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Chapter 21 – Family, Part One

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"I've already spoken with the IOA and they don't want to hear it," Sam stated. True to their word, Jennifer and Carson sat in Sam's office relaying Teyla's request to go to Earth, but Carter was already way ahead of them. "As far as they're concerned, John's family has been notified and is on the way. Beyond blood relatives, they have no interest."

Jennifer shook her head. She knew of one blood relative that was being left out of the mix, but it wasn't her place to let that particular bit of information slip. They would have to come up with something else. "This isn't right, Colonel."

"I know."

"There must be something we can do," Carson said.

"I'm open to suggestions, but any cards I may have held with Coolidge went away when we kept up the search for the Athosians without authorization," Sam stated.

"What about when we dial Earth for our status updates? Couldn't we send her through then without ruffling too many feathers?" Jennifer suggested hopefully.

"Aye," Carson agreed.

"I thought of that, but the next one isn't scheduled for four more days."

The two doctors shook their heads as that particular possibility disappeared. Everyone in that room was aware that one way or another, John's situation would be long over in four days.

Dr. Keller bent over in her chair, leaning on her knees, and rubbed her temples. As she and Carson left the infirmary, they could both hear Teyla begin to weep into her pillow and Jennifer's heart broke. She couldn't imagine the heartache Teyla was having to live with and she didn't have to imagine where this would lead. And this time, there would be no John Sheppard to cushion her fall.

"I'm worried, Colonel. I'm really worried," Jennifer spoke aloud.

Sam asked, "Worried as her friend or as her doctor?"

"Both," she said emphatically. "Teyla's been down this road before and it nearly killed her."

"You think history is likely to repeat itself if she stays here?" Sam asked, narrowing her eyes. The glimmer of an idea started to form.

"In my professional opinion, it's highly likely," she affirmed.

Sam looked at her seriously. "And what happens if she gets there and John dies? What would that do to her? We may be doing her a favor keeping her in Atlantis."

Dr. Keller thought hard about what she said next. She had the feeling that what she said could make all the difference. "Colonel ... I understand that sending her to Earth may only mean a chance to say goodbye, but she and John both deserve that chance. It's more than she got with Kanaan. And I know that if I were in her shoes, I'd do anything to see the person I loved even if was just one more time."

Sam sat quietly and thought things through again. "If you two will give me some time, I'll let you know when I make my decision."

"Thank you, Colonel," Carson said.

Mason reached into his mini-fridge and pulled out a cold bottle of beer. He really shouldn't be mixing alcohol with his meds, but he was about eighteen hours past caring.

After Sheppard was taken to the infirmary, he'd tried to keep busy. He'd escorted Hybrid Halling down to a holding cell to wait for the doctors to do their thing and get him fixed up and assisted in getting the displaced Athosians set up someplace comfortable. But from there, he was at a loss for what to do.

With Chelios out with his dislocated shoulder, it seemed his team had reverted to its original foursome with him as the odd man out. They resumed their old patterns. Ronon watched over Teyla like it was his own personal crusade. McKay combed the Ancient database for a scientific solution to their problem, but found time to come and sit with Teyla too.

Mason ventured into the infirmary often enough to keep tabs on the colonel's condition, but kept his distance from the rest of them. Only doctors could help Sheppard, and Teyla he barely knew. They had only spoken on a few occasions and they weren't exactly Mason's most shining moments. She would probably be more comfortable with her real team around her. They had years of history together, after all, and he wasn't a part of it.

With a swift motion, he braced his beer against the edge of the counter and popped the top. He raised the bottle in a silent toast to his commanding officer, the man who'd given him a chance, which was more than he had any right to expect, and took a drink.

Good luck, Colonel.

When Teyla finally resurfaced from the ocean of pain that threatened to drown her, she just stared straight ahead and concentrated on every breath. The simple act of filling her lungs with air was a monumental task and it had nothing to do with her fractured ribs. Her heart had been sent a galaxy away and she had little chance of getting it back again.

As the tears slowly dried away and her breathing eased, her hand drifted to her stomach. A small piece of him had been left behind. She closed her eyes and tried to envision that she could touch the tiny life inside her, the one thing tethering John to her across the vastness of space. Teyla imagined that through this small connection she could still hear John's heart beating through his chest as it had when they were together. She could almost feel his breath on her neck and and his fingers entwined in hers.

