Title: Out of Control
Author: SlayersGrl
Summary: A routine trading mission goes awry when a member
of Atlantis's flagship team is taken hostage by a mysterious entity.
Author's note: Thanks for all the positive encouragement I've received while writing this fic! I get so excited to see those review alerts in my mailbox! But all good things must come to an end… Hope you enjoy it!
Chapter 10: What a Day…
The inhabitants of the briefing room had been stunned to see Sheppard fall forward over the table. Teyla quickly rushed over to him. "He's still alive," she announced after finding a steady pulse. "He appears to be merely unconscious."
"You think they're talking to each other?" McKay asked while watching Ford and Teyla lower the major's body to a prone position on the floor. Ford then removed his jacket and placed it under his C.O.'s head.
"Let's hope so…" Weir replied. She didn't even want to consider what else the entity could be doing to him. Then she reached for the com link and asked Dr. Beckett to come to the briefing room.
A frustrating twenty minutes passed in silence. The doctor had showed up minutes after being paged. But after a brief examination, he agreed with Teyla's initial assessment. The major was just unconscious. There didn't appear to be anything else wrong with him at the moment, aside from the entity inhabiting his body.
Finally, the figure on the floor began to stir. He slowly opened his eyes, blinking rapidly to clear away the sudden brightness. Then he pushed himself up into a sitting position.
"Are you alright Major?" Dr. Beckett asked.
He simply nodded his head and shifted his gaze to the floor.
"And the entity?" McKay added.
"I'm still here," it replied. The sudden shift in the atmosphere of the room was unmistakable. Ford and Teyla immediately gripped their weapons while everyone else took a few steps back. Kellan sighed. It was unfortunate that things had to turn out this way, but he knew what he had to do.
He turned to the current leader of Atlantis. "If it means anything to you, I am sorry." Then he took one step towards the door leading to the control room.
Ford immediately moved to block his path. "We won't let you take him."
"I know," it replied. Then it took another step forward.
"Don't make me do this…" Ford pleaded. But his hand never moved from the trigger.
"As I have said before, Lieutenant, you do what you have to do. As will I."
The major was only a few feet away from Ford when a shot rang out. Ford looked over and was shocked to see that it was Teyla who had fired. But he was even more shocked to see Major Sheppard still standing.
"He has some sort of shield!" Teyla exclaimed. "The bullet bounced right off!"
The lieutenant didn't have a chance to contemplate this new development because the entity had decided to rush him at that moment. He had barely raised his hands in defense when he felt himself slam into something solid behind him, which he assumed was the heavy metal door. The wind was knocked out of him and he slid to the floor in a heap. Briefly, he noticed that the major had continued past him and was running towards the DHD.
The control room staff had been surprised to hear a shot ring out from behind the closed doors of the briefing room. Then a moment later, Major Sheppard came bursting out and raced towards the panel to activate the Stargate. The security personnel immediately raised their weapons but they hesitated to fire on one of their own.
Kellan took their hesitation as an opportunity to begin the dialing sequence. He had gotten to the third chevron when Dr. Weir's voice rang out over the control room.
"Don't shoot!" Then she took a few steps towards the major as he pressed the last chevron. The Stargate came to life in an explosion of energy before settling back into the smooth flow of the event horizon. "Please, don't do this. We can still work something out," she pleaded, hoping by some miracle that she would be able to talk some sense into this thing.
"I have to do this," it replied before heading towards the stairs. After a quick glance at Weir, security reluctantly let him pass but still kept their P-90s trained on him. She quickly followed and they stopped just in front of the active wormhole.
It then turned to look at her. "How much does he mean to you?"
"What?" she asked.
"How much does Major Sheppard mean to you?" it repeated.
"Major Sheppard is an integral part of this base. He…"
"I don't want your answer as the leader of Atlantis. I want your answer as his friend."
She sighed and nodded her head. "He is a good man, someone I consider a very close friend. He cares deeply about others, even if it he doesn't show it all the time. John values the safety and happiness of others over his own life. I couldn't imagine Atlantis without him."
"Neither could I, Dr. Weir. I could not bear to separate a man from his family. I just had to make sure his family felt the same way about him."
A blue light enveloped him, steadily growing in intensity. Then it lifted away to form a glowing orb hovering above him. The major, now unconscious for the third time that day, slowly leaned forward and Elizabeth rushed to grab him to prevent him from slamming head first onto the hard floor. She gently lowered him down until he lay with his head in her lap. Then she looked up at the blue light. She was overcome with an intense feeling of peace before the being flew into the event horizon to begin a journey on its own.
"Thank you," Elizabeth whispered as she slowly stood to relinquish the major to the capable hands of Dr. Beckett and his staff. She felt the other three members of his team come stand next to her.
"What a day, huh?" Rodney stated, relieved that this whole mess was finally over.
"You can say that again…" Ford replied.
> > > > > > > > > > > > > >
AN: Alright, so there's maybe a hint of Shep/Weir at the end… But that's about as shippy as it's gonna get. There's a small epilogue to this, but then it's done. I have an idea for another story, but it's somewhat more complicated than this one. I'm still working out the details…