Emily slept on the plane and now even the dramamine wasn't making her sleepy enough to nod off as she watched the scenery rushing past. The worst of the overwhelming fatigue was over now, anyway. It had slowly tapered off over the following month until she needed only a decent night's sleep and a hefty afternoon nap to get by. She stayed in Atlantis during the first half of that month. The IOA requested her presence daily and Elizabeth resisted as long as she could, trying to give Emily some peace and time to heal, before sending her to the wolves for questioning.

She and Elizabeth spent many hours together during those two weeks, talking earnestly over coffee each morning about what Emily's memories might mean, analyzing each detail, as Elizabeth struggled to make decisions for the greater good. Elizabeth didn't treat her like a prophet—she was kind, curious, and fiercely protective of her people.

Over the course of those two weeks the Wraith queen was dispatched with the assistance of the Asgard beaming technology on the Daedalus. The geothermal station was then brought online. Rodney was hopeful it would eventually be capable of powering the city in ways that hadn't been fully realized since the Asurans had left the city with three fully-powered ZPMs, months before.

Caldwell reported that the Asurans were in the early stages of building their new fleet. They couldn't count on Wraith ships the way they had in the other timeline. It would just be the Daedalus and the Apollo against whatever the Asurans had in the air. John, Teyla, and Ronon were working tirelessly to track down the Travellers, but they hadn't made contact yet—they seemed to be an elusive people. They couldn't afford for the Asuran fleet to ever leave the shipyards. The time to strike was near. It was shaping up to be a dangerous affair.

Elizabeth sent John and teams of marines to set a trap for the Wraith named Michael on the new Taranan home world, but they were too late to save the Taranans. Michael had already murdered them all to create his mutant Iratus/human hybrid army. Michael went down fighting and several of John's men had been hurt in the fight—Ronon injured badly enough to be near death, but recovering well now. The threat Michael posed to the galaxy and to Atlantis was neutralized. Countless innocents were saved from his twisted, murderous schemes.

Rodney was able to hack Michael's computers and extract the locations of Michael's other research facilities. Teams were sent out to free prisoners and to destroy Michael's research before someone else stumbled upon it, got hurt, or used it for their own nefarious purposes. Carson's clone was among the first found. He assisted in recovery at the other laboratories, helping them avoid triggering booby traps, until they were forced to bring him back to Atlantis, to put him in stasis, while the science needed to keep him alive was being researched. Emily didn't envy Carson or Elizabeth as they grappled with what to do about the existence of the man who was so like the real Carson in every way.

Elizabeth was faced with many difficult decisions. Ultimately, though, the decision to keep Emily in Atlantis to recuperate was overridden. A direct order to turn Emily over was issued, so she packed a bag and went back to Earth alone. The IOA representatives were displeased that she'd kept her experience with the Dartaran device to herself, yet eagerly demanded every detail about future events that she could remember.

One of the representatives, a Mr. Woolsey, at least, forced the others to accommodate her condition and allowed her many long breaks to rest. She realized later that she rewarded his kindness tenfold when she revealed he would have taken over administration of Atlantis for years in the alternate timeline. He was even more solicitous after that revelation. Still, she endured five grueling days of questions based on her reports before they finally gave her leave to spend a couple of weeks with her mother.

Now she was on the last leg of her trip before returning to Atlantis, in a car, under a leaden sky that threatened rain, watching as lovely little cottages blurred past the window. Finally the car stopped and the driver helped her out. She had only an overnight bag for herself and a shopping bag of gifts. It was an enchanting looking home, spring green with white trim, surrounded by lush greenery and pots full of bright flowers. It wasn't far from downtown Vancouver and the UBC campus, the driver said. Emily tentatively climbed the steps and rang the bell as a spattering of rain started to fall. The door opened, revealing a smiling woman with long, wavy, blonde tresses and a little girl peeking out from behind her colorful skirt.

"You must be Emily," she said.

"I am," Emily replied, trying not to be too obvious as she looked hopefully inside the home, but no one else came forward. She frowned. "He's not here, is he?" she asked, trying to hide her intense disappointment.

"Ah, no. Sorry. But come in, come in out of the rain! How silly of me to keep you standing there." She stood back and ushered Emily inside and she found herself standing just as awkwardly inside as she had been outside.