Telya sighed, attempting to release her sadness. She could no longer afford to get lost in grief. It had cost her the only other child she had ever carried. She vowed to do whatever it took to safeguard this little one. John's baby, she thought as she felt her emotions threaten to choke her again.

She grasped for a shred of hope. Carson and Jennifer's plan could work and she would see his crooked smile and the mischievous glint in his eyes again. John Sheppard had never let her down when it really mattered and he wouldn't this time either. He would return to Atlantis. He would return to her. He would be there holding her hand when their child was born.

The ambient noises of the infirmary in the early morning began to seep back into her consciousness and it occurred to her that Ronon had stopped snoring some time ago. She turned her head to him and saw his dark gaze looking straight back at her. He had probably been awake the entire time and had said nothing. Instead of being embarrassed and waffling, knowing he had witnessed an intimately personal moment, she reached out and took his huge, calloused hand. Ronon slid onto the bed alongside her. He stretched his long legs out casually, wrapped an arm around her and got comfortable. She leaned into him and settled in.

"You know," his rocky voice said gently into her hair, "Ronon's a good name - boy or girl," and Teyla felt a small jingle of laughter escape.

Having just finished reading and putting his signature down on a small stack of non-disclosure forms, Dave stood outside the room, peering through the window. The half-drawn blinds obstructed his view, but he could see all that he could stand for the moment. Monitors with readings and numbers flashing data that meant little to him, machines, tubes, John's disturbing inactivity—knowing about it and seeing it were two very different things. His brother was fighting for his life in there.

Sitting in the armchair next to the bed was a dour-faced man who looked vaguely familiar to him. McKay. That was his name. He had a foggy recollection of John briefly introducing them at the wake. He was on his team. And he drinks a lot of coffee, a detail he remembered reading in John's e-mail before this whole mess started. Sure enough, on the nightstand next to the chair, McKay reached for a tall Starbucks cup and practically inhaled it. He set the cup back down, spared a thin-lipped glance at John and set his attention back on the laptop he was furiously typing on.

"If you're waiting to get invited in, you'll be waiting a long time," said O'Neill from the side, ending a call on his cell and sliding the phone into his pocket. Jack closed in and informed him, "McKay's not really the most social guy you'll ever meet and Sheppard's not too talkative these days."

Indicating the newly replaced cell, Dave asked, "Any word on your big plan?"

"Not yet."

"Exactly how much am I aloud to know about this plan?" he wondered. "Because I read through all those forms you gave me and basically, they all say I can't discuss anything about this ... ever. With John being involved in top-secret military stuff, that part I get. I'm just wondering if anyone is ever actually going to tell me anything."

He was accustomed to being in charge, making the rules. In his businesses, he was very hands-on. He was never left in the dark about anything, no matter how minute the detail. Everything about this situation made him feel out of control and uncomfortable.

"Just enough to keep you out of trouble. That's what you're allowed."

"Is there anything you can tell me?"

"Yep," Jack said, digging his hands in his pockets and leaning back on his heels. "If I were you, I'd get in there and get a seat while you can. 'Cause, if I know his CO, and I do, it's gonna get crowded in there before long."

Inside, Rodney smacked his laptop and yelled as though he were talking to something who could actually talk back. "You think this is funny? You won't think this is funny when I rip out your motherboard. Yeah, who's got the power now? Do something useful. Compute, for God's sake!"

He threw up his hands in frustration. He was translating his way through the Ancient medical database in an attempt to find something helpful, but he knew the odds of finding anything were too miniscule to bother calculating. Glancing up from the screen full of flashing data, he took in the sight of his friend lying in the hospital bed. It unnerved him to have John lying there without threatening him with lemonade, or making some comment about his coffee drinking or his eccentric tendency to dress down his electronics.

"You know, Sheppard," he started tentatively. "I heard something the other day that I thought you would've found funny and ... I meant to tell you about it. I really did. But, by the time I ran into you at lunch, it completely slipped my mind." His lips turned slightly upward. "I don't even remember what it was anymore or I'd tell you. But somehow, I doubt I'd get the reaction I was expecting out of you now."

Rodney had spent all morning with John. After stepping through the gate with him, he had waited and waited while Dr. Lam and her team of doctors at the SGC vigorously worked to stabilize him again. And McKay had tagged along when they loaded him into the ambulance and transferred him to the hospital here in Colorado Springs. All without John opening an eye or saying a single word. Not a word. Rodney, a man who never stopped talking, didn't know if he could stand the silence much longer.

