They rushed back to the infirmary to tell Carson that their plan was a go. He seemed a little shocked that Elizabeth had accepted the idea so quickly, but John just told him not to worry about it. It didn't matter why, it just mattered that they were going to do this.
John told Carson to grab anything he might need, because they were all heading down to the holding room as soon as he was ready. While Beckett was rushing around and grabbing the few things that he needed John waited impatiently by the door. Teyla stood next to him, but he only got a little comfort out of her presence. He was too agitated, and he had too many 'what ifs' running around in his head to be calmed by it.
His mind was racing over the plan when he felt her arm encircle his waist. He was a little startled, but he still moved into the contact, embracing her in return.
After a few seconds she pulled away and John saw the worried look in her eyes. He wished there was something he could do to alleviate it, but there wasn't. There was a lot riding on this plan and it was impossible for them not to be nervous.
Just as John was about to try to say something comforting, Beckett walked up, medical bag in hand. "I'm ready."
John nodded and headed out of the infirmary with Teyla beside him and Carson following closely behind. He didn't run through the hallways, but he walked fast enough that he could hear Carson jogging to keep up.
They used a transporter to help get them there quicker. As they approached, the two guards saluted him sharply.
"At ease," he said and they both relaxed their stance. "Let them in," he ordered. Both of the guards looked at him questioningly, but in the end they opened the door.
Instead of going in as John suspected she would, Teyla held back by his side. "You're not coming in with us?" she asked as she looked up to meet his eyes.
He shook his head, somewhat confused by her statement. "No," he said firmly. "I've got a wraith to kill."
This time Teyla shook her head. "You do not, we need you here."
"Someone needs to kill that wraith…" he began.
"Someone," Teyla said in agreement. "That someone does not have to be John Sheppard."
He was rather surprised at the look she was giving him, it was one that said don't mess with me. He decided to anyway. "Yes, it does."
"No it does not," she said firmly.
He sighed at her insistence. "Someone needs to kill that wraith. Besides, I can't even help if I'm here."
She reached across the small distance between them and grasped his hands in hers. "I need you to be here John. In case… If something goes wrong."
The pleading in her eyes was too much and he felt his resolution caving before he even knew what was happening. "Ok," he said quietly.
"Thank you," she said sincerely as she let go of his hands and moved to follow Dr. Beckett into the room. When he wasn't directly behind her she turned to look over her shoulder at him expectantly.
He nodded, letting her know that he was coming. Then he pressed the talk button on his radio. "Ronon, you there?" he asked, walking away from the door. He didn't want the wraith to have a chance to hear this, just in case.
"Yeah," he heard loudly in his ear.
"How do you feel about killing a wraith?"
"That's the best thing I've heard all day," was the eager response, well as eager as you could get from Ronon.
"Good," John replied. "Head to the holding cell, tell the guards that I sent you, and then wait."
"Wait for what?" he asked in an odd sounding voice, John could tell he was already on his way there.
"Wait until I give you the command to kill him. Sheppard out."
John walked back toward the holding room and entered it, hearing the door slide shut behind him. The first thing he noticed was Teyla and Carson crouched near the twins, but not too close in case they tried something.
He walked over and crouched down beside Teyla. "What now?" he asked, shifting his gaze back and forth between Beckett and Teyla.
It was Carson who answered. "Now we wait."
John was leaning against the wall and tapping his right foot impatiently against the floor, the sound echoing in the otherwise quiet room. There wasn't much time left until the stealth ship would be ready to go, and he'd need to leave, with or without seeing this plan to save his kids through. He opened his mouth to ask Beckett how much longer, but he abruptly closed it again when he caught movement out of the corner of his eye.
He leaned forward suddenly, turning his head to get a better look at the twins, forcing Teyla to bring her head off of his shoulder. "You see that?" he asked anxiously.
Carson nodded. "Aye, I did." He was already preparing the syringe and Teyla had stood up and was walking over to where the twins were. She crouched down beside Abrianna just as her shoulders twitched again and her face scrunched up.
John pressed the talk button on his radio. "Get ready Ronon."
"Ready when you are," was the response he got.
"Standby," he replied as he stood up and walked over to stand behind Teyla.
