Kimberley watched as Dara dialed her cell phone and nodded to her self. "Okay, I'll be back soon."

"Are you sure you don't want a hand?" Dara asked, thinking how much stuff her friend was going to drag to Atlantis. "And don't go overboard."

"I won't." She promised. "Be back in a few minutes."

Kimberley exited the back of the puddle jumper into the street outside her house, looking around before opening the silver gates and walking up the pathway, unlocking the door, disabling the alarm and walking in.

Heading straight for the stairs she went up them and stopped at the landing, opening the hatch leading to the attic. Using a silver hook, she guided the stepladders down and opened them fully, quickly walking up the steps and hauling herself up the hole.

Automatically she stood, grabbing a suitcase and stack of hold alls from their place. Throwing them down stairs, she looked around the loft for anything she would need. A small item caught her eye and she carefully picked it up, running it over her hands before placing it in her pocket and descending down the steps.

After putting the stairs back, she glanced at her watch then entered the room on the left of the stairs and threw the suitcase on the bed, emptying the drawers into it. Once that task was done she started to empty the stuff on top of her drawers into the bag.

Leaving the room with the case open she crossed the landing into her computer room, opening the door and multi tasking with opening up one of the hold alls, opening it and placing it on her desk.

Her cell phone buzzed. "Hello?"

"What are you doing, the dishes?" Dara demanded and Kimberley stuck her head up to the window to see Dara glaring up impatiently.

"Hey I sat through you and your family saying good bye and get lost about a billion times." Kimberley rolled her eyes and hung up, muttering under her breath.

Picking up her three laptops, she put them at the bottom of the bag, and then moved some of her special money banks on top, followed by her perfume.

"Remember we'll be back in a month!" Dara spoke quickly as they pulled up to her house. "Don't pack the kitchen sink!"

'At least she can come back.' Kimberley though dryly, remembering how her friends parents were as they said goodbye.

Turning on the step, she grabbed her psychology books, Stargate reference books and things that she was going to read before remembering she hadn't grabbed the other bag. Placing them on the ground, she grabbed a bag and opened it, putting the ground beside the books and quickly tossed them in.

Opening her cupboard, she scanned it before grabbing a bunch of clothes and taking them into her bedroom, putting them in the case.

The picture above her bed caught her eye and she bit her lip before taking it down and taking it out of the frame, rolling it up carefully and placing it along the top of the suitcase.

Entering the computer room, she looked through the cupboard one more time before smiling sadly. Turning around she grabbed another hold all and began putting her ornamental knickknacks into it, then placed the oval object from her pocket into the bag.

Only to remove it seconds later, placing it back in her pocket.

Kimberley moved back into the hallway. Lifting one of the two remaining hold alls from the floor she wandered around the rooms grabbing anything else she thought she might need, including her jewellery box, make up bag, several pairs of shoes, most of her arts and craft things and dozens of notebooks.

Taking her time, she transported all the bags down stairs before raiding the kitchen cupboards, putting in fundamental things like salt and vinegar, adding most of the spices and several cookbooks that had been accumulated over the years in as well. As she was deciding over taking the last packet of macaroni and cheese, the door opened.

Kimberley froze in fear, expecting the worst.

"What are you doing!"

"Oh, it's just you." Kimberley sighed a breath of relief at the sight of Dara.

"I've got one box, ONE BOX." Dara shouted, arms flailing. "And you've got four!"

"And a suitcase in the living room." Kimberley added, tossing the box in for the sake of it. "And that's me."

"You can cram a shit load into your bag but you can't get all this into one suitcase?" She demanded, then looked at the amount of stuff she was bringing with her to the lost city. "And what do you need all this for?"

"Well, we're gonna be there for two years." Kimberley shrugged, hauling her large Paul's Boutique bag to her shoulder, grunting at she grabbed the hold alls. "Can you grab the suitcase?"

Dara opened her mouth to object at her friend for taking all this stuff with her but closed it, nodding. 'I've told her repeatedly we're coming back to visit every month or so!'

The eldest of the two stepped into the living room and paused.

