to sit in the chairs. Then he approached the capulus and turned back to his family and friends. "We have lost a lot in this past week—losses that make it difficult to go on. But we will go on—we have to. We're a family and nothing changes that." He motioned to the capulus and to one that was a short distance away awaiting burial. "Linda and Erich chose to save five lives the day the bomb went off including the lives of the children. I will always be grateful." He saw Melissa start to get up and gave her a reproving look, but then, noticing her look of determination, went to help her walk to where he was. "Did you want to say something, Missy?"

Nodding determinedly, she started speaking. "We can't…allow our…hurt hearts…to keep us from reaching out…for help. If we do…Linda and Erich…died for…nothing." She held out her hand, echoing the gesture they had formally done on the Destiny. "To family!" The ones that had come from Earth all started walking one by one to join her, placing their hands over hers. Missy gazed at Ron and Lisa for a long time before Lisa allowed her husband to help her up and walk the short distance to them. Once they had done so, they placed their hands on the rest of the group's, and all of them said as one, "To family!"

A/N: This marks the end of this story. Thanks for making the journey with me. As I said with the last chapter, the words you are unfamiliar with are Latin which I've chosen to represent the Alteran language. The meanings should be fairly clear from the context, but if you can't figure it out, a Latin to English translator should be helpful.