Chapter Seven – New Abilities
John's eyes flew open at the loss of the physical and mental contact with Alora. He looked up and saw the tears falling from her closed eyes.
"Are you alright?" John asked as he reached out to touch her shoulder.
Alora looked up at him and said sadly, "We never got to go on that trip, the accident was two days later."
John pulled her into an embrace and whispered, "Thank you for sharing that with me, I know how painful it was."
"He loved you so much," Alora said.
"And so did you," John said, "I know that now… mom."
Alora pulled back and said with a hint of a smile, "It's been a long time since you've called me that."
"Too long," John said, "Now, tell me more about you."
For the next two hours Alora told John the story of her life, the highlights anyway, 262 years was a lot to cover. He asked a few questions and Alora was completely honest with him. The only things she refused to discuss were those related to her time ascended.
"How did you die?" John asked, "The first time."
"I was on the receiving end of a ribbon device," Alora answered.
"Ford told me about those once, that's not a nice experience," John said.
"No, it's not, but the slaves I was trying to free made it out ok," Alora said with a smile, "And I was tired."
"Well, yeah, after 262 years the body is pretty worn out," John said.
"With the device we had, physically I was only 55 years old," Alora said. "But 262 years is a long time to be alive."
"But weren't you still 'alive' when you ascended?" John asked.
"Yes, but it was like being born all over again, there was so much more to the universe," Alora answered, "It took me a long time to even get used to it."
Suddenly the city wide communication system came on and Rodney's voice sounded throughout the room.
"Alora to the ZPM lab, Alora to the ZPM lab immediately," the urgency in his voice was unmistakable.
"On my way," Alora said into her headset as she and John took off for the lab.
When they arrived the lab was a flurry of activity.
"What's going on?" John demanded.
"We've got an uncontrolled buildup of energy in one of the ZPM crystals." Rodney yelled from across the room, "If we can't stop the build up it's going to explode."
"John, get a jumper and meet me outside the balcony at the end of the corridor," Alora ordered as she stepped across the room to the worktable.
John didn't hesitate and ran straight for the jumper bay. In the meantime Alora began dismantling the partially completed ZPM. After a couple of minutes she had the overcharged crystal separated from the rest and ran from the lab. Dr. McKay and Dr. Weir followed Alora down the corridor and out onto the balcony. The puddlejumper had just pulled up next to the balcony.
"Turn it around and drop the rear hatch," Alora said to John's mind.
John followed her silent directions as Alora sat on the railing and swung her legs over the side, the crystal tightly clutched in her hand. He looked over his shoulder and seeing Alora sitting on the railing moved closer. When he got close enough Alora leaped onto the lowered hatch, tucked and rolled into the back of the jumper.
"Make for the south polar sea," Alora ordered as she stood up.
John took off before the rear hatch even closed while Dr. Weir and Dr. McKay looked on.
"What happens if that crystal blows up inside the jumper?" Dr. Weir asked as she turned to look at Dr. McKay.
Rodney didn't have to answer, the look on his face told her enough.
"What are we doing?" John asked from the pilot's seat.
"The explosion's going to be big, we need to be far enough away from Atlantis and the mainland," Alora said from just behind his seat. "When we get within 25 miles slow down and drop the rear hatch."
"Coming up on the target area," John said a few minutes later.
Alora made her way to the back of the jumper and held on to one of the overhead bars.
"Dropping the hatch," John called from the front.
As soon as the hatch was low enough, Alora threw the crystal as far as she could. Before she could yell to John to close the hatch, the crystal exploded and the shockwave quickly caught up with the jumper. The ship violently lurched forward and Alora was thrown to the floor. John fought with the controls for a moment before he was able to bring the ship level again.
"Are you alright?" John asked as Alora came up front and took the co-pilot's seat.
"Yeah," Alora said with pain evident in her voice.
John looked over and noticed a small cut above her left eye that was bleeding freely. He then saw that her left hand was cradling her upturned right hand that was red and blistered as if it had been burned.
"Oh crap," John said quietly then activated the radio, "This is Jumper One, come in Atlantis."
"This is Atlantis. What happened Colonel? We detected a large explosion over the southern pole," Dr. Weir's voice came back.
"We were able to dispose of the crystal before it overloaded by Alora's been hurt. We're on our way back, have Beckett and a team meet us in the jumper bay," John said.
"What are the nature of her injuries Colonel?" Dr. Beckett asked over the radio.
"Her right hand is severely burned and she has a cut above her left eye that's bleeding. I think she hit her head when the explosion rocked the jumper." Shepherd answered.
"Is she conscious?" Beckett asked.
"I'm right here," Alora said with a touch of exasperation in her voice.
"We'll be landing in a few minutes," Shepherd said.
Less than ten minutes later the jumper was descending through the upper bay door. As John brought the ship to land, Dr. Beckett and his team approached with a gurney. John led Alora out of the jumper as she continued to cradle her burned hand.
"I don't think so," Alora said indignantly when she saw the gurney, "I am perfectly capable of getting to the infirmary on my own."
"You may have a concussion," Dr. Beckett argued.
"No, I don't, as it is the injuries I have will be healed by tomorrow," Alora said, "Just clean and bandage my hand and the cut. Then I am going to bed."
"Very well, c'mon," Dr. Beckett said as he motioned for Alora to follow him.
Several minutes later Alora emerged from the infirmary and headed for her quarters. She had just entered when there was a knock at the door. Alora 'listened' with her mind and realizing who it was smiled.
"Come in," she called.
The doors slid open and John walked in, "I wanted to see if you were ok."
"I'm fine, and like I told Carson, by tomorrow there won't even be a trace of damage," Alora explained.
"Do you have to wait until tomorrow?" John asked.
"What do you mean?" Alora asked curiously.
"Well, I was just thinking that if you have the ability to heal others, and half of me is made up of you, maybe I could heal you," John explained.
Alora smiled and said, "It is an ability you have, but you are not familiar with it and it can take a serious toll on the body, even for those experienced with it."
"Let me at least try, I'll stop if I start to feel weak," John pleaded.
Alora sighed recognizing that she wasn't going to hear the end of this until she agreed.
"Alright, take a seat on the floor." Alora said as she sat down cross-legged on the floor.
John sat down in front of her and asked, "Any tips before I start?"
"We'll just focus on the cut, just clear your mind and focus on the end result rather than the actual healing process," Alora said as she removed the butterfly bandages from her forehead.
John reach up and held his open hand over the cut then closed his eyes and took a deep breath. After a few moments Alora could feel the warmth from his hand and closed her own eyes. She concentrated on what was happening within her own body and a smile spread across her face as she could feel the tissue being repaired. The cut was just about completely repaired when John's hand suddenly dropped.
Alora opened her eyes and asked concerned, "How do you feel?"
"A little tired, how bout you?" John responded.
"Almost as good as new, you did very well," she answered with pride, "But now you need to get some rest."
Alora got up off the floor and helped John up. Seeing that he was slightly unsteady on his feet, Alora helped John out the door and down the corridor to his own quarters. Once inside John practically collapsed on the bed. Alora smiled down at her son remembering him as a little boy. As he was already in just a t-shirt, pants and boots, Alora removed his boots before pulling the blanket up over him. Sound asleep, John didn't even acknowledge her touch when she leaned down and kissed him on the forehead.