A/N This story is now officially a year old! So an anniversary present here is a surprise chapter drop!
I have to say when I started this, I never imagined I'd still be writing this a year on. But every chapter I have felt myself grow and develop as a writer and I hope you have enjoyed reading this as much as i've enjoyed writing.
For those who are afraid I'm going to make John and Alice get back together easily, you have nothing to worry about. They have both suffered because of the break up and it's going to take some time and choice words to heal those wounds.
Enjoy the chapter!
Alice POV
The last thing she'd expected when they'd gotten Teyla's emergency call was that John would be waiting for her. When she'd first stepped through that tent and seen the smiling faces of her friends, she couldn't hide the disappointment that he wasn't there. Then she'd heard him.
At first she thought she might've imagined it, but then she saw him, and instead of joy and relief that she'd expected to feel, all she'd felt was regret and an overwhelming sense of guilt and fear twisting her stomach into a tight knot.
Fear that he had moved on. Of what he thought of her, how he would react to her.
His first words momentarily stunned her, as she completely forgotten she was even wearing her Genii uniform. It had become so familiar to her. Though the first time she'd ever put it on she'd imagined John saying those exact words in her head.
Her eyes drank in his figure as he stood before her. His hair was unruly and looked like he'd been running his hands through it in frustration. His eyes were dim, with dark shadows underneath, there was an underlying fury to them that Alice knew was directed at her. She had to tense every muscle in her body to stop herself from running straight into his arms.
It clearly wasn't the time. He'd not come for her. They'd come back to save Atlantis from the replicators. She had to keep her wits about her, and they could worry about emotions later. At least that's what she told herself.
John and the others headed back to the jumper, whilst Alice, Ronon and Teyla geared up. As soon as she left Teyla's tent she let out a large breath and her knees buckled, causing her to drop down into a squat. Keeping her head low she tried to take in a few small breaths. She closed her eyes and gave herself to the count of five. Before sniffling and forcing herself back to her feet.
"You going to be okay with this?" Ronon's deep voice rumbled next to her.
Whilst she may never have said it, both Teyla and Ronon knew how much she'd struggled. Alice wiped her sleeve across her face and steeled her voice. "We've got a job to do. Everything else..." she pursed her lips. "Everything else can come later."
Alice glanced over to meet Ronon's gaze, lifting her chin to show him she could do this. They'd spent enough time together over the past few months to read each other easily. He held her gaze for a moment before giving her the slightest nod of her head. "If it's too much..."
She bobbed her head quickly. "I'll let you know. Meet you back here in five." Then she swivelled and headed for her tent.
She didn't even wait until she was inside before stripping off the Genii jacket. Throwing it across the room, then lunging for her dufflebag ripping out a set of her old mission BDUs.
Of course the day John returned to the settlement she had to be wearing a Genii uniform. Her heart started fluttering as she thought about John. He was here, just like she'd dreamt for the past five months. And yet, she had no idea what to say to him.
She shook her head, pulling on the standard SG team uniform. They had bigger things to worry about right now, she couldn't afford to be distracted.
This mission wasn't going to be easy. Even with Colonel Carter's ARGs. She zipped up the jacket and pulled her hair up into a ponytail. Taking a last glance around her makeshift home, she stepped out the door back to meet Teyla and Ronon.
Quickly they ran to the Jumper. John was already sat in the pilot's chair, powering up. He closed the rear hatch as Alice stepped inside.
Rodney gave her a warm smile and handed her a datapad. She took it gratefully, and placed it inside her bag. Ronon pulled P90s down from the storage belts and handed one to her and another to Teyla. She murmured a thanks and headed for the cockpit.
Elizabeth and Carson were sat in the backseats, with John in the pilot's seat leaving the only empty spot in the co-pilot's seat. Before the others could hopefully notice she ducked her head back into the rear compartment and took a seat on the bench.
"Alright." Rodney disconnected his tablet from a control panel and headed into the cockpit. "We're ready."
Alice double checked all her equipment. She had her ARG, P90 and a side arm, as well as her former tac vest. It felt good to be suited back up in her old uniform, the Genii one was no where near as practical or comfortable.
The Jumper started rumbling under her feet, Alice let her head drop back against the wall of the Jumper. Even though they were heading off into another potentially fatal mission, for the first time in months she felt like she was back home. The Jumper rose off the ground and she heard the sound of the gate dialling.