"How was your flight?" Jeannie asked, taking her jacket.

"Surprisingly short. I slept." Emily answered.

"Are these for me?" asked a small voice nearby.

Emily turned to find Madison shyly peering into the shopping bag and she crouched down to her level, smiling.

"Maddie, don't! We've talked about this," Jeannie scolded. "I'm sorry. She fixates on things sometimes," she said, with the exasperation of a parent who doesn't really have much to be exasperated about.

"Understandable," Emily replied from her low viewpoint. "Yes, Madison. Some of these are for you. Hm. I know someone else who's impatient to open packages as well." She glanced up at Jeannie who was smiling knowingly.

"I'm sorry this is so awkward," Jeannie was saying. "I assume he's still coming. I suppose we can't fuss over a couple of hours, since he's coming from another galaxy. I'm making myself a cup of tea. Would you like one?"

"Sure." Emily followed Jeannie into the kitchen and perched on a chair while Jeannie poured the tea.

Jeannie set a mug of tea in front of her and Emily wrapped her hands around it, absorbing the warmth, glad to give her fidgety hands something to do. She sat there for long minutes, ill at ease, sipping the tea.

"So you're an archeologist and a linguist, Mer says," Jeannie asked, with raised eyebrows, over her mug as she sipped.

"Ah, yes. Yes, I'm working on a translation project—of the Ancient database."

Jeannie took a seat at the table next to her. "And that's how you met Mer? Working with him in Atlantis?"

Emily nodded. "Yes, we. . . yes."

"What's it like, living there?" Jeannie asked, eyeing her curiously.

Emily smiled. "It's an exciting place to be. An incredible group of people. Well, you've been there, haven't you? It's intimidating at first, but endlessly fascinating. There's always something new to study."

Jeannie nodded, her expression serious. "But it's dangerous, just being there, isn't it?"

"It is, yes," Emily reluctantly agreed.

Jeannie looked curious. "Do you think of it as home?"

Emily took a deep breath, considering. "Yes, I think I do, for now, anyway."

Jeannie frowned and set down her mug. "I don't want to make you uncomfortable, but you're here and I have to assume things are fairly serious between you and Mer or you wouldn't be. He's never brought a girlfriend to meet me before. So, I hope you'll forgive me. . . but, I'm just. . . mystified. You seem really nice, don't get me wrong, but what exactly are you doing with my brother?"

Emily stared at Jeannie for a moment, then realized her mouth was open and shook her head. "I'm sorry, what do you mean?"

Jeannie furrowed her brow, her eyes darting around her kitchen. "He's not exactly easy to get along with."

Emily smiled, amused. "We get along fine."

"Doesn't he drive you crazy?" She sounded incredulous.

"Well, no. We. . . I. . . seem to understand where he's coming from. I don't know. I suppose we do share some of the same flaws to a certain extent. He's not perfect. But at heart, he's just a really sweet guy."

Jeannie looked doubtful.

Emily thought about her counterpart's children in the other timeline, how she'd watched their relationships evolve over the years. "You're siblings, Jeannie. You'll always see him differently than the rest of the world. He's trying, you know. He feels bad about losing contact with you for all those years. He wants to make it up to you, fix things. It's not easy for him, but he's trying."

Jeannie nodded, looking chastened.

Emily smiled at her. "Look at it this way. We all have our own personal toolbox, you know, that we use to interact with each other. Some of us go through life trying to use a hammer in every situation, when sometimes what we really need is. . . I don't know. . . a screwdriver or, or, maybe tweezers or something. I'm sorry, it's a terrible metaphor, but what I'm saying is that he's trying to learn to use different tools and I think he's getting better at it. Atlantis has changed him, Jeannie. If you give him a chance, you'll see."

Jeannie eyed her quizzically. "You say Atlantis has changed him, not you?"

She shook her head. "No. Not me. I'm not trying to change him. I like him just the way he is. Atlantis challenges him. It's like a big extended family. He cares about the people there and he's often forced to protect them. He's grown, I think, based on what I've seen and what I've been told about him."

Jeannie picked up her mug again and looked thoughtful. After a few moments went by, she said, "Our parents were really screwed up, when we were kids."

