Conduit

McKay wakes with a pounding headache; except the pounding seems to be coming from outside his head. He opens his eyes and hears it again. Someone hitting his door hard enough to shake Atlantis to the core. "All right already. I'm up."

Pulling himself off the bed, he slides over the smooth floor in his socks. Warm feet on a cold morning floor are worse than…well, someone pounding on his door in the middle of the night. But not much worse. "McKay!"

Rodney sighs. Sheppard. Should've known. Rodney hits the control panel that unlocks his room and Sheppard stomps inside.

"Do you realize you woke me up from a very good dream?" Rodney says. "There were these blondes, hundreds of them. Long, medium, short hair. Lots of 'em with short hair, dancing naked around me. Let me just say that again," he holds up his hands to emphasize the next part. "Dancing naked. Around me." He points his finger. "And they were naked. All of them!"

"McKay."

"What terrible midnight drama could you possibly be having, requiring my attention that could compare with that? Naked. Blondes. Dancing!"

"Rodney!"

Rodney jumps at the sharp tone. Not that Sheppard doesn't use it frequently, but he also has a strange…possibly deranged look on his face as well. Rodney crosses his arms over his chest, tilts his head back and looks down his nose at the crazy military man. Fine. See what he has to say.

"Ashri needs me."

Rodney sighs. Here we go again. "Major-" Sheppard raises a cocky brow. "So sorry. Lt. Colonel. You've had a bad dream. Warm up some powdered milk in water, take two aspirin and call Dr. Beckett in the morning." He motions for Sheppard to leave. "The real morning. You know when the sun is actually in the sky. Ba-bye."

Sheppard drops onto the edge of Rodney's bed – indicating he isn't going anywhere – and leans forward with his elbows on his knees. Rodney recognizes the defeated look. He's seen it several times over the past year and a half.

"It wasn't a dream." He lifts his gaze to meet Rodney's dead on. "She needs my help."

"And what would you like me to do about it?"

"I have to go to Luminance."

"At this moment? Weir would kill you first. Caldwell would love a chance at throwing your butt in the brig. Would be fun if we still had a wraith down there. You know, a kind of poor man's WWF in Atlantis. But no…you already killed the two we had in custody."

"I didn't kill Steve…just Bob."

"Fine…whatever you tell yourself so you can sleep at night. Oh, wait, that must not be working because you're not asleep and hey. Neither am I anymore!"

"Tell me how I get to Luminance and back again without bringing in the virus; so I can convince Dr. Weir."

Rodney leans against the wall as he thinks about how to tell Sheppard he already figured it out months ago, but Dr. Weir told him to keep the information to himself. He didn't understand why and still doesn't. Not much makes sense when it comes to Luminance and Dr. Weir. Even Carson seems to have issues on the topic.

Something between Weir and Carson has been very off since Ashri's all-to-brief visit and sudden departure. It all revolves around Sheppard, of course, as usual. The man doesn't know how to keep out of some kind of trouble or other. Ever since that day, neither Weir nor Carson seem able to look Sheppard in the eyes. He must have noticed. Then again, maybe he hasn't…being Sheppard and all.

Rodney dislikes secrets. It's one of the reasons he can't stand the military. Too many secrets. That and never getting published. He'd be a millionaire back on Earth if he'd been permitted to publish all his findings. But no…he'd signed hundreds upon hundreds of confidentiality agreements just to keep doing the work he loved. Man! Blonde…blonde…bbbbbbblondes…

Where was he again? Oh, yeah, Sheppard. "Well, I have an idea that could work." Sheppard perks up immediately. "Dr. Weir is reluctant to dial into Luminance – since she's unwilling to accept my theory that the virus can only travel through an incoming wormhole – you'll have to use another planet as a conduit. Say M4X-337."

"The wasteland?"

"Exactly. Only that shadow creature lives there. Oh, hey…if the virus grabbed hold of that…wow what a show, huh? I mean, that thing is all energy. I wonder if it would turn into a big puddle of mush or something."

"I'd rather not get stuck there with that thing. If anything went wrong."

"Why would anything go wrong?"

"Maybe because it's one of your plans."

Rodney snickers. "Name one of my plans that didn't eventually work out."

"How 'bout the flooding of Atlantis and everyone dying."

"Uh, hello, another Rodney in a different timeline. Doesn't count."

"There's always the adventure of the personal shield."

Rodney narrows his eyes, his upper lip twitches and he groans. "In the end that worked just fine. Anyway. There are plenty of other planets out there that have no civilization or anything of value to damage. Like M2Z-452…not even bugs live there."

"The desert one…right. So, how long would I have to stay?"

"Given that you can't contract the virus and once the gate has shutdown there's no energy to feed on, two hours should do it."

"And you can convince Weir."

"What…you said…" Sheppard raises his puppy dog brows and Rodney groans, he's just as bad as Elizabeth when it comes to those looks. "Oh, all right. You big baby."

Sheppard smiles and heads out. "First thing in the morning." He turns back to Rodney before the door closes. "The real morning."

Rodney hits the control pad and the door swishes closed. Convincing Weir isn't going to be the hard part. Keeping Sheppard from killing him once he knows the truth was withheld? That might be impossible.

John considers returning to bed, but his mind refuses to shut down. He wouldn't even care if the dream returns. Just the thought of seeing her again, after all this time…he aches for her, longs to hold her close, have her mind touch his once more. A thrilling tingle rushes his spine as he remembers the time their minds linked as they made love. The intensity…John reluctantly shakes off the memory before it takes hold of him.