"That's confirmation. The Gate shield has lowered." She heard Rodney call out.
Then she felt the familiar chill of entering the Stargate. The second they came out she could hear the replicators weapon's hitting the shield.
Curious, she stood up in the doorway between the two compartments, looking out the windshield. A couple of replicators were standing in front of them firing, and more were joining. Thankfully the shield seemed to be doing its job.
John hit the comms button. "Authentication code Alpha Six Delta Charlie Niner. General O'Neill, Woolsey - do you copy?"
They all held their breath. "Sheppard? Is that you?" O'Neill's voice came through the Jumper's speakers.
"Yes, sir. I need to know if you're anywhere near Stargate Operations."
"No, we're not."
"That's good. Can't talk right now, sir. I'll get back to you in a couple of hours. Sheppard out." He hit the button again and turned to Rodney. "Drop the package."
Rodney tapped a few keys. "Package is ... away."
"Hold on."
Alice braced herself against the doors as John slammed the jumper back through the wall of the control tower.
They continued back a safe distance until they saw the explosion that took out the top third of the main spire.
"That went well." Alice stared out the window at the smoke billowing. After five months away she couldn't say that blowing the top of the control tower was what she wanted to see. But knowing the replicators they only had a few hours before it was back to its former glory.
John opened the HUD and flew the jumper up towards the upper atmosphere.
"It's good to be back - however briefly." Rodney muttered.
Alice sat back down in the rear compartment. Keeping her distance from the others, but mostly John.
"I feel like I'm gonna be ill." Alice peered around the door to see Carson looking a bit green and holding a bag. She gave him a sympathetic smile.
Ronon took her vacated position in the doorway, he looked at Carson sternly. "Don't be."
Elizabeth leaned over from the opposite seat, and placed a hand on Carson's knee. "Alright, just take some deep breaths, Carson."
"Should we not have informed General O'Neill of our plan?" Teyla moved through the cabin past Ronon and into the cockpit.
"He knows we're here. We'll contact him again as soon as we get closer to the city." John said.
Rodney glanced at John nervously. "Well, that is gonna be easier said than done. With all those hits we took, it's gonna be impossible for me to convert the shield back to a cloak."
"And by "impossible," you mean ..." John said, his eyes fixed on the empty space in front of them.
"I mean "not possible." What do you think I mean?"
John shrugged. "Well, hopefully we took out the sensors when we blew the tower."
"Well, you said they could rebuild remarkably fast. How long before they restore critical systems?" Elizabeth leaned forward.
Alice crossed her arms over her chest. "A couple of hours, at most."
"Plus the painting and redecorating." John muttered sarcastically.
Rodney waggled his finger in the air. "If we time this right, this could work to our advantage."
The HUD sensors beeped and displayed the screen for the proximity sensors. "Got him! Right where we left him!"
Rodney checked the readings on his laptop. "That's him." Alice stood up, moving into the cockpit as they approached the deactivated replicator.
"Who else would it be?" Ronon asked sarcastically.
Rodney didn't look at him. "True. His power levels are barely registering. It's no wonder the Replicators didn't find him."
"Alright, I'll swing around and pick him up." He twisted his neck to look over his shoulder, his eyes meeting Alice's. "Watch yourselves - I'm closing the bulkhead."
Alice and Ronon squished into the cockpit as the bulkhead doors closed behind them. She watched as John expertly aligned the jumper up and the blinking dot representing the Replicator disappeared inside the Jumper. "Got him. Closing the rear hatch."
He stood up from the pilot's seat and looked at Alice, pulling his ARG out as he moved. "Take the seat."
Alice just moved forward, turning sideways to slip past John. Though with space as confined as it was, as she moved past him she could feel his breath on her as her chest pressed past his.
She sat down in the chair and tried to clear the fog that had come over her brain. She needed to focus or she'd kill them all. She was glad no one could see the blush that was creeping up her face. She cleared her throat. "The compartment's re-pressurised."
Alice looked back, watching John and Ronon aim the ARG's at the compartment as the opened the door. Carefully they headed in, with Rodney trailing behind them. John gave him the all clear and Rodney hesitantly kneeled down next to Niam. "OK. This is good. His power levels are minimal but not too minimal. I'm fairly sure he doesn't have the juice to regain consciousness ..."
Alice kept them steady and monitored the long range sensors for any incoming craft. She wouldn't put it past the replicators to send out a squadron of drones or Jumpers to seek them out. Though hopefully they were too busy repairing the damage.