He watched as his daughter convulsed once before opening her small brown eyes. "Mom?" she asked in a scared voice.
Teyla pulled her forward into a hug, whispered something into her hair and stood up, immediately passing her to John. At the same time Carson injected the contents of the syringe into Tagan's small arm, almost instantly he slouched forward, the drug taking effect.
"What's happening?" Abrianna asked in a shaky voice as she clung to John's neck. He wrapped his arms around her and pressed her small body against him as tight as he dared to. His eyes were moist with tears but he didn't let them fall.
"We're saving you," he said sternly and she buried her face in his shoulder. He could feel her shaking.
Teyla place her hand lightly on the top of Abrianna's head. "You must block the wraith Abri. Can you do that?"
She nodded her head against his shoulder and he had to fight the urge to hold her tighter.
"Are you doing it right now?" Teyla asked quickly, but quietly.
She nodded her head once more. John watched as Teyla closed her eyes and slowed her breathing. A quick glance told him that Tagan was still being effected by the sedative. He lifted one hand to hover over the talk button on his radio. This was it.
Teyla made sure that Abrianna was blocking the wraith, and then after taking a few deep breaths, she closed her eyes and searched for the wraith in her mind. He wasn't hard to find.
Luckily he wasn't paying attention to her, giving her a chance to merely observe. It was odd, she could see Ronon through his eyes, waiting at the door to the cell, gun raised. The wraith was fighting to gain control over Abrianna again, but he couldn't. Carson was right; she must have enhanced mental abilities. She wouldn't have been able to fend off the wraith otherwise.
"Not yet!" Teyla said suddenly, her eyes still closed. The wraith still had a weak connection with Tagan, but she could see… no feel it fading, bit by bit. She just hoped that it would fade fully before Tagan fought off the effects of the drug.
She heard Carson's voice calling her name, but it sounded distant, not like he was standing right beside her. "Teyla, we're running out of time. He's waking up."
Her heart rate doubled with Beckett's last words. If they killed the wraith too soon then Tagan would die too, and if they waited too long the connection would begin to strengthen again. Just a few seconds longer…
"Now!" she shouted.
Distantly she heard John relay the message over the radio. Then everything went black.
John was about to cry out in triumph until he saw Teyla fall to the floor. His happiness was quickly replaced by dread, and he felt his heart constrict in his chest. He was sure that he stopped breathing for a second.
The plan had worked; Ronon had verified the wraith's death over the radio and Abrianna, although shaken, was safe in his arms, and Tagan was just waking up. Why hadn't he thought of the risk to Teyla? There was obviously one, but he hadn't even thought of it, and now…
"Teyla," he choked out, fearing the worst.
Still holding Abrianna he knelt down beside her body, while Beckett did the same on the other side.
After checking for a pulse Beckett let out a huge sigh of relief. "She's alive."
John let out a shaky breath. "What happened?" he asked, trying to keep his voice calm, so as not to worry the kids.
"I don't know Colonel," Beckett said, giving him a sympathetic look. "We'll take her back to the infirmary, I'll run some tests…"
He was cut off by Tagan's voice. "She's fine," he said groggily. He stumbled across the short distance to where Teyla was lying, and sat down beside her head.
John watched in amazement as he placed his small hands on Teyla's temples, and closed his eyes. He questioned Beckett with a look, but the only answer that he got was a shrug of his shoulders.
They watched for what seemed like an eternity, but was really only about a minute, as Tagan sat there with his hands on Teyla's head. Then John heard a small groan pass from her parted lips.
"Teyla?" he asked hopefully, placing the hand that wasn't holding Abrianna, lightly on Teyla's shoulder.
Suddenly Tagan removed his hands and stood up, still wobbling a little bit.
"John?" she said quietly.
His heart surged as he realized that she was going to be ok. "Yeah?" he asked quietly.
"Did it work?' she asked nervously as she opened her eyes. It looked like it was taking her a lot of effort.
Her eyes sought out his and he nodded his response, not able to keep the smile off of his face. "It worked."
He heard a huff and broke the gaze to look up at where Tagan was standing. He had his arms folded across his chest, and he looked angry.
"I can't believe I was saved by a girl."
