Author's Note: Another Atlantis story! Hope you guys enjoy! The prologue is sort of general, but, hey, it's a prologue lol. Praise and constructive criticism welcomed!
Updates: At the moment, I've completed Chapters 1-7, so I will update every 4-7 days (somewhere in between there). If anyone is willing to beta, help would be much appreciated!
Disclaimer: I do not own "Stargate Atlantis" or any of the characters. I do own the plot and whatnot (like everyone is pining to steal it...)
Distribution: Here; once completed it'll be on "What If?" w/banners and on Microsoft Word format.
Pairing(s): McWeir, Sheyla, remnants of Simon/Elizabeth
Timeline: Four years after they 'gated to Atlantis.

All they had thought about in the beginning was coming home. How long would it be, they wondered, before they could once again see their homes? How long until they could see family again? Questions rang through their heads nonstop. All of the expedition members had agreed to come, yes, but that didn't mean that they didn't long for a chance to be on Earth once more. Tantalizing had been the taste of Earth they'd gotten so long ago, only to realize it was simply an act.

But now, four years later, they had established a wormhole with Earth. The dreams of a homecoming had been so far and few between since the first year. A shock went through the expedition. Now, with the new technology that Earth had obtained, they could go back. Earth, the place they had so longed to return to, was only a step away.

All of Atlantis had been ordered to go back to Earth by the new powers-that-be. A review of the expedition was being prepared for. None of them were fools. They knew that they would not be coming back to Atlantis for a very long time. So much of what they had done to preserve their colony had been against the laws of Earth that it would be political suicide to allow their return.

Four years ago, all of Atlantis would have accepted the command to return to Earth—even indefinitely—with open arms. Yet, now, it seemed as if fate had robbed them. They'd built up the idea of returning to Earth so much it felt uneventful now. The expedition packed their bags with few words. They would return, not with hearts swelling with good memories and happiness at seeing Earth again, but with memories that turned bittersweet in their hearts, knowing that they would no longer have anymore memories of Atlantis. It felt like betrayal: that the memories would eventually fade away and slip their minds. Everyone they had met—it would be impossible to stay in connection with them all. Where would they go? To see their loved ones, yes, but afterward? Looking into the future filled them with emptiness. There was no more purpose for their lives.

What was it all for? Everything that they risked, everything that had been lost? There would be no benefit from this expedition for Earth. If they could just stay—just a few more years…! But it would not happen. Atlantis would be no longer. The jumpers would be shipped by SGC personnel, their hands impersonal as they shipped away the very ships that had saved each member of the expedition more than once. After anything useful was collected, Atlantis would be left. The lights would dim until darkness settled over the place. Atlantis, once the majestic home of the Ancients, would fade with the lights. It was an unfair ending for a place so great.

The new general of the SGC wanted all of the expedition back within a week—and all of the days would be needed. Memories of the last few years brought nearly everyone taking mindless walks to the places within Atlantis that felt so dear. Their soulful feet brought them before the people that had inspired them. An air of understanding wrapped around the blanket of sullenness that fell on Atlantis. Jumpers flew constantly between the mainland and Atlantis as the expedition members said tearful goodbyes to the Athosians, who had collectively chosen to stay. People who didn't even know each other said their own farewells with tight hugs and well wishes.

Their return to Earth, the joyful occasion they'd all envisioned it as, was merely an image; a fake. That was the one word that described it all: fake. Fake were the dreams of happiness, fake were the illusions of free travel between Earth and Atlantis; having the best of both worlds. Nothing was real but the anguish and sorrow that filled the deepest corners of their hearts. Sure, they wanted to see their loved ones, but it didn't seem so important now as it did back then.

In fact, nothing seemed as important as Atlantis. It had been a saying created long before their time—you don't know what you have until you've lost it. Long sighs escaped their lips as they soaked in every detail of the last days they had until they were forced to leave. Whoever had put that concept into words was wiser than anyone they had come across. Atlantis had seemed like a gift and a curse but now, with the promise of no return, it gleamed like a diamond in the rough. The mere thought of the predicament they now found themselves in had never occurred to anyone. Why would they ever consider the thought that Atlantis would be dearer to them than home?

Home, as they realized mournfully as the hours on Atlantis ticked away, was not Earth. No one was going home—they were leaving. As far as everyone was concerned…

…Atlantis was home.