She heard Rodney talking in the cargo hold, but nothing she could make out. "Alright. I'll take us back." John's voice was clear as he walked back into the cockpit.
Alice stood up and slipped past him again. This time taking the co-pilot's seat.
"Why don't we do this from here?" Elizabeth asked from her seat, looking back at Rodney.
"Do what from here?" Rodney asked, his head down tapping his datapad.
"Render the Replicators helpless, Rodney? Remember the plan?"
"Of course I remember the plan. It's my plan."
"Uh, actually, using Niam was Elizabeth's plan." John jumped in, bringing up the plans on the HUD.
"Thank you!" Elizabeth sighed exasperatedly.
"It was mostly my plan."
Alice couldn't help but smile, it felt exactly like old times. She could tell Rodney hadn't changed at all in their time apart. She only half-listened to the rest of their squabbling. Instead opening a separate window on the HUD to monitor Atlantis' frequencies. Hopefully this would be able to tell her if they'd managed to get the sensors back online.
"Alright, we're about a mile out." John reported.
"The city is still dark." Alice double-checked her readings, but she couldn't see anything.
"OK, I'll start broadcasting the virus now, but, uh, we're gonna need to get closer than that." Rodney yelled from the back.
Suddenly, a peak appeared on Alice's sensors. "They've made us, we've got incoming drones!"
"McKay!" John shouted down the Jumper.
"We're still not close enough."
"Hang on!"
Alice gripped her chair as John swung the Jumper around in a hair pin turn trying to lose the drone. She couldn't have been more thankful for the Ancient's inertial dampeners - if they'd pulled that move in a F-16 their brains would be mush inside their skulls. They ducked and twisted between the towers and bridges of the city. Alice watched on the HUD as a few of the drones impacted the city. She winced at each impact.
"If we keep this up, there won't be much of a city left to save." Elizabeth called out.
John's face was tense and his temples knotted together in concentration. "I'll try to run the drones into your least favourite buildings. McKay!"
"It should be working." He yelled back.
"Well, it's not working!"
"Look, if I give him any more power, he'll wake up and kill us all!"
"Sheppard can't keep this up forever." Alice didn't need to look to know Ronon was giving Rodney his patented glower.
Alice felt the ship nudge sharply to the left. A warning appeared on her screen. "Shields have been damaged." She warned him.
"Alright, I've had enough. I've got a different idea." John grunted and flew the Jumper back out of the city and straight down into the ocean.
Alice braced herself against the dash as they hit the water. As good as the inertial dampeners were, they couldn't completely absorb the full impact of hitting the water at the speed they were going.
The Jumper sank into the depths of the Lantean ocean. It was disconcerting to see nothing but water filling the screen, but she just reminded herself it was no different to being in space.
John checked his watch and then hit the comms button. "General O'Neill. Are you there, sir?"
"Yes, we're here. You're late."
John winced. "Sorry, sir. Had to go into space and pick up some ... frozen goods."
"Whatever. Where are you now?"
Alice leaned over the control panel, moving her face closer to the window so she could see the structure up ahead. "We're not exactly inside the city yet. We're headed toward an underwater Jumper Bay." John replied.
"Well, what we think may be an underwater Jumper Bay." Elizabeth clarified.
"Is that Doctor Weir I hear?" O'Neill asked.
"Yes, General. It's good to hear your voice too." Alice looked over her shoulder to see Elizabeth smiling.
"I didn't say it was good, Elizabeth." Alice watched the smile fade. "Please, don't be offended as I express my ... surprise that Landry would send you on a mission like this."
Alice pursed her lips and turned around. She knew they didn't exactly have clearance, but John and Elizabeth hadn't had time to go fully into details about how they'd gotten here.
"Well, sir, General Landry didn't sanction this mission." Elizabeth said cautiously.
"So, am I to assume you are not surrounded by heavily-armed S.G. teams and young strapping marines?" O'Neill quipped.
"You've got Colonel Sheppard, Ronon, Teyla, Riley, McKay, myself and Doctor Beckett." John wore an uncomfortable look.
"Ooh! Doctor Beckett, is it? Well, I'm comforted."
Carson, who was sat behind Alice tapped her on the shoulder, and whispered in her ear. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Alice just shook her, she didn't know what to tell him.
"OK, ready to open the lock." Rodney pushed forward and placed his laptop ontop of the DHD pad.