Every picture with Kimberley had her either cut out or otherwise removed from the frame. 'What happened when she told her parents?'

"Dara, ya coming?" Kimberley hollered from the front door.

'I'll corner her on Atlantis.' Dara thought to herself, grabbing the handle of the suitcase and began to haul it from the living room. "Coming!" 'Damn this thing weighs a ton!'

o0o

John Sheppard stood at the railing over looking the Stargate.

A quick glance at his watch notified him that there was about ten minutes before Dara and Kimberley were due to arrive in this galaxy. 'Kimberley...'

Before his thoughts had chance to turn from sheer annoyance into something deeper a familiar voice cut through the tension rolling into his brain. "John, there ya are."

Turning around the head of the military personnel grinned at Carson Beckett 2.0, hoping for some good news.

"No good news I'm afraid." The Scottish man replied.

"Any bad?" John grimaced.

"No..."

"Well then, that's good news." John grinned.

"But didn't Dara say-"

"Hey, hey doc, Dara herself said the time line for things to happen would be out of whack, so you'll probably have a little longer before your cells start to degenerate." John placed a hand on his shoulder. "They should be here soon if you want to grill them some more?"

"Them?" Carson asked.

"Yea, Kimberley's coming with her." Johns face fell a little.

"Is that a bad thing?" He wondered.

"No, well, ya see." John paused, unsure what to tell the still declared security risk. "She's kind of the reason why they're coming here in the first place."

"Because of Michael." Carson nodded in understanding.

"Yea because of- how did you know that?" John demanded.

"The grape vine on Atlantis is just the same as any other planet." Carson smiled sadly. "Did she really give him our gate address?"

"What? No!" John denied.

"Oh, that's good." Carson sighed in relief.

"She told him how to get to Earth. With a map." John clarified.

Carson looked dumbstruck. "Why-"

"You'd be better off asking her, I think Dara got the wrong end of the stick, she said she did it for her dog." John shook his head. 'At least I hope that's wrong.'

"Receiving an IFF." Chuck called from the control room.

"I think we'll be getting our answers sooner rather than later." Carson spoke softly.

o0o

As Dara lowered the puddle jumper onto the ground Kimberley glanced around in nervousness. "How many of them know?"

"Officially, just Col. Carter and Sheppard." Dara responded, double-checking the systems were offline before standing from her chair and grabbing her box. "They want to check our stuff before they let us take them to our rooms."

"Oh, okay. Sounds sane." Kimberley nodded.

"Sane?" Even after knowing the girl for three years, Dara sometimes has trouble keeping on track with her weird jumps.

"Eh, hello? Two girls from an alternate reality claming to be here to help, of course you would check what they're bringing with them." Kimberley explained and moved her things from the overhead bins and from their strapped in positions to the floor.

"That sounds familiar." Dara commented.

"From Unable." Her friend replied offhandedly. "Guess we'll have a marine detail for the first little while too."

"What makes you say that?" Dara asked.

"Because in your story, the one that is more grounded in the realm of believability, your OFCSI got a marine detail at least until Storm." Kimberley replied.

Dara cut off any more discussion by pressing the back hatch button, letting it slowly descend to reveal the first team and Col Carter waiting on them.

As the head of the expedition cast her eyes on the females, they smiled and nodded to her.

"Miss Baldwin, Miss Boyce, I'd like to formally welcome you two to Atlantis." Carter smiled.

"Call me Dara." Dara asked.

"Sure." Carter nodded and looked at Kimberley, something flashing thorough her eyes.

"Call me Kimberley." Kimberley quietly said, trying to blend into the background.

Carter nodded once again. "If you two would like to come with me we'll get you to the infirmary for a base line medical check while the first team has a quick look through the items you brought with you."

Dara stepped forward first and Kimberley followed her eyes on the ground.

"Alright if we look at the stuff in the jumper without you being here or would you rather we wait?" John asked.

"I've just got one box, knock yourself out." Dara shrugged her shoulders. "But let Teyla do the search of the unmentionables."

"Okay." John nodded.