"I know. He told me. But, ah, you're doing a great job with Madison, that much is obvious to anyone with eyes to see."

Jeannie shrugged. "Thanks. It's not easy."

"No. It's not. I know," she said without thinking and immediately regretted it. A bemused expression flickered over Jeannie's features. She had to keep working on compartmentalizing so those thoughts wouldn't sneak out.

Emily felt something gently tugging at her hair and turned to see Madison plucking at her curls and watching them spring back into place. "You have super-neat hair," Madison said, grinning.

"You like it?" she chuckled. "You have pretty hair too," she said, tentatively touching one of the child's flaxen ponytails.

"Do you think you will? Have kids, I mean?" Jeannie was watching her closely, her head cocked slightly to one side.

Emily sighed wistfully. "I'd like to, yes, but I don't know if everything will line up so it will happen."

Jeannie's eyes narrowed and she shook her head a little. "You do know Meredith doesn't really care for kids, right?"

Emily smiled. Jeannie wasn't aware of her brother's recent change of heart. "Well, he doesn't really have any experience with them. So, I don't know. That doesn't worry me."

Jeannie sat back in her chair and looked thoughtful, sipping at the tea. "Hm."

Emily leaned forward and set her mug down. "You know, Jeannie, since we're being so honest. . . I thought I might mention. . . I mean, I'm just thinking out loud here, but, um, it might really go a long way toward mending fences if you would consider calling him by the name he prefers."

Jeannie looked shocked and maybe a little angry. "But Meredith's his given name. We've always called him that."

Emily put out her hands in an attempt to mollify her words. "Oh, I know. I know that makes sense to you. But if you could just see it from his point of view. He's always hated it—was teased mercilessly as a child because of it and frankly, Jeannie, even as an adult. It's not a kindness to remind him of that. I. . . get the sense that you two are competitive and snarky and that's all in good fun, but this seems like it's something different."

"You think it really matters that much to him?" Jeannie asked incredulously.

"I do. He's far more sensitive than he lets on." She shook her head. "I'm sorry. Maybe I shouldn't have said anything."

"No, no. I just never thought about it that way." Jeannie looked pensive. "I'll give it a try and see what happens." She was staring off into space, thinking.

Emily watched Jeannie's fingers, half expecting to see them twitching or rubbing together. "How did that come to be his first name, do you know?"

"Mom always said it was because Grandmother Gwen requested it. She's Welsh and Meredith is a traditional name for a man in Wales. Supposedly it's been used in our family for generations."

"Ah." Emily nodded knowingly. "I thought it might be something like that. That story wouldn't quite hold up under elementary school discourse, though, would it?"

Jeannie frowned. "I guess not."

Madison appeared at her elbow again. "I'm having a tea party, Dr. Freedman. Here's your formal invitation." She handed her a small scrap of paper covered in colorful crayon scribbles.

"Oh, now this is a lovely invitation, but I can't quite make out when the party is? Can you tell me?"

"It's right now, silly!"

"Well, of course it is. Please lead the way, Madison. I'm all yours." She smiled brightly at Jeannie as Madison led her by the hand into a family room filled with toys.

"Are you in love with my Uncle Mer?" Madison asked in a silly sing-song way, her blue eyes flaring with mischief.

"Why, yes, I am, in fact," Emily replied and reached out with a finger to beep Madison's nose.

Madison giggled. "Do you kiss him and hug him and squeeze him?"

"I do," she answered solemnly, wiggling her eyebrows. "Now what about this tea party? What else are we having besides tea?" She looked up to see Jeannie standing in the archway, watching with an indulgent smile on her face. Jeannie turned then, to go back into the kitchen.

"We're having pizza and ice cream and watermelon with our tea, of course!"

Emily was about to reply when she heard Jeannie let out a small screech in the kitchen. She frowned and started to rise. "Jeannie, are you ok?"

"Yes, I'm fine," Jeannie answered, sounding exasperated.

Emily settled back down and helped herself to some of Madison's plastic play food, pretending to chew with extreme delight. "I have to say, Madison, I didn't know that pizza went so well with tea. It's delightful!"

"Don't forget the ice cream and watermelon," she was sternly reminded.

Something had captured Madison's attention and Emily looked up to see what it was. Rodney was standing in the doorway watching them play, just as Jeannie had been, moments before. She got to her feet and he caught her up in a warm hug.