"We've got a plan, sir ..." John turned to Alice and grimaced "... a good one."
"Yes, Colonel, I'm sure you do. But in the unlikely event you don't fail miserably, you're fired."
Alice knew she shouldn't but she couldn't help smile as John eyes widened sightly in fear. "Yes, sir. ... Look forward to that."
They approached the submerged doors. "Careful." Carson whispered quietly behind them.
"Thanks, Doc!" John said sarcastically. But Alice could see sweat beading on John's forehead as he flew them through the doors and landed the jumped in the flooded hanger.
"OK. Closing the outer door." Alice heard Rodney clicking on his laptop. She was staring around in awe at the bay. There were a couple of other jumpers sat submerged in the hanger. "Yes. Now, I just have to pressurise the compartment and we are ..." a small beep emitted from his laptop. "Huh?"
"What?" Alice glanced over her shoulder at him.
"It's not letting me do it."
Alice stood up to stand beside Rodney, looking over his shoulder at the laptop. He was trying again and again to activate the city's system, but he kept receiving the same error message.
Carson tapped Alice on the shoulder. "The water's not draining out."
"Yeah, excellent observation, thank you." Rodney said.
"It is, however, draining in." Elizabeth's voice came from the cargo bay.
Alice and Rodney both looked up. She stepped away from the chair to see where Elizabeth was looking. A small amount of water was dripping down from the top of the bulkhead. Alice lifted her hand up to run it along the seam, closing her eyes she could feel small bumps indicating tiny fracture in the seal.
When she opened her eyes were open, John was standing in front of her looking up at the roof. "Well, guess we took some damage."
"The drones must've created micro-fractures in the seal. I can patch it, but it won't stop it." Alice dropped her hand to her side.
Rodney plopped back down into his chair. Holding his head in his heads. "I just wanna point out that this was not my idea."
John's features tightened as he frowned. "You said, "Get us close to the city." This is pretty damned close!" He spread his hands out gesturing to the hanger.
Rodney lifted his head, flicking his hand put to the laptop. "And yet, no cigar!"
"Alright. Just open up the outer doors - I'll figure something else out." John turned away from his back towards the pilot's chair.
"Right." Rodney mumbled, turning to type on the laptop. Alice glanced around at the other members of their make-shift team. They all looked sightly paler as they exchanged looks. "Ohhhh ...dear." Everyone turned to look back at Rodney.
Alice bit down on the inside of her cheek. "What is it now?"
She tried not to kick the side of the bulkhead as Rodney explained they were now trapped inside the hanger. Her mind instantly started pulling out different scenarios, like firing a drone at the hanger doors. But given the confined quarters, they were likely to get themselves caught up in the shockwave. Her hands fidgeted at her side, a small water droplet splashed straight onto her nose. First things first, she thought, they had to stop the leak. It wouldn't help if when they did come up with a plan to be full of water. Everyone else seemed to be just as caught up in their own thoughts. A couple of times, she saw one or two of them open their mouths as though they were about to say something, but then quickly closed them again.
Alice wiped the droplet off her face and went to work. Pulling out the emergency supplies, trying to find anything she could use to plug the hole.
She reached up to pull down one of the larger yellow containers. "Let me help." John's hands shot out to grab the container. Alice flinched back and allowed John to pull it down onto the bench. She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and waited for John to unclip the locks. She mumbled a quick thanks before grabbing out the duct tape and medical gauze. Before John had the chance to reply she'd turned back and started working on the patching the leak. Now wasn't the time to bring up her feelings. She reached up and closed her eyes, concentrating on pushing down all her emotions.
"There must be a manual override somewhere." Elizabeth finally broke the silence.
Alice opened her eyes, looking into the cockpit. Rodney had his face hidden in his hands. "In the Bay's Control Room, yes."
John put his hand on Alice's waist as he moved past her, sending small electrical tingles up her spine. "OK, I'll swim to it."
Rodney pulled his face up. "... which is sealed from the other side."
John's head dropped. "Of course it is!"
"Perhaps General O'Neill can reach it." Teyla offered.
Rodney's face brightened slightly. "Good. OK, give me half an hour to get Niam to the right power level so we can do this."
Alice looked up at her make-shift patch job. "We don't have that long."
John's face twisted into a grimace. He grabbed the radio of his seat and held it up to his mouth. "General O'Neill? We're gonna need a favour."