"You no asking Kimberley?" A familiar voice added, causing Kimberley's head to snap up.

'No way.' Her brain stopped at the sight of Carson, alive and well standing in front of her. "CARSON!"

Flying forward the Scottish female threw herself at the Scottish man, grabbing him around the waist, sending both of them flying to the ground. "Jeezus Mary an Joseph, you're alive mate!"

"Uh, did I forget to mention something?" Dara asked, half looking at her nails, half watching her friend smile since she dropped this consequence bomb on her.

"Kimberley, its nice tae see ye, but the floor isn't that clean." Carson stated as he tried to stand up.

Dara watched as the others simply watched the exchange with a weird mood in the air. Sliding up to Ronon she asked him "what's up?"

"You two do know he's a clone, right?" Ronon asked, turning to look from her to the female still hugging the stuffing out of the medic.

"Uh, yeah." Dara slowly nodded.

Rodney rolled his eyes. "These Neanderthals can't see the good that has come from one of Michaels many mistakes and given us a second chance."

"Any chance we could take this reunion to the infirmary?" Dara asked, toeing Kimberley with her boots. "I want to get settled in before the New Year."

Kimberley frowned, and then looked at where exactly she was before blushing profuriously, standing up and offering Carson her hand. "Sorry about that I- er- it's good to see you."

"It's good to see you too hen." Carson felt the butterfly's from before beginning to fly rapidly in his stomach. "How are ye?"

"Al-alright, I guess." She looked down to the ground, avoiding eye contact.

"Carson, if you want you can do Kimberley's medical and Jennifer can do Daras?" Carter suggested and soon they made their way to the infirmary.

o0o

Inside the infirmary Carter lead Dara and Sheppard to the back of the room, leaving Kimberley and Carson to use the post mission check up room at the front of the room.

"So, how's Earth?" Carson began, motioning for her to sit on the bed while he gathered his needed equipment, snagging a data pad from its charging position. "Allergic to any metals?"

"Its good, still in one piece." Kimberley joked, hopping up and swinging her legs. "Nope only allergic to aloe Vera."

Carson frowned, quickly tossing the bottle of antiseptic hand gel he was holding to the sink. "Deathly or?"

"Rash." She shrugged. "Only happened a few times."

The medic opened a file on the data pad and input some information. "Let's start from the beginning shall we? Name, age-"

Kimberley reached forward and grabbed the computer from his hand, touch-typing in the information. "Kimbo B fae the PYT-"

"You're kiddin." Carson slumped against the wall in shock.

"Well, technically Govan." Kimberley looked up from typing her date of birth in and frowned at him. "Why?"

"Well, you're fae Pollok and-"

"You're fae Paisley. So what?" Kimberley asked. "Oh! The boundaries, naa, nobody bothers with them much any more. Ohh! I go to uni in Paisley!"

"Really, what are you studying?" He asks, motioning for the data pad.

"Psychology. Sorry." She answers, handing him the data pad with a smile.

"Have you ever been pregnant?"

"No."

"Had an infectious disease including but not limited to HIV, Hep C, Swine Flu?"

"No."

"Have you ever paid for or received money for sex?"

Kimberley shook her head negatively. "Are these the questions like for giving blood? Because the answers no for all of 'em."

"You give blood? What's your type?" He asks, leaving the data pad between them and opening the sealed blood pack.

"And platelets. O RH D Neg." She replied and held out her left arm, slightly turned to the right. "Best vein fur taking blood is at the side of my arm."

Carson nodded his thanks.

o0o

"And I think that's everything we need to know." Jennifer Keller smiled at Dara. "Do you have any other questions, comments or queries before these two interrogate you?"

"Just one." Dara applied pressure to her band-aid. "Would I be eligible for the ATA gene therapy?"

John frowned at her wording. "Just you?"

"Do you want Kimberley being able turn on machines like the one that makes exploding tumors?" Dara raised and eyebrow.

"She would do that?" He asked.

"Not on purpose!" Dara replied. "She's good with human tech, but give her something ancient and yeah, you're pretty much digging your own grave there pal."

