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Chapter 8

The Mystery of a Man

"I can't believe he's gone." Lieutenant Ford was sitting on a gurney in the infirmary. McKay was stretched out on a bed with an IV to his side; and Teyla was in a chair close to Ford but at the end of the bed.

"When someone you love dies they are never truly gone." Teyla spoke, repeating words she had been told every time the wraith culled her people. She hadn't believed it then and now she fought to understand.

McKay wrinkled his face, "Platitudes. Death is death."

Ford was rolling a piece of lint from the bedcover. He threw it down in disgust, "This sucks."

"Yes, this...sucks." Teyla agreed, the word awkward to her but seeming to fit the situation.

The conversation drifted into a quiet pause, no one knowing exactly what to say. It wasn't long before they were interrupted by Doctor Weir's arrival, with Beckett in tow.

"He'll be all right. It's more a precaution than a need." Beckett was informing Elizabeth, who nodded her head distractedly.

"A precaution? You're keeping me here with this needle stuck in me for a precaution?" McKay narrowed his eyes at Beckett, "You told me..."

Beckett held a hand up, "I told you that you needed rest, and you were dehydrated and let's not forget we need to make certain the cure holds."

Ford gave McKay a friendly punch on the arm, reaching across the gap between beds, "Hey, it could be worse, you could be..." He didn't finish his sentence. Ford did a mental slap, a stupid slip of the tongue and he'd brought it all back.

"Dead?" McKay finished softly.

"Yeah, dead." Ford muttered.

They were interrupted again, but this time by the Atlantis operator Grodin, his voice crackling across the intercom, "Doctor Weir, we have an incoming wormhole."

Elizabeth frowned, "All the teams are in."

"Yes Doctor. I think you should come here." Peter paused, "Now."

Weir, Ford and Teyla breached the deck above the Stargate in a rush. Something had compelled the mobile remnants of Sheppard's team to accompany Weir. What they saw made no sense. Major Sheppard was standing in front of the gate.

"Major!" Lieutenant Ford cried, starting forward.

Weir stepped forward, intercepting his progress "Ford, don't."

Ford looked at Weir, confused. "He needs help."

They could tell by appearances that Sheppard was in bad shape. His hair was slicked with blood and sweat, his uniform damp and torn. He was pale and sickly. And he shouldn't be there.

"He was dead Ford. You said it yourself. We don't know who...or what...this is." Weir explained.

"You must help him." Teyla insisted, alarmed at the thought of doing nothing. For all she could see, their friend and leader had returned, and in dire need of help.

Elizabeth signaled for Grodin, "Get Beckett up here. Clear the gateroom." Sheppard was still sick and though Beckett had found a vaccine, it was of limited supply. She could only hope this really was Sheppard.

She stepped towards the man gingerly, afraid of making sudden movements; afraid of finding out this wasn't him. "Major Sheppard?" She called.

He didn't respond but continued to stand wearily in front of the gate, his eyes lidded and barely open.

"John...is it you?" She asked again, coming within an arm's reach. Unable to resist, she held a hand out, touching him lightly, "John?"

He jerked back, stumbling. "Where am I?"

Elizabeth made a decision, in that moment, when the man before her sounded so lost and hurt. "You're home John." She smiled, more confident. It felt right. "You're home."

Doctor Weir was pacing in her office. She felt wrung out. When she had sent Sheppard's team out she should've known events would quickly get out of control. It had been close this time. Close to losing someone she had come to care about a great deal. Sheppard, Teyla, McKay and Ford had created a unique team and it was one she was growing increasingly fond of. She hated being in a position of sending them out to face who knows what, and never knowing when the day would come when she'd have to face one or more of them being gone. She'd thought this had been the day.

A knock on the door drew her from the melancholy thoughts. She turned around to see Beckett eyeing her shrewdly. "Good news I hope Carson." She said lightly.

"Yes." Carson smiled briefly, "And no."

She stared at him intently, "Is it him?"

"All the tests confirm it is Major Sheppard." Beckett found a chair and sunk into it, "It's him or I'm no laddie in a kilt."

Weir smiled at the Scotsman's reference to his heritage. "How's he doing?"

"He'll recover, which is more than we could've hoped for hours ago." Beckett shifted. He really did ache from the exhaustion threatening to overwhelm him, "I gave him the vaccine and we are treating the damage left by the virus."

Elizabeth perched on the corner of her desk, "What about the cave-in? The explosion? If he survived, shouldn't he have injuries associated with that trauma?"

Beckett shook his head, "Don't expect me to explain it, I can't. The Major does have some blunt force trauma, but probably from what happened initially, mostly cuts from the falling ice shards."

Weir was at a loss. "How...how is this even possible? He should be dead, nothing more than a corpse buried under so much rubble as to never see the light of day." She stood, turning away from Beckett, her thumb against her lip, "How?"

Carson wished he did have an answer, but the fact was the only one who could explain was lying in the infirmary, drugged and asleep. "I don't know." He considered his next words carefully, "There are many things we don't know about the Ancient's and their technology. We know that the Major has an uncommon ability with their systems, activating devices without thought or effort."

Elizabeth faced Carson; "You think he did this without knowing? A kind of fail-safe built into the outpost?"

"It's possible."

Elizabeth laughed, but it had an edge to it. "I'm beginning to understand just how possible the impossible is anymore."

Carson stood, and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Come see him soon. It'll help." He withdrew his hand and headed towards the door.

"I will." He heard her reply but kept walking.