Teyla watched from her seat on an infirmary bed as John reluctantly exited the room. She didn't want him to go, but she had forced him to anyway. The stealth ship was going to be leaving in less than an hour and he needed to be getting ready.
She turned to look at the twins sitting side by side on the bed next to hers. Abrianna was waiting patiently but Tagan was swinging his legs over the edge of the bed, and fidgeting as Carson checked him over.
"I'm fine," he said for what was probably the fifth time.
"Aye, I believe you are. I just need to make sure."
Teyla grinned as he let out an indignant huff and crossed his arms in front of him, finally staying still enough for Dr. Beckett to do his job. She knew that she should probably be reprimanding her son for his impolite behavior, but she just couldn't.
Once Beckett gave him the all clear he hopped off the bed before walking over to hers and jumping up on it. He snuggled up against her side, which was uncharacteristic for him. She wrapped her arm around his shoulders and placed a kiss on his head.
"Mom," he whined, running a hand through his hair as if he could brush the kiss away. Teyla just laughed and hugged him closer.
It took Carson a lot less time to look over Abrianna, and within a minute she had climbed up onto the bed too, on Teyla's other side.
Beckett looked at each of the kids in turn, "I'm sorry, but I'm going to need you to move so that I can make sure your mother is alright."
Tagan hopped off the bed muttering, "She's fine," under his breath. Abrianna on the other hand wouldn't jump down until Teyla coaxed her too.
A few minutes later Beckett said, "As far as I can tell, you're fine."
"Told you so," Tagan said rudely.
But before Teyla could scold him for it Abrianna said, "Be quiet."
Teyla had to keep her mouth from falling open, and from the look on Carson's face he was having the same reaction. The funny thing was Tagan actually looked a bit embarrassed, and he did stop talking.
Obviously not sure what to say, Carson just kept talking. "I can only assume that it's a reaction to having the link between you and the wraith broken so quickly. Mental whiplash I guess you could say."
"Thank you," she said as she stood up. She did indeed feel fine now. According to both John and Dr. Beckett, Tagan had effectively healed her. It made her a little nervous to think about it, knowing that her kids had these… powers. It was just something that they would have to deal with, but in the mean time there was another plan about to be put into action.
John buckled his vest with shaky hands. He left his quarters, and after making a quick stop at munitions storage, walked to the jumper bay. He wished more than anything that he had time to say goodbye to Teyla and the twins, but they needed to leave in ten minutes or they would miss the wraith at their next feeding stop. Trying one last time to shake off his nerves, John walked into the jumper bay.
Rodney was already waiting by the jumper that Ford had prepped for them. He didn't see Teyla until she stepped directly in front of him, the twins standing on either side of her. He had to brace his hands on her shoulders so that he wouldn't run into her.
"What are you doing here?" he asked. "Shouldn't you be in the infirmary?"
She was smiling so John figured that it couldn't be that bad. "We wanted to wish you good luck."
He grinned and both kids hugged his legs. He looked down and gave each of their shoulders a squeeze before turning his gaze back up to Teyla. "Thank you," he said quietly.
Once the kids let go Teyla pulled him into a tight embrace. He held on for dear life, for the first time ever not wanting to go on a mission. It was the first time he'd ever had so much to lose.
"Be safe," she whispered against his chest, and he could tell that she was holding back tears just like he was.
He nodded against her shoulder. "I will," he responded softly. "Take care of the twins."
"I will," she murmured softly. "I love you John."
He smiled into her hair. "I love you too."
Reluctantly he pulled back. Not able to resist the urge he dipped his head and kissed her once on the lips. It wasn't passionate, but it was filled with love.
"Ok, enough of the happy family moment. Can we go now?"
Ignoring Rodney, John gave Teyla one last chaste kiss before resting a hand lovingly on both of the twins' heads. "I should…" He pointed behind him toward the jumper and the irritated scientist.
Teyla nodded her head. "Go," she said firmly. "We will be here when you get back."
He had to force himself to turn and walk away, but his willpower wasn't strong enough to keep him from looking back over his shoulder twice. They were his thee reminders of why he needed to make it back from this.
John landed the jumper in the clearing, beside the wraith ship. Rodney and him exited the jumper and headed straight for the stealth ship. Zelenka met them at the door.