"That would be up to Col Carter." Jennifer interrupted. "Anything else?"

"No, I'm good." Dara nodded her head.

"Lets get down to business, shall we?" John rubbed his hands together.

"Col Carter he's hitting on me can you make him stop please, its freaking me out." Dara pleaded to the woman in charge. "He's old!"

"Who are you calling old?" John demanded. "I'm in the prime of my life!"

"For a father of three." Dara shot back at him.

"Okay kids, enough." Carter came between them. "John, keep it in your mind, Dara, have you thought any more on what I said the other month?"

o0o

"Do you know where we'll be staying?" Kimberley asked Dara as they met up outside the infirmary, both girls rubbing their arms.

"Yeah, it's kind of hard to tell you where it is, but I'll show you the way." Dara nodded, itching to pull the band-aid off her arm, and then nodded to her friend. "Why do you have gauze on yours?"

"Ehhheheh." Kimberley laughed, looking down and fiddling with her fingers.

"Because she started to peel it off just after putting it on." Carson explained as he arrived beside the duo. "Good news, Dara, you're not a clone, you're 100 percent human."

"You don't say!" Dara retorted before she started to mutter to herself. "Can't believe they insisted in checking that!"

"We could be clones." Kimberley pointed out. "Wouldn't that be weird?"

"Naa, it'd be cool." Dara grinned. "Think about it, no connections, no past to tie us to any particular world."

"When will the girls be seeing Doctor Heightmyer?" Carson turned to Sam and asked, slightly concerned for Daras mentality and violent tendencies.

"After they've had a chance to settle in." Sam picked up on his silent question. 'Mental note; make sure Dara goes first.'

"So if there's nothing else, I'm pretty sure the guys are finished looking through our stuff." Dara tried to hurry them along.

"Actually, I wanted to have a word with Kimberley if you don't mind." Carson requested.

"Uh, sure, no problem." Dara replied looking to her friend, giving her the look.

"But I haven't done anything else yet!" Kimberley defended.

Carson smiled at her pleading of innocence. "It's nothing that you've done hen."

"Oh, okay." She nodded and together they walked back into the infirmary, towards his old office.

Dara and Sam watched the pair, both wondering the same things.

"So, is it okay if we stay in the south west pier level 15?" Dara belatedly asked the head of the expedition.

Sam thought for a moment. "Sure, I guess. Any particular reason why that specific spot?"

"It's the farthest away from everyone labs so for security it's excellent for you guys; it has some of the biggest living quarter spaces." Dara paused and grinned. "And all of the rooms have air conditioned balconies, so I can sleep out with the stars."

"Since you've told me where you two are staying I'll pass it on to Doctor Beckett." Sam smiled. "That way you can go ahead and get settled in."

"It won't take me long to settle in." Dara shook her head.

"But you brought a lot of stuff with you." Sam was confused.

"Correction, Kimberley brought a butt load of stuff. I brought one box." Dara explained.

"Why did she bring so much?" The head of the expedition questioned.

Dara shrugged and held out her hands. "I dunno."

Sam nodded and turned to walk away. "We'll meet tomorrow in the main conference room at 0900 hours, but if you need us or we need you, we'll call your radios okay?"

"Sure thing Col. Carter." Dara copied her head movement and turned herself in the opposite direction.

Walking for only seconds, she bumped into Atlantis' main lothario. "Sheppard."

"Baldwin." He nodded to her. "Nice thongs by that way, bit too pink for my tastes."

"They're not pink, they're bikini flowers!" Dara snapped back, and then groaned at his grin. 'I walked straight into that one.'

As he laughed, Dara got mad and punched him in the arm, causing him to stop laughing and grab his limb. "Ow, that hurt. Why are you always hitting on me?"

"Because you're asking for it!" Dara snapped, then realized his wording. "Sheppard!"

John realized his chances of survival were slim, so he smiled, pointed in the opposite direction then ran.

o0o

As Carson went to close the door to his temporary office he paused as John Sheppard ran past, looking like the Wraith were at his heels. Frowning the clone pondered sticking his head out to see what was sending the seasoned military man into such a rush before beating down his thoughts. 'Transferring my problems into solving Johns will not make mine go away. I need to talk with Kimberley; the sooner the better.'