"Sheppard!" he said in a tone that demanded attention. "Sergeant—um, what's his name—Reynolds! Sergeant Reynolds was flirting with Teyla the other day. Said she had a really nice pair of, uh ... oh, nevermind ... The point is it's time to kick his ass!"

He waited a few seconds for a response he knew wasn't coming and kept on talking. "No? Reynolds is a big guy, I guess. I don't suppose it'd make any difference if you did, 'cause Ronon says you hit like a girl."

Nothing. Stubborn. Always so stubborn.

He leaned over to John and said something he knew he'd roll over in his own grave to deny. "There's no way you passed the Mensa test."

"He did, actually," Dave said from the doorway and Rodney nearly keeled over. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," he apologized.

Dave followed Jack's advice and staked a claim on the chair in the corner near the door, facing his brother. "He took it shortly before he graduated from the Air Force Academy. Of course, our dad wanted him to sign up immediately. It would've been something to brag about to all his friends, but the title didn't mean anything to John. I think he was happy just knowing he could do it."

"Yeah," McKay said. "He's very strange that way."

Dave smiled. "Yeah, he was always was a little strange, but in a pretty good way."

Sam made her way unobtrusively from her office to the main control room in the tower. She approached Amelia Banks and spoke softly to the technician. "I need you to get with Major Lorne and all the other department heads, as soon as possible."

"Dr. McKay ..." Amelia started.

"While McKay's on Earth, go through Zelenka, but I need every last mission report, every single bit of scientific data we can lay our hands on," Sam ordered. "Even Dr. Brown in botany. Everyone. And make it quick."

"Yes, ma'am." Amelia turned on her heel and walked away.

It was still very quiet in the tall glass tower. No one had quite recovered from this morning. Colonel Sheppard had been with the Atlantis Expedition since it first set foot inside the city. He was not only friends with everyone who worked in Control, but he'd saved all of their lives more than once. With his formidable ATA gene, more than once he had literally been the city's shield, protecting them all from certain destruction. It was a massive blow to everyone's morale to see him wheeled through the gate on a ventilator, at death's door.

Sam was determined to see that Atlantis was represented at John's side in one form or another. She owed it to the people under her command to make it happen.

"Come in!" Mason yelled at his door. He was working with his free weights and he was dripping with sweat. In fact, he looked to be an all-around mess. The sweaty workout clothes were only the beginning. Dr. Keller had never seen Sgt. Capshaw, ever the diligent soldier, so disheveled and the scruff on his chin and the dark circles lining his eyes completed the picture of a man who was mentally and physically exhausted.

"Why don't you take a break, Mason?" she suggested.

"Can't," he grunted between reps. "Doctor's orders."

Casting her eyes on his nightstand, she saw two empty beer bottles, one of which had been knocked over. "Mason, are you drunk?"

Lifting his straining arms up again, he said, "It's two beers, Jennifer, and I'm off duty."

"Well, you look terrible."

"Thanks. What can I do for you this fine morning, Dr. Keller?" he asked sarcastically.

Jennifer marched up to him and snatched the weights from him. "For starters," she answered, "I need you to knock it off. You look like you're gonna fall over."

He laughed. He found it amusing to watch the sweet-tempered doctor get tough. It was amazing how well it worked, too. Even the most stubborn of her patients seemed to bow to her will when she got her dander up.

"Alright, alright. You got me. What do you need?" he said in surrender.

As she set his heavy weights down on the bed, she said, "I need you to get cleaned up. You're headed to Earth."

"What?"

"Officially, you and the rest of the team are on medical leave. Unofficially, you're going to see Colonel Sheppard," she explained quickly, while Capshaw listened intently.

When she was done, he nodded. "Okay, I get it."

"Dr. Lam may insist on an exam and a few tests. You know, to make things look good for the IOA. I'm sending your latest records along with you, so she'll know what to expect as far as ..."

"Listen, Jennifer, I don't know that I should be in on this," he interrupted her with a troubled expression. "This trip ..."

Jennifer was confused. "Mason, this is important."

He put up his hands. "I understand that. I do. What I'm saying is, I don't think I really belong on this trip. It's kind of a family thing ... with Teyla and Ronon ... I'd just be in the way."