"You're late," she chided, poking him in the chest, but she beamed at him nonetheless.

"Sorry," he said, smiling at her. "You look. . . really good." He was looking her up and down and his hands, resting on her waist, squeezed her gently.

"So, I meet your approval? I told you my mom would force feed me." She gave him a sweet, chaste kiss since Maddie was watching and wrapped her arms around him again, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Of course you do. I never. . . ." He sighed and gingerly touched her hair. "I wanted to bring you flowers, but I couldn't manage it. Sorry."

"Who cares about flowers? I just want to see you," she said ardently, looking into his eyes and touching his cheek. "I'm glad you didn't waste a second on that."

"Hm," he said, smiling. He looked happier than she'd seen him look in a long time. "What were you doing, just then?" he asked, looking sincerely baffled.

"What do you mean? I was playing with Madison, of course. Come here." She took his hand and led him to the couch. Then she pushed Madison's table over to him. Madison stood nearby, looking skeptical. "Madison, your uncle would like join the party."

"I would?" he asked weakly, his eyes darting around the room, clearly looking for an escape route.

Madison looked dubious, but approached Rodney anyway. "Uncle Mer, would you like to have some tea?"

"Ah, no thank you?" he answered, looking to Emily for rescue.

Madison looked crestfallen.

Emily heaved an exaggerated sigh. "Madison, I forgot! He can't drink tea. It makes him breathe fire, I'm afraid, and we don't want that. No, the best drink for Uncle Rodney is, um, fizzy-wizzy-juice. Could you make a batch of that for him?"

Madison cheered, "Of course! That would be delightful!"

Madison busied herself making the pretend beverage and Emily perched between Rodney's knees and leaned in to kiss him. "I missed you," she said softly. She smiled at him and implored, "Just play along. You might like it, if you give it a try. Think of it as a mission."

"Hm," he said, frowning.

Madison returned, jubilant. "It's ready!" She handed Rodney a small plastic cup, which he took reluctantly. Then she poured expansively into the cup and watched expectantly.

"Bottoms up, Uncle Rodney," Emily said.

He glared at her, but there was a smile creeping up on his lips. "Aren't you going to have some too?" he accused. Madison gleefully poured more for Emily and herself. "Cheers," he said, bumping his cup into Emily's and Madison's. He pretended to take a sip. He blinked and looked mystified. "Is that broccoli I taste in there?" The teapot was stuffed with all kinds of plastic fruit and vegetables and broccoli was perched on top.

"Of course! That's what makes it healthy. Do you like it?" Madison demanded.

"Mm," he said, noncommittally. "It's very. . . fizzy."

"I know!" Madison enthused. "It has bubbles that just go pop, pop, pop inside your mouth!" Madison danced around, hands shooting out in the air, illustrating her point.

Rodney looked amused and set the cup down, glancing at Emily for approval. She smiled and joined him on the couch. He put an arm around her. Madison climbed up next to him. She plucked at his shirt. His eyes widened and he cleared his throat, looking uncertain.

"Uncle Mer?" Madison asked.

"Yes?"

"I like Emily."

"Hm. I do too." He smiled and watched Madison warily. She picked up a doll that was laying nearby and climbed onto Rodney's lap, looking at it. He froze and glanced at Emily in alarm. Madison didn't notice. She was shaking the doll around, watching the doll's blonde hair fan out.

"Will you marry her and come live with us? We have lots of room."

"Ah. . . well. . . I. . . ." he stammered.

Emily leaned forward and pulled Rodney's arm off her shoulder, guiding it to rest on Madison's back, who promptly leaned back against him.

"I asked you a question. You do know it's rude not to answer a question, right?" Madison demanded, looking up at him. He looked nonplussed and Madison took that as a sign that he needed convincing. "You know she's pretty, right? She's got pretty hair and she smiles a lot. She makes you smile, too. Do you have any other girlfriends?"

"Ah, no," he replied, glancing at Emily with an uncertain expression on his face.

Emily just sat there, pressing her lips together, trying not to let her amusement disturb their conversation as it evolved.

"I didn't think so. You should really marry her before you get too old to do that." Madison sighed and continued to play with the doll's hair quietly, snuggled against his chest.