"Everything's ready," he said, handing Rodney a computer of some kind.
"Thanks," Rodney said hastily.
Then he indicated that John should enter the ship. Once he did Rodney entered behind him and closed the door, sealing it with a button on the wall.
"Zelenka isn't coming?" John asked worriedly.
"No," Rodney responded as he pushed past him heading for the main room of the ship. John followed him. "Weir's going to need someone there if this plan doesn't work."
"I thought this was going to work," John said worriedly.
Rodney let out an angry sigh as he walked into the control room and headed over to a console, the main one. "It should work. But our ideas have a tendency to never go according to plan." He paused the rapid movement of his fingers on the console in front of him. "In fact, I don't think we've ever had something go according to plan."
John leaned against the console and looked directly at Rodney. "Well now's a damn good time for it to start."
By the time they had broken out of the atmosphere John had gotten the hang of flying the ship. Considering his previous experience with wraith darts, it wasn't all that hard. Except for this part.
"So how am I supposed to get this ship into hyperdrive?" he asked and he stared at the 'driving' console in front of him. Maybe it would help more if he could read wraith.
Rodney stepped up behind him. "When I tell you to, press this combination of buttons." John watched as his fingers flew over the buttons.
"A bit slower Rodney."
"Fine," he growled and repeated the actions at a pace that was much easier to follow. "Got it?" he asked. Not waiting for an answer he returned to where he was working on the ZPM.
It was almost depleted so it was useless for defending the city, but according to Rodney it had enough oomph to carry out their plan. Unfortunately, also according to Rodney, it was extremely hard to interface with the wraith ship and the asgard beaming mechanism.
"How's it coming?" John asked eyeing Rodney's work warily.
"Good enough," he said. "If I had more time I could do better, but for what we need to do this will be fine."
John watched Rodney put the finishing touches on the interface.
"I think we're done," he said proudly.
"You think?" John asked, raising one eyebrow.
"I'm sure," McKay said angrily, turning to glare at him.
"That," John said indicating the mess of wiring at the bottom of Rodney's console. "That will beam nukes onto every wraith ship at the feeding stop?" He knew he sounded skeptical, but it was a huge knot of wires, something that definitely wasn't deadly looking.
"Yes. It will," he said, obviously still annoyed. "The nukes are all sitting in the storage room, and the computers are already locked onto them. Once the wraith ships get to us, it'll take me less than a minute to lock onto all of their coordinates. Then…"
"Boom?" John suggested breaking into a smile
Rodney rolled his eyes. "Well if you insist on being so immature, then yes, boom." He imitated an explosion with his hands and John had to hold back a laugh.
"So… what now?" he asked.
"Well what do you think?" Rodney asked in a snarky voice. Not waiting for an answer he said, "Type in what I showed you."
John's stomach gave an uncomfortable lurch as they exited hyperdrive at what they had calculated to be the wraith's next feeding stop. Luckily they had made it there before the wraith.
John flew the ship behind a small moon, opting for extra caution and secrecy despite the fact it was a stealth ship. They would wait there until they saw the ships on the sensor. As he waited John forced himself to take deep breaths and concentrate. Even though he hated to do it, he tried to drive all thoughts of his family out of his head. If he thought about them… he'd get too nervous, get distracted, and lastly jeopardize their mission.
When the first hive ship showed up John flew out from behind the moon, making his way toward the growing fleet. He couldn't see them because of the stupid way the wraith designed their ships, but he was becoming increasingly nervous as more and more blips appeared on his screen.
"Exactly how many ships are there?" he asked nervously over his shoulder, not sure if he really wanted to know the answer.
"Seventeen," Rodney said in a surprisingly calm voice.
"Seventeen!" John asked, not even trying to hide his surprise as he turned to look at Rodney.
"I didn't tell you?" He asked innocently.
"No you didn't," John replied curtly. "Do we have enough nukes?"
"Ok, genius here," Rodney said pointing a finger towards his chest. "We have enough nukes."
"Okay," John said warily, turning back to his control panel. Looking down at the sensor screen he saw that there were no more dots appearing. "I think they're all here."
"Ok," Rodney said. "Just give me a minute…" His voice drifted off as he began to work rapidly on the handheld computer.