The Scottish medic turned from the door and smiled at the sight of Kimberley spinning on his chair. Quietly he walked up to the black leather seat and grabbed the top, stopping the female.

"Whoa!" The female smiled up at him, a cheeky grin on her face. "Man I haven't had that much fun since."

"Since?" Carson prodded as she stopped talking, the smile falling from her face. He sat on the desk and watched her play with her hands.

"Never mind." She muttered and placed a fake smile on her face. "What did you want to talk about?"

"Clones." He replied simply.

"Oh God I'm a clone!" She shot up, toppling the chair backwards. "Crap, I'm sorry I-that-erm."

Kimberley bent down and picked up the chair, muttering to herself, ignoring Carson's attempts to talk with her.

"No, its okay, I get it, you guys want me to leave, after all, why would they want a clone running around, even a Scottish one in such a low position." She frowned to herself. "They guys won't have unpacked my stuff so I can just go back-no I can't I-how the hell am I a clone!"

"Kimberley-"

"No, don't tell me the mechanics, we both know I won't get it, but how and why did someone want to make a clone of me?" She pretty much demanded, still frowning. "I can't go home, I can't stay here-"

"Why can't you go home?" Carson got in.

"Because my family freaked that I was joining a military operation as a specialist and disowned me!" She nearly shrieked, arms flying all over the place. "And now I find out that the place I was coming to doesn't want me and-"

"You've no a clone! I am!" Carson shouted.

There was silence. Kimberley fell back into the chair.

"Oh."

'There, now she knows, now she'll not want anything to do with me.' Carson thought, lowering his head towards his chest to hide his crest fallen face.

"Well, duh." Kimberley spoke frankly. "How else are you here?"

Carson inclined his head upwards.

"Is-was that the problem? That you've a clone and not the original?" Kimberley asked and he nodded dumbfounded. "Carson, you're alive. Michael gave Atlantis, us, everyone, a second chance by making a carbon copy of someone that made so many people happy and feel safe. Your death devastated millions of people, and not just in one reality."

Her smile was beginning to freak him out. "You're not...disappointed?"

"Disappointed?" She snorted, and then covered her nose. "Dude, I was ECSTATIC when I found out you were alive."

"But technically, I'm not real." The clone replied.

"Er, can you think? Feel?" Kimberley began. "Can you still make people react? Do you have memories? Are you capable of being hurt, of hurting others? Cause I don't know how it does for everyone else, but if I can hug ya, you're real."

Carson listened to her passionately speak and began to smile.

Her arms wrapped around him in a gentler hug. "Never let anyone tell you that they're disappointed in you Carson, you're worth too much to so many different people to listen to them."

"Thank you hen." Carson hugged her in return, and then looked down to her. "That's some advice you should listen to yourself luv."

"Eh, yeah, sure." Kimberley replied, relishing the feeling of hugging the man she had fancied for six years before letting go. "Was that all you want to talk about?"

"Erm, yes." Carson straightened and looked at her seriously. "Now, you don't mind?"

"Naa, as long as you guys don't mind me annoying yas." She grinned in response, and then frowned. "Wait a minute, you mean you're a Wraith clone? Well that's a whole other kettle of fish."

"Oh, shut up." Carson mock glared at her, smiling and laughing as they left the room.

o0o

Outside the doors that would lead the two female alternate earthlings to their rooms, John, Rodney and Ronon stood waiting.

"I don't get how Teyla insisted on waiting for the girls before searching their clothes." John grumbled, looking through Kimberleys zebra bag one more time. 'How the hell does she fit this much stuff in this anyway?'

Rodney eyed the bag with a calculating mind. He moved to speak with John and opened his mouth.

"No, you are not taking Kimberley's bag." John interrupted.