"About dinner," Jeannie said, walking into the room holding a phone book. She stopped abruptly, taking in the scene with surprise. She shook her head slightly and continued, "Ah, I was thinking, rather than cooking, I would just order from your favorite pizza place and make a nice green salad. Boston, wasn't it?"

His eyes lit up. "Mm. The Meteor. Best pizza in Vancouver. It's fantastic. You'll love it," he said to Emily.

Jeannie rolled her eyes. "Yes, I'll order your carnivorous heart attack on a plate for you. I hope they have some kind of veggie option," she muttered, walking away again.

Emily got up to follow her into the kitchen.

"Hey, where are you going?" Rodney asked worriedly.

"It's customary for me to offer to help in the kitchen," Emily explained.

"Oh. Well, I'm sure she's got it under control."

"I know. But I still have to offer."

He frowned. "Mm."

She sat back down for a moment and said quietly, "Rodney, it really is one of the joys in life to simply hold a child on your lap. It won't be long and she'll be too big for that. Just stay in the moment. Forget all the million things you're worried about right now. Read her a book. She's your niece—you need to get to know her. She's brilliant, just like you, you know. She's just lovely." She leaned in a little bit and couldn't resist whispering in his ear, "She really will be just like you. You should start cultivating that now, don't you think?"

"What? Really?" He looked at Madison as though seeing her potential for the first time. He seemed lost in thought for a moment, then said, "Hey, Maddie, got any good science books we could read?"

Emily raided her shopping bag for a package containing a small stack of books she hoped would satisfy both of their interests and handed it to Maddy. That started an interesting conversation that she wished she wouldn't have to miss, but she left them alone to go into the kitchen. She found Jeannie with a chef's knife in her hand, angrily chopping up a head of romaine.

"I was hoping I could help with the salad," she ventured, wondering if she had overstepped and gotten off on the wrong foot by bringing up Rodney's name.

"Do you know how he got here? Did he tell you?" Jeannie asked in a quiet, angry whisper, waving the chef's knife wildly in the air in front of her.

"No. He didn't say. What's wrong, Jeannie?" She stayed on the opposite side of the island. It seemed safer.

"He just beamed in here. Beamed. Into my kitchen. What if Madison had seen that? How on Earth could we explain that to her? What if she said something to her preschool teacher about it? Do you have any idea how damaging that could be for a child of her age?"

Emily took a deep breath, but before she could say anything, Jeannie continued.

"And then, he just says, 'Where is she?' and walks away. No, 'Hi, Jeannie, good to see you,' or anything like that." She frowned and put down the knife and pushed her hair back.

"Jeannie, you're right. That was reckless. I'm sorry."

"I am? You are?"

"Of course you are. You aren't overreacting. I agree with you. I'll talk to him and make sure it doesn't happen again. Don't worry."

"Good. That's good," she said and looked down at the lettuce, frowning.

"The other thing. That's my fault. He's worried about me. There was an accident in Atlantis. I was. . . hurt, in a manner of speaking, and he's been a little bit. . . protective. He didn't want me to come home without him, but he couldn't leave for that long. He does want to see you, Jeannie. That's why we're here. He was excited for me to meet you."

"Oh." She picked up a handful of the lettuce and put it in a colander, frowning. "You seem ok. Are you?"

"I am," Emily replied firmly.

"I don't know what I expected you to be like, but you're not what I expected at all."

Emily smiled, not sure what to say to that. "Can I shred the carrot for you?"

Jeannie handed her a carrot and a box grater that were laying nearby. "He caught me completely off-guard. I didn't have time to react. Then I thought I should say something, then I changed my mind. Then I changed it back again—"

"Jeannie, I'll be glad to say something to him. Don't worry about it."

"No, what I'm trying to say is, I overheard what you said to him, about Madison. It was the exact right thing to say. It was incredibly sweet. But, it didn't sound like something a young woman who's never had children would say."

She thought about saying, 'Atlantis has changed me too,' but decided not to. Instead, she just smiled slightly, letting the uncomfortable silence hang there, and continued grating the carrot.