John was getting close, really close. They were near the edge of the fleet. He just hoped that Rodney was right about the stealth ship part of their plan. "Ready?" he asked nervously.
"Just a few more… Got it!"
He watched over his shoulder as Rodney typed in a sequence of symbols on the main control panel, giving the last one an emphatic push.
John eyes flashed back down to the screen in front of him as the console began to emit an odd beeping noise. There were symbols flashing on the screen.
"Rodney…" he said nervously.
"It's some sort of countdown," he said quickly. "And before you ask me I don't know for how long."
"You don't know!" John screamed, turning to glare at Rodney briefly.
"Just get us out of here!" he said, waving his hands frantically in the air. "We have seventeen nukes about to explode."
John took a deep breath to focus and he brought his hands back to the flying controls. He powered up the sub light engines to full and flew them straight away from the fleet. He just hoped that they'd make it away fast enough.
Then he felt a shock wave shake the ship.
"This could get a little bumpy," he warned Rodney as he tried to keep the ship steady.
Then, before he knew what was happening, Rodney had pushed him out of the way, right onto the floor. He began entering something into his control panel.
"What the…" he started, but he stopped when he felt the lurch that meant they had entered hyperdrive.
The ship immediately steadied and John stood up, rubbing his tender backside. "You could have just told me to take us into hyperdrive."
Rodney looked at him, "You wouldn't have been fast enough."
John glared at him before taking back control of the 'driving panel'. "That's it?" he asked hopefully, even though he knew that it was.
Rodney nodded. "That's it, although I do think…"
"Rodney," John said abruptly. "I don't care." He took a deep breath. "The wraith are gone?"
"You saw as well as I did that all that they all disappeared on the sensors. So why would you…"
"Why would I think otherwise?" John asked.
"Well, yeah."
"Because it was easy, because it went exactly according to plan." Not that he was complaining though. Easy was good, according to plan was good, it meant he was on his way home. And his home was safe.
Rodney gave him a pondering glance. "Maybe we should try simple more often."
John had to fight the urge to slam his head into the console in front of him. Considering that he was a genius, McKay could be a real idiot sometimes.
Teyla waited anxiously in the jumper bay with the twins. She needed to be here when John got back, because he was coming back.
Just then she heard a voice crackle over her radio. "Atlantis this is Sheppard," he paused and Teyla could hear his smile. "Mission accomplished." The hanger bay erupted in cheers.
She felt a huge sigh of relief and she had to force her legs to hold her upright. It felt like a huge weight had been lifted off of her shoulders. Her kids were ok, John was ok, the wraith were gone. She couldn't stop the tears of happiness from trailing down her cheeks.
Grinning like an idiot she knelt down on the floor and hugged both of her kids, pulling them tightly against her. She was sure that she had never been this happy before, her face felt like it would crack under the strain of her smile.
For the first time in five years everything was just right.
John could hear the cheering over his headset and a grin broke out over his face. He looked at Rodney and wasn't surprised at all to see him smiling too.
Then he heard Dr. Weir's voice over the radio. "Well done gentlemen, come on home."
"We're on our way," John responded happily.
He flew the wraith ship directly back to the city instead of to the clearing. Now that they had everything figured out they might as well keep it where it would be easily accessible, expect that wasn't his real motivation for doing it. This way he could get home faster.
Teyla stood beside the doors that lead to the landing pad and was waiting anxiously, the twins directly behind her. When John and Rodney walked through the doors there was a lot of cheering, but none of it really registered with her. All she could focus on was John.
She ran towards him and threw herself into his arms. He picked her up and spun her around once, whispering 'I love you' into her hair over and over again. Her smile got even wider, despite the fact that she thought it was impossible.
When he finally put her down she reached up and pulled his head towards hers for a searing kiss, letting him know how she was feeling by her actions alone. She heard lots of members of the Atlantis expedition making catcalls, but she ignored them. She also ignored Rodney's statement of 'Ok, I save us again and they get all the attention?' and Tagan's cries of disgust.
She pulled back, breaking the kiss, and stared into John's eyes, smiling so hard that it hurt. This was what she wanted for the rest of her life.
TBC