It seems so easy. Use a conduit. Why hadn't he thought of it sooner? Why hadn't McKay thought of it sooner? Maybe because it is so easy they over-looked the whole idea. But that doesn't matter now. He has an opportunity here; he isn't going to let it slide.

Even if Ashri can't live on Atlantis…now he can visit. Possibly on a regular basis. And not just him. If the storms have lightened up, perhaps McKay and a group of the other scientists with the gene could go and do some research…maybe look for some more ZPM's in the ruins of the old city. Ashri would never be alone again. He'll never get back to sleep; he doesn't want to lose the excitement coursing through his body.

Still, his gut tightens. Her plea for help managed to find him so far away. If it had been possible for her to connect to him all this time, why hadn't she done it sooner? Why the long silence?

Or had it been silence? The whole time she healed him on Luminance, she visited his memories, watched him interact with the people in his life – or his version of them. Maybe the daily dreams haven't been his manifestation. Maybe they're being sent. Shared even?

Back on Luminance when he first came to, he found her gazing at him the same way she did in the dreams: unrestrained love. And since she had been inside his head, she knew all about him…and still looked at him that way. That amazed him.

And the way she gave of herself. Willing to die in order to save a complete stranger. He'll never forget what she did for him. How she pulled him into the cavern and brought him back from the dead. Literally. His brain and heart had been fried by the lightning strike. And she risked her life, by sharing her strength, her energy, with him. He tried to forget what he did next to drive her away. She almost got herself killed by lightning because of how he treated her.

Death by lightning. Not something John would recommend. Unless someone like Ashri lived nearby to fix the damage. Only one problem, there isn't anyone else like her. Not only the last of the Luminaté, but also a seeming hybrid of Wraith and Luminaté DNA. He doesn't even know her true age, not that it matters.

Sitting on the window seat in his small room, he looks over the ocean and up at the star-filled sky, picturing Ashri's beautiful face.

The blaring intruder alarm jars him out of the reverie. John grabs his gear and races to the gate room. Night patrol soldiers take their posts with weapons ready, aiming at the gate as someone off-world tries to establish a connection.

"Shield," Dr. Elizabeth Weir says, coming out of her office as John makes it to the control room. He glances at her, seeing the familiar red shirt with blue sides, the same thing she'd been wearing when he turned in hours ago. Doesn't she ever sleep?

The shield bars the wormhole from forming, not letting in anyone without the proper identification code or IDC. "We don't have anyone off-world. Who is it?" Dr. Weir asks sharply.

"One moment," the woman monitoring the computer says. "Ma'am…it's-" the woman glances at John. "The Colonel's IDC."

John looks at the computer then at Weir, whose brows practically jump off her forehead when she says: "What?"

The woman stammers. "Actually, it's the Major's IDC…the old one."

Weir's gaze on him shifts to one of disappointment. "Really." She doesn't pull her eyes from his when she asks the next question. She probably suspects the answer. "Where's it coming from?"

Before the woman can say anything a loud boom hits the shield then a pause follows by two more booms. Weir's breath catches and she turns to the gate then toward Sheppard with worry wrinkling her brows. "That wasn't…what was that?"

"It's coming from the planet Luminance, ma'am."

"Yeah, yeah," she waves a hand. "What just hit the shield?"

"Rocks," John says.

Weir nails him with that sharp gaze. "Rocks?"

John nods, trying not to grin. "A signal. Bam…bam-bam."

Elizabeth isn't amused. "Flintstones?"

John manages to hold his smile back. "9-1-1."

Elizabeth sighs heavily. "I see." She moves to his shoulder and glares at him. "Colonel…a moment. My office." John bows his head and backs up then turns to follow. She closes the door as he comes in. He doesn't sit. "John-"

"Don't start. You had to know I wouldn't leave her like that without a lifeline."

"You can't go back."

"Don't give me that shit. After all this time, do you really think she'd take the chance of dialing in if it wasn't an emergency? She's been alone, knowing there are people out here who accept her…love her…and she's kept silent." He returns her glare. "For our sake."

"I realize it's been hard-"

"Damn near impossible, actually. And I haven't asked for much. But now I'm telling you…I have to go back."

"It's too dangerous."

"McKay doesn't think so."

Elizabeth's eyes narrow. "McKay doesn't?"

"Rodney came up with a way for me to go and come back without endangering Atlantis one bit."

Her stern expression wavers and her eyes drop from his. "I see," she says coolly. "What exactly did he say?"

"I can use M2Z-452 as a conduit. On the return trip" - he shrugs - "I have a two hour lay-over. I'll pack light."

"You have a mission briefing in six hours."

John nods. "If I go now, I'll be back in time."

Elizabeth drops into her chair. She still refuses to meet his gaze. "Go."

John's heart beats faster. She said go. All the months of being pissed at her evaporate immediately and he grins. "Thank you." Elizabeth nods, but says nothing. He bows his head slightly again then turns to leave.

"Take Dr. Beckett," she adds quietly.

John looks over his shoulder at her. "Carson?"

Elizabeth busies herself with work on her laptop. "She may need a doctor. He's got the gene, so he can't catch the virus."

Something's changed in her manner. Something he can't put a finger on. And she still won't look at him. "Carson hates going through the gate."

Elizabeth sighs again. "Don't worry…he'll want to go."

John narrows his gaze, trying to see something specific in the way she works, breathes or moves that will give him a clue about the sudden shift in attitude. Nothing. Without another word, she basically dismisses him.