Caleb came home then, changing the tenor of the evening. Madison went into a frenzy upon seeing him, then there were the polite introductions. Caleb took over the salad prep and shooed her away. Madison wanted to show them her new bike with training wheels, so Emily and Rodney went out to sit on the front porch and watched her zip up and down the sidewalk in the intermittent misty drizzle.

They sat quietly for a few moments. She wanted to ask about Atlantis and the progress he'd made since she'd been gone, but she didn't want to break the spell—of pretending for a moment that they could be just an average couple engaged in common conversation while watching a child play.

He shifted in his seat on the step. "Landry said they'll be issuing new uniforms in the next month or two. I hope they fit better than this last batch. I hate the way they bunch up under the arms."

"So you've said," she said, smiling. Many times, she thought, amused.

"Leather jackets, too, he said. So, that'll be cool." He looked pleased.

"Very." She put her arms around him and squeezed happily. She leaned back and looked at the clothes he was wearing now. "I'm not used to seeing you out of uniform. How long has it been since you bought yourself some new clothes?"

"Jeannie just asked me the same thing." He frowned. "She said I look like a walking JCPenney catalog, circa 1982."

Emily burst out laughing.

He smiled. "I guess that means you agree."

"We could go shopping while we're here," she offered.

"Not this trip," he replied soberly. "No time. We need to leave first thing in the morning. I have to get back. You're still coming back, right?" He looked worried.

She squeezed his arm to reassure him. "Of course I am. Is FRAN ready? When's the mission?"

"The day after tomorrow. Yes, she's ready." He looked down at his feet on the step below.

"You find her unsettling to be around."

"Yes," he admitted reluctantly.

She sighed. "It's a terrible thing to create a sentient being, solely for the purpose of destroying a race of sentient beings. I'm sorry you've had to do that."

He frowned. They'd been over this before and he'd had the same conversations with Elizabeth, too, she was sure. "I've explained this, Emily. She's just a computer. They're all just computers. Their 'awareness of self' is just programming. We have to do this. If you're right about what they're capable of—and you've been right about everything so far—we don't have a choice. You don't regret telling us, do you?"

She shook her head. "Of course not. I know it has to be done. I just. . . hate that we both have to play a role in it."

"John finally found the Travelers two days ago. We've been coordinating teams of engineers and electricians and people with the gene. They've agreed to send a handful of ships against the Replicators in exchange for our help getting a couple of abandoned Ancient warships they've scavenged in flying shape." He shook his head as though in complete disbelief. "Their ships are a mess. They're all cobbled together from mismatched components. I can't believe they actually fly those things, much less live in them. That's why I was late. I don't know how much help they're actually going to be."

Relief flooded her senses. Having more ships in the fray would mean the risk to each individual would be spread a little thinner. She knew Rodney had to go. . . yet the thought of it was terrifying. "Isn't the idea just to keep the Asurans busy while FRAN does her job?"

"Yes, but it may take a while for her to get the job done. It's not going to be instantaneous." He looked off toward the setting sun, grimacing.

She leaned her head against him and ran a hand over his back. "At least we'll have the element of surprise in our favor, right? They can't expect anything like this. Is John still determined to steal ZPM's while you're there?"

He nodded and sighed. "Yes, and he's not wrong about that. Having a few extra ZedPM's around will put us in a much better defensive position against the Wraith. If we can't overload them because the power structure of the city will collapse, then it makes sense to try to take them. At least we know they'll never fall into the hands of the Wraith. That super-hive you told us about would be a menace."

"But it's so much risk," she said, her eyes still following Madison gleefully zipping up and down the sidewalk on her bike in a brightly colored raincoat and galoshes.

"John and I will each have a personal shield, thanks to you. We'll also have the ARG's. They should work for a while before they adapt. And we have beaming technology that can pull us out in a split second. We'll be in a much stronger position when this is over. Between the geothermal station and the ZedPM's, our defenses will be in top shape for the first time. You've saved a lot of lives and we'll be in a position to save many more."

She leaned against his shoulder and thought about the other things she had saved him from—like delivering Teyla's baby. It was really a shame, because the future-McKay spoke of that moment with such tenderness, having never had children of his own. She wondered if Teyla would still get pregnant in this new timeline. It would be soon, if she did. It would change the dynamic of his team forever, but in an interesting way. He said it made them even more like a family.