Alice paced in the back of the jumper, twisting her fingers together as she listened to Rodney guiding O'Neill to the power switch. Water sloshed around her feet as she moved, he patch had slowed the leak, but they were still taking on water.
Finally, a loud creaking and what sounded like a drain being opened vibrated through the ship. Alice's head snapped up and she watched as John jumped out of his seat and headed back towards them.
Ronon tossed him an ARG, Alice pulled hers up from where it was hanging on her side. Checking it's power and ammo levels out of habit.
"Woolsey? ... Woolsey, come in." Rodney yelled into the radio.
John ran past Alice and hit the rear door button. "Something's wrong." Water dripped in from the top of the ship, but only small amounts. The room was mostly empty, only a few small puddles were dotted around. John stepped out on the ramp glancing around then, turned back to face them. "McKay - you stay here and reprogramme Niam. We're gonna go and meet General O'Neill and Woolsey, alright? We'll wait for your OK!"
He didn't wait for Rodney to answer, he jerked his head and disappeared around the side of the Jumper. Alice moved out, following closely behind him with Ronon on her side.
Now they were back in the city, they moved fast. Even though Alice knew no one had been this far down since they'd discovered the nanovirus a few years ago. But knowing the general layout of the city, it was easy for them to find where the entrance to the Jumper bay was.
But Alice couldn't believe her eyes when they came up to the hatch. Bullet casings littered the floor, and the walls were ridden with small caliber holes. But there was two things that immediately jumped out at her. "No blood, or bodies."
"They have been captured?" Teyla asked.
John crouched down and picked up a casing. "Yeah, looks like."
Alice stifled a groan. "Which means their minds will be probed for information any minute now."
John stood back up and exchanged a grim look with her. He clicked his radio and took a few steps away from the group, his back facing them. "McKay. Fire up that virus."
"I am working as fast as I can." Rodney replied grouchily.
"The Replicators have O'Neill and Woolsey." John's voice was strained.
Rodney sighed. "Unfortunately, that information can't make me work any faster."
Alice watched as John's shoulders slumped, then he turned back to them. He held up his gun towards the centre of the city. "This way."
John took point again. Ronon gestured for her, Teyla and Elizabeth to go ahead of him.
They didn't get far before John held up a fist telling them to stop. Rodney's voice cane through her ear piece. "Stand by. I've got his power levels about as high as I'm comfortable with. I'm gonna try to get him to ..."
Rodney's voice died, John looked back down the line at his team. Alice tapped her ear piece, but nothing was wrong with them.
"McKay? Come in, McKay." John whispered.
"Fall back to the Jumper! We're gonna need a new plan." He sounded terrified.
John looked around, they were close to the base of the main tower. Alice could tell he was hesitant to head back now, but the panic in Rodney's voice was clear. "Alright, head back." He ordered reluctantly.
Alice stayed put as the others moved past her. She held her hand out to touch John's arm as he passed her. "If the replicators really have got O'Neill and Plan A is a no go - then we need to move quickly before the replicators restore critical functions."
John stopped beside her, staring at her intently. "Which is why we need to come up with a new plan, and fast."
Alice grabbed his arm, as he tried to walk past her. "I can slow them down, but not from the Jumper. If i can get to one of the power distributors i can delay them at least another few hours. Trust me we're going to need that time."
"No. We all go back to the Jumper. We can't afford to let them capture anyone else." John said sternly, pulling his arm out of her grip. Alice swallowed, opening her mouth to argue. "Riles. No. I'm not losing you again!" He gestured in front of him, waiting for her to follow the others.
Her heart jumped at his words, so reluctantly she turned away from him and jogged to catch up with the others. The others hadn't gone far before they'd realised John and her weren't with them. John retook the lead as Alice fell in behind Ronon. They were almost back at the jumper bay, when Alice made up her mind. It had already been a good few hours since they'd destroyed the tower and knowing how quickly the replicators worked, they'd have internal sensors up any moment. This part of the city was dark and filled with a nest of different passageways and rooms. All she needed to do was slip into one of them and head back into the city. She knew the city better than anyone, and moving by herself would make it harder for her to get caught. She slowed her pace, putting a bit of distance between her and the group.
Everyone was so focused on getting back to the jumper they didn't notice when she slipped down a passageway and started running.
She estimated it would only take a couple minutes for Ronon to notice she wasn't behind her, and John would know what she was planning. But she needed to do this, they didn't stand a chance if the Asurans got the sensors back online.