"Mason," she sighed. She really didn't have time for this crap. "Yesterday, I saw you, Ronon, and McKay going through hell to bring home the colonel and Teyla. In my book, that makes you family."

He didn't look convinced, but she was done playing nice. "Now get your butt in the shower, pack a bag, and get down to the gateroom asap. You got me?"

He flipped her a quick, casual salute, and smirked. "Yes, ma'am."

As he walked toward the bathroom, feeling a little empowered by his compliance, she smiled and called after him. "And for God's sake, shave!"

"Unscheduled off-world activation!" sounded C.M.S. Walter Harriman. "It's Atlantis, sir. Colonel Carter is asking for you."

Hank Landry's eyebrows raised in surprise. He donned a radio and said, "Carter, didn't the IOA already have a talk with you about this? I seem to remember Mr. Coolidge reading you the riot act."

From the other end of the wormhole, Carter's voice spoke to him. "With all due respect, sir, what I took away from the conversation was that I wasn't permitted to open another direct wormhole to Earth until our next scheduled data burst."

He nodded. "Yes, which isn't for four more days, Colonel."

"My apologies, General. There seems to be a scheduling error on this end," she stated, but in Landry's opinion, she didn't sound terribly sorry. He chuckled. Sam went on, "I have all the latest data from Atlantis compressed and ready for transmission if you're willing to receive it a little early, sir."

"Carter, there wouldn't happen to be any guests waiting to come through the gate, would there?" he asked, knowing full well there were. As soon as Landry had received word about Coolidge's decision on the visitors issue, he had been ready for a stunt like this. He just wasn't certain in what form it would take. Out and out disobeying of orders wasn't really Carter's style. This, however, was right up her alley.

"Well, while we have the gate open, I have a few people waiting to take some medical leave and they've requested they do it on Earth, sir."

"Your CMO signed off on this?" he inquired, mostly for the benefit of those who would be listening to the transmission in their offices later.

"Absolutely, General. Can I tell them it's okay to proceed?"

"Send them through, Carter. And Colonel? Don't ever do this again."

"Yes, sir."

General Landry took off the headset and walk into the gateroom to greet their guests. Seconds later, Ronon, Mason, and Teyla, on crutches, stepped onto the large ramp.

"Welcome back to Earth, folks."

Teyla and Ronon ignored the general and headed to the exit. Mason hung behind and threw General Landry a crisp salute. "Sorry, sir, they're just a bit anxious."

"Understandable, Sergeant. What do you say we get these people to the hospital, son?"

"Probably a good idea, sir," Capshaw said.

"What do you suppose that's about?" Dave asked Rodney. They could see Jack speaking rather animatedly into his cell as he drew nearer to John's room.

"I don't know," Rodney said. Whatever it was, it wasn't good. The scientist shut his laptop and set it aside. He walked to the door and as McKay opened the door, Dave overheard the general yelling, "Damned arrogant, holier-than-thou snake-heads! Hank, remind me why we're friends with these people!"

At that, Dr. McKay shut the door, but Dave didn't think Rodney realized how Jack's voice carried through the hospital walls. It was muffled, but he could definitely hear it and from Rodney's scowl and the way he was starting to chew his thumbnail off, Dave didn't think "the plan" was going off without a hitch.

"We kicked the Go'auld's asses! What in hell else have they got to do? ... I don't give a damn. If you ask me, we need to seriously rethink this alliance of ours ... I am being serious ... What about the B team? Have we heard back from them yet? ... That's just great ... I'm sure Colonel Sheppard will be happy to wait ... Hank! ... Next time Daniel takes her on a dig somewhere, tell him to consider putting a cowbell around her neck ..."

Dave couldn't listen to anymore. He got the idea. If circumstances were different, this would be about the time he starting considering other options. Better hospitals, different doctors. There had to be someone out there who could do something to save John. He'd even brought the subject up with Dr. Lam an hour ago, when she came to check on John again. He was too weak to be moved again. This was his last stop.

Dr. McKay and Gen. O'Neill entered from the hallway. While Jack leaned against the nearest wall, Rodney took his seat, quickly packed his laptop into its carrying case and raced out again.

"Where's he off to?" Dave asked.

"I told you. It's about to get a lot more crowded in here."

Dave had to ask. "Snake-heads?"

Jack looked perturbed at the entire subject. "Do you remember that trouble we talked about?"

"The snake-heads are trouble?"

"With a capital T."