These were the kinds of things that she didn't dare voice. She'd meddled enough and felt a superstitious reticence about the rest. Daniel had been right about all of it. Every last thing. These personal matters were things that just weren't meant to be known.

But there were many hopeful things she knew. Rodney would eventually discover a way to recycle ZPM's. There was a passage in the database she intended to reveal to him after they got back—under the heading Potentia with an inverted 't' meaning 'power' and inverted 'a' signifying 'infinity.' They would likely spend months studying that entry, once the business with the Asurans was done.

There was a unique solution to the problem with the Wraith as well, but Carson, and a molecular biologist that wasn't even employed at the SGC yet would have to collaborate on that project for years before it would see any fruit. She'd already spoken to General Landry, who promised to track that scientist down and recruit her as soon as possible. She couldn't wait to see how Carson would react to her. In the alternate timeline, Carson's clone had married her. This plan, however, would also mean they'd need to find a powerful and complicit Wraith ally, and since the timeline would be changed, Todd may not be the one to play that roll. It could be a dangerous endeavor.

She still scribbled in her notebook daily, though there was less and less to say about the future she knew of Atlantis and more and more about her counterpart's children and their lives. They had been the best, most vital part of that other lonely life before she met Rodney. She'd been a good mother, she knew now. They'd gotten the best of both of them—exuberant, insightful, full of laughter and smiles, well-liked and well-loved.

She'd told Daniel about them, sitting in a park after her return to Earth. She could see that he felt pride too, to know what they could have been—what they actually were, somewhere in an unreachable parallel timeline. She hoped that knowing it would help him have the courage to pursue that kind of life with the woman she knew he really loved. He'd been hurt so badly in the past, it had to be painful for him to contemplate. She thought she'd maybe seen hope glinting in his eyes when they parted, however.

In the other timeline, her counterpart changed a great deal from the person she'd been before the device had changed everything. She'd grown stronger, more salient, respected. She was a different person. Rodney had helped her see that. She was not on the path to becoming that other Emily. She would have her own experiences, and would grow and change in different ways. She was on a path of her own. Knowing what the other Emily knew didn't have to change her, except for the better. She would learn, in time, to keep it all in perspective.

She nudged Rodney in the side with her elbow and smiled her most winning smile. "When we get back—as soon as it's feasible—I want you to test me in the control chair and teach me to fly the jumpers, ok? I have a good feeling about it. I think I might be good at it and, well, we need to be ready for anything, right?"

He raised his eyebrows. "Ok. Really?"

"I don't know if she's mentioned it to you, but Elizabeth agreed to give me my own gate team and Landry's agreed to let me recruit a group of archeologists, structural engineers and so forth. I feel certain there are things in Pegasus we need to uncover—bits of tech or documents from lost civilizations that might have small nuggets of information that could help in the fight against the Wraith. Though each civilization that went up against the Wraith may individually have fallen—a collection of all of their knowledge from across the galaxy and the millennia might provide a more comprehensive picture and, hopefully, the answers we need. The Ancients were too arrogant to consider that the humans in Pegasus could have original thoughts or discoveries that might contribute something vital to the struggle. They were wrong. I want to start with Athos and Sateda, to honor your friends and their contribution to Atlantis."

He furrowed his brow. "You've been thinking about these things a lot."

"Yes. I can contribute."

"Of course. Of course you can contribute. But you. . . .ok. But what about the database project?"

"Don't worry, that'll still be a priority." She held his gaze for a moment, still watchfully aware of Madison. "Everything is changing. The things I know may not be useful for much longer."

A curl blew across her face and he reached over and pushed it back, his fingers trailing slowly down her cheek.

"I know," he said softly. "But I think that's probably for the best. It's a lot of pressure, isn't it?"

She looked into his eyes. "He didn't tell her everything. How could he? Why would he?" She snorted softly, shaking her head. "There are still going to be dangers to face and for all we know they may be more horrible than the ones we're trying to avert."

He took her hand and looked down at it, slowly rubbing his thumb over her knuckles. The corner of his mouth turned up. "Maybe. Probably. But at least we'll be together."

*Author's note: if you enjoyed this story, please leave a comment or share it with your friends! This was so much fun-thank you so much for the opportunity to share. And thank you to Wild Force Ranger, one of my four betas.