Sure enough, within a few minutes John's voice sounded in her ear. "Riles! I told you to head back to the jumper." He was pissed.
She stopped moving, pressing her back up against a wall. Luckily there were no replicators around. "No plan will work if we don't shut down the sensors." She whispered quietly. "Trust me, I'll radio when it's done. Riley out." She turned off her mic and lowered the volume.
She could hear John shouting at her, but she ignored it. Without the others she was able to move even faster within the city. She decided to go for the main power conduit as that would cause the most damage, but it was at the base of the control tower. She doubted it would be unguarded as well. She rounded a corner and slowed her pace. The power room was just up ahead. So far, she hadn't seen any signs of the replicators. The door to the room was closed, but as Alice waved her hand over the controls the doors opened.
She entered the room with her ARG raised. But it was empty. This seemed strange, but maybe the Asuran's shared more traits with the Ancient's than they thought. They had to be arrogant if they didn't think Alice or her team would get here. Swinging the ARG over her shoulder on its strap, she dropped to her knees in front of the main distributor.
If she could cause a catastrophic overload, that should keep the replicators busy and more important offline for a good couple of hours. She set to work, flicking switches and re-routing critical systems. Once she was satisfied she'd channeled enough through a main system, she pulled out her datapad. In order for this to work she'd need to deactivate the failsafe and security measures the city automatically had in place to prevent overloads.
"Riles, come in." Her radio was turned down so low she barely heard John's voice.
"I'm almost done here." She replied in hushed tones.
John let out a small groan. "McKay said to wait, we've got a plan but we need you to shut down the critical systems on his signal."
"So my plan was smart after all." She knew taunting him was the last thing she should do, but she couldn't help it.
"Just be ready." He grunted.
"Alright, standing by." She stopped typing on her datapad. "Could you at least tell me what the plan is?"
"Aly, I need you to listen closely." Rodney had taken the radio off John, or more likely Alice thought John had handed it off to him.
She listened intently to Rodney's plan, and even she had to admit it was impressive and was a solid plan. "Okay, got it. I'll be ready and waiting on your signal. Then i'll meet you at the designated spot."
"Riles. Don't do anything stupid." John almost growled down into the radio.
She bit down on her lip. "I won't." She paused, tapping on her tablet as she thought. "Be safe."
After about 20 minutes Alice started feeling less smug about her plan. The others were now running about Atlantis activating Rodney's plan, whilst she had to stay and wait for the signal. She tapped her foot anxiously on the floor, and lifted her wrist for the hundredth time. They'd gone to radio silence while they moved about the city, to limit the chance of the replicators finding them. But it meant Alice was left waiting with no idea what was happening. She hated being left out of the loop.
A strange sound started vibrating around the room. She stopped moving her leg, staying still to listen. That's when she realised it wasn't just a noise, but the whole floor was vibrating. "What the..." she switched the window on her datapad to connect into the city's main update. "Oh shit..." her hand flew up to her radio. "Rodney, come in. They powering up the stardrive."
"Wait what!" Rodney shrieked into the mic. "Oh this is not good."
"Should i activate now? It'll stop the stardrive." She switched her screen and hovered her finger over the enter key.
"We can't let them take off." She heard John saying in the background of Rodney's mic. Then he must have activated his own radio. "Blow it Riles."
Alice clicked down and all around her sparks flew. The rumbling stopped and alarms and lights started flashing. She stashed her datapad under a floor panel and then swung the ARG off her shoulder into her hands. It wouldn't take the replicators long to trace the issue back to her. "I'm coming to you."
She opened the door and dashed out the room, but heading down the corridor towards her were two replicators. All her instincts told her to aim and pull the trigger, but she couldn't use the ARG. Against all her training she dropped the gun and raised her arms.
The replicators advanced on her pulling the gun off her and painfully twisting her arm around behind her back. She grunted in pain, but relaxed her muscles allowing them to lead her towards the brig.
"Evening General." She said as the replicators tossed her into the cell.
"Nice of you to join us." O'Neill quipped, giving her a sarcastic smile.
"Y'know I hate to miss out on a party." She glared over her shoulder at the replicators, re-adjusting her jacket.
"Oh yes. Nothing better than a good old fashion mind probing." Alice paced forward and took a seat on one of the benches, crossing a leg over the other. O'Neill sighed and joined her. "You got any gum?"