"But-"

"I don't want to hear it." John shook his head. 'I don't want anyone in this expedition messing around with that girls stuff; she sold out Earth when she was on friendly terms, what would happen if she was pissed?'

o0o

"Why, thank ya for waiting for us all before you looked at our unmentionables." Dara spoke in a southern bell drawl, causing Teyla to look at her confused.

"You are most welcome Dara." Teyla raised her eyebrow and smiled softly. "Would you like a hand with your belongings?"

"I'm good." Dara lifted the box from the floor and nodded.

Kimberley shook her head negatively as she prepped the suitcase to be wheeled.

"Shall we?" Teyla began walking towards one of the transporters. "Have you been to your new quarters since the last time?"

'Last time?' Kimberley thought, shooting a look to Dara.

'Don't ask.' Dara moved her head.

In silence, the girls walked towards the new living quarters for the two alternate reality females. As they turned the corner after exiting a transporter, Kimberley stopped at the sight of Ronon, Rodney and John glaring in her direction.

Dara turned to look at her friend, a puzzled look upon her face. She turned around and looked at the trio of men before rolling her eyes. "Is there something you need?"

Rodney looked abashed and looked away.

"Just making sure you two settled in okay." John replied and moved his eyes from Kimberley to Dara, smiling sweetly at the female.

Ronon continued to stare at Kimberley, who shuffled her feet.

"All the boxes are in the main area, we didn't know whose was whose." John explained and Rodney moved to open the door.

"Thank you." Kimberley muttered as she walked past them, standing at one side of the room while the others filled in.

There was a tense silence as everyone stood inside the same room. Dara walked towards the room she had already picked out and dropped her box at the door, turning to look at the scene in front of her.

Kimberley had moved her suitcase to the only other door (that was not a bathroom) and propped it up beside the door. As she walked back to the middle of the room, with four sets of eyes on her, Dara could see her consciously trying to make her self smaller, causing her to make her moves jerkier.

As Dara crossed the room to help her friend, Teyla stepped forward and picked up a box, turning to look at the men with 'the look'. Rodney scrambled over, picked up a light-ish box, and began walking with Teyla, dropping them carefully beside Kimberleys suitcase.

Kimberley bent down to pick up one of the heavier boxes, gasping as an egg shaped object fell from her pocket, hitting Ronons foot.

The Sedetan eyes widened at the weight of the object and he picked it up, looking at it.

Carefully she placed the box back on the floor and took the object from him, opening it up in half, tears collecting in her eyes at the sight of her NOA Bunny Rabbit broken in three places. Sniffling she looked up at Ronon. "I'm so sorry."

John snorted from behind her.

"Are you okay?" Kimberley turned to look at John.

"What do you think?" He snapped.

"What do you mean by that?" Kimberley asked, moving to brush a tear from her cheek.

'Oh please!' John rolled his eyes, scoffing once more at her innocence act.

"What the-why are you rolling your eyes?" Kimberley demanded. 'I'm going through enough crap without him throwing a mini hissy fit.' "I meant my apology."

"There's a lot more that you need to start apologizing for." John glared.

"I'm really sorry." Kimberley tried again.

"You don't need to apologies." Teyla stepped in.

"Yes she does." Rodney jumped in.

"See, even Rodney agrees with me." John replied and continued to glare at Kimberley.

"But it was my ornament that I broke." Kimberley looked confused.

"It's not the reason you need to apologies for." John replied.

"Then what is? I'm a little dense here, you need to explain some things to me." Kimberley blinked her eyes clear but her mind foggy.

"That much is evident." John spoke clearly for Kimberley (and Dara) to hear.

"Ho kay then, I think its time for us to get some shut eye, Ronon, Teyla, McKay, Sheppard, see you in the morning." Dara bid them a good night and pushed them out of the room despite their protests. "So, do you want a hand with those boxes?"

"Yea, but before we do I want to apologies-" Kimberley paused as Dara held her hand up.

"You've got a butt load of boxes and only a few hours before we need to meet Carter and have some shut eye, get moving or you're putting them away by yourself." Dara grabbed a box and moved to the opposite side of the room, smiling as Kimberley ran to grab a box.