Woolsey looked back and forth between the two of them anxiously. Alice had to admit she enjoyed watching him squirm, their most recent encounter still seemed fresh in her mind. "Will someone please tell me what's going on?"
"Relax Dick. Sit down, put your legs up." O'Neill leaned his head back and closed his eyes.
Alice had always liked the General. She'd been part of the SGC when he was still the team leader of SG-1. He reminded her of John in a lot of ways. They both lived by a certain code that occasionally put them at odds with the uniform they wore. But she couldn't think of anyone she'd rather have leading them.
It wasn't too long before the Replicators came back, this time the forcefield dropped and the guards entered the cell. Alice tensed, they came straight up to her and dragged her to her feet. O'Neill and Woolsey being dragged closely behind her. The replicator was squeezing her arm painfully.
They were lead out and into a neighbouring room, with an identical cell to the one they'd just left. Only this one was filled with her team.
The force field dropped and the guards pushed them the open door. Alice stumbled in, Ronon helping her steady herself.
The lead guard stepped forward in the middle of the doorway. "Did you really think you'd be able to stop us?"
John smiled smugly. "Well, of course we did. Why else would we be here?"
"Colonel? Am I gonna have to fire you?" O'Neill glanced between him and the replicator.
John's smile faded slightly. "No, sir. I think you'll have that to look forward to when we get back."
"I'm afraid your plan has been discovered, Colonel Sheppard. It is over." The guard said. Everyone stopped and stared accusingly at Woolsey.
Woolsey paled, pointing at the guard. "He put his hand in my forehead. How can you resist that?"
"Well, I like to close my eyes and think of England." O'Neill commented snidely.
"Mr Woolsey informed us of everything we need to know. All of your C4 has been removed from the emitters." Another guard stepped forward opening a bag, as if to prove his point the lead guard put his hand in and pulled out a stick of C4. "I'm afraid they won't be destroyed when the Daedalus arrives - which should be in any moment." Alice swallowed tensely. "Your plan has failed."
"Talus. The Daedalus is approaching the planet." An unfamiliar voice called out over the comms system.
Talus almost smiled. "As expected. Activate the shield."
Alice held in her breath, as she waited. They couldn't see or hear the shield activating, but the effect it had was almost instantaneous. One second Talus and the other replicator guards were standing offensively infront of them. And the next they'd been broken down into their base cells.
"Ha! It worked! I can't believe it worked!" Rodney shrieked in joy.
"Rodney - amazing." Elizabeth clapped him on his shoulder.
Alice exhaled. "I have to say Rodney, this might have just been your best plans ever."
Rodney cleared his throat, trying to put on a calm and cool facade. "Well, it was a group effort."
John picked up the bag of C4 the replicator had dropped and tossed it to Rodney. "Good old Plan D - works every time." He gestured to Ronon. "You guys stay here a sec." The two of them ran out of the cell.
"Excuse me, but what just happened?" Woolsey's voice sounded like it was trembling slightly. Alice turned to see him staring wide-eyed at the Replicator cells.
"We turned the shield into a giant Replicator weapon." Rodney grinned.
O'Neill clapped his hand and pointed at him. "I knew that!"
"You knew?" Woolsey stared at the General incredulously.
O'Neill shrugged. "Well, I've seen Carter crack enough codes to know that McKay was faking the door thing."
"He was? I bought it completely." Woolsey blanched.
Alice smirked. "I think that was the point."
"Wait a minute - you ... you used me?"
"You're alive - and you're welcome." Carson said calmly, all signs of his former panic had vanished from the doctor. But the lines under his eyes showed the lingering strain.
Ronon strode back in. "Hey, we're clear."
Elizabeth nodded moving for the door. "OK, we've gotta get to the Control Room and contact the Daedalus."
"On it." Alice raced forward, following quickly after Ronon. Out of the two people on the team who could quickly access the system, she was definitely the quicker runner.
She kept on the back of Ronon's heels, running at her top speed through the halls, grabbing the corners of walls to propel herself around bends. Soon enough they were leaping up the steps to the control room. John was already there bashing the panel - his attempt to open a comms channel.
Breathing heavy and sweat beading on her forehead she pushed him aside. "Move." She managed to wheeze out. She typed quickly, accessing the short range systems.
It only took her a few seconds, then she looked up and nodded at John. He entered his authentication code and they waited in tense silence. The rest of the team jogged into the room, anxiously glancing at John. Alice chewed on her bottom lip. Part of her mind was screaming that thy weren't going to buy it. John's authentication code would have been locked out already.
"Colonel, I'd like to believe this is you."
The team all breathed out a collective sigh of relief.
"Well, it is. Authentication code Alpha Delta Charlie Niner Six." John wiped his forehead with the back of his sleeve.
"That code is no longer valid, Colonel." Caldwell said matter of factly.
"Hey, Caldwell. General Jack O'Neill here. That valid enough for you?" O'Neill snapped.
"You may have been compromised, sir." Alice could hear the conflict in Caldwell's voice. In spite of all the conflicts and clashes they'd had in the past, Alice knew he would be just as reluctant to destroy Atlantis as the rest of them.
"We're lowering the city's shields, Steven." Elizabeth gestured to Alice, who quickly started pushing buttons to comply with her order. "You can send a team to come check us out if you need to. We'll explain everything."
—
Before she knew it, Alice was sitting in the infirmary with hazmat clad Daedalus medical personnel, having blood drawn. She winced as the medic pulled the needle out. He pressed a small cotton ball on the spot and she pulled her arm up crushing it between her skin.
"It shouldn't take more than a few minutes to clear you." The medic said, his voice muffled by his helmet.
Alice just nodded. The medic took the blood samples away to a small table where another doctor was staring under a microscope.
Around her the rest of her team were in similar positions. Each sat on a different bed with a medic attending them. Alice felt her eyes drawn towards one bed in particular. John was twitching his foot against the bed, his arm held up the same as hers. But he was leaning back on the other arm, with his head hanging back and his eyes closed. A rush of emotions flooded Alice's system. The threat was over, they'd been able to rid the city of the replicators. But that didn't mean he - or the others - would be staying.
This could simply be just another goodbye. He raised his head back up, immediately Alice turned back to face away. Heat rising in her cheeks as she realised she'd just been caught staring at him. She wondered if he was thinking the same thing or if there was even a slim chance now the Ancient's were gone the expedition would return.
The medic walked back over to her. "Okay, you're all clear." She pulled her jacket on and headed out the door past John and the others, keeping her eyes trained on the floor. She found herself wandering the barren familiar hallways of the city. It felt like a lifetime had passed since they'd occupied the city, despite it being only a few months. The ancients had outfitted the rooms with furniture from their ship or bits and pieces the expedition had moved into storage.
She ended up at the door of her old quarters. Alice lifted her hand up and waved it over the panel, like she had done a hundred times before. But instead of walking into a warm space filled with her personal items and mementos, it was empty and barren. Seeing it like that made her chest constrict. She'd spent so much time over the past fews trying not to think about what she'd lost, what she missed. But now it was staring her in the face. She couldn't bring herself to cross the threshold into her old room.
"Aly! We need you in the control room now." Rodney said urgently, though he didn't sound panicked, more like excited.
She inhaled and turned on her heel, walking towards the control room. When she walked up the stairs everyone was already gathered there, from John to Caldwell. They all shared similar confused expression, all except Elizabeth and Rodney.
"Okay she's here." Rodney said quickly, then proceeded to hush everyone.
Elizabeth squeezed her hands together then smiled. "General O'Neill and Mr Woolsey have just left on a Jumper back to Earth. I wanted to tell you all before it's announced officially, but..." she let her words linger in the air. "The expedition will be returning to Atlantis."
A series of gasps, exclamations and laughs rippled through them. But Alice felt like she'd just been hit by a truck. "What!?" She managed to cry out. "Everyone? When?"
"The General will be informing the SGC as soon as he's back. We should have key personnel and equipment returning within the next few hours." Elizabeth was grinning widely. "The Daedalus will be standing by to support us."
Alice couldn't believe it. After five months they were finally coming back, it felt too good to be true. She almost felt like she was dreaming, then she caught John's eye. The pain, loss and guilt came tearing through her system it was enough to know it wasn't a dream.
She knew she needed to talk to him, but by the time she'd started to work up the courage to walk over to him, Elizabeth cleared her throat. "I know we all want to celebrate, but we have people inbound and I need a full damage and status on the city and its systems. There will be time to celebrate later." She kept her face neutral but a small smile tugged on the corners of her mouth. "Colonel Sheppard, a word please."
And Alice's chance blew past. John and Elizabeth headed for her old office and before she knew it she was back down in the power distribution centre trying to fix the damage she'd done.