The Wishing Well
Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate Atlantis or any of the characters associated with it.
May contain spoilers for Season One and Two.
Chapter Fourteen
"I'm not lost, Doc!" Sheppard reached to tap Beckett on the shoulder, but his hand went right through the man. "Great! Chaya, what's going on?"
"Your body is failing. We should go back" Chaya turned to leave.
"No, not yet!" Sheppard forestalled her with a tight hand on her arm. "Just a little longer.. please?"
"A few minutes, then we must go." She looked with trepidation at the scene playing out.
Ronon spoke up. "I think now is the time to do as the entity suggested, and talk to him."
Weir shivered in reaction but shook off her feelings of panic. "Yes! I believe you're right!"
"Ah, God, lad! You can't go yet, not like this!" Beckett's plaintive plea burst forth, unbidden. Sheppard's heart monitor showed erratic beats, with long pauses, then frantic flutters. It was obvious to everyone his heart rate was slowing and would soon stop altogether. Beckett turned to prepare the paddles if he needed them to shock Sheppard's heart.
Weir stepped forward and signaled the others to do the same. "Let us try something, Carson." At his affirmative nod, she perched on the edge of the cot and picked up Sheppard's limp, cold hand. "John, I don't know if you can hear me, but I have a bone to pick with you. If you think you can leave us and go live in some other reality, you are sadly mistaken. We need you here. You have skills the rest of us can only envy. We can't survive the Wraith without you. I can't do this without you, so you need to fight!" She leaned in close to his ear and whispered desperately, "Don't leave me, John. Please…."
The others began to echo Weir's comments, standing around the cot calling out memories of how Sheppard had affected their lives, always making it better, how much he meant to them personally, and how important he was to the Atlantis mission.
"Sheppard, you're the only one who takes my crap and hands it back to me with a smile. That may not seem like much, but in my life, that's huge. Most people just give up on me and never see beyond what I show them, but you're different. You have always been straight with me and I appreciate that." McKay clasped Sheppard's shoulder in a tense grip. "Enough with the sentimental crap! Don't you dare leave! How could you even think of abandoning us to the Wraith, and you do realize that's what you'd be doing if you don't come back, hmm? I know it might be tempting, but…just don't! Get your ass back here, Colonel!"
"Colonel Sheppard, You've been a great friend to me and to my people. You are the one person who trusts me without reservation, and I fear what might happen to our alliance if you are not here to ensure it stands. You have become a dear and special friend and your departure from this world would hurt greatly. Please….John….do not leave us." Teyla pressed her forehead softly against Sheppard's in the Athosian way before stepping back.
"You saved my life, Sheppard. That makes you my blood. I only stayed because you asked it of me. If you are not here, I have no need to remain. Come back, brother, so we may fight the Wraith together." Ronon peered at Sheppard's face trying to judge if his words had any impact.
"Sir, I don't want your job…yet….and you don't want to leave Dr. Weir alone here with Colonel Caldwell. She'd end up in jail for murdering the man! Do us all a favor and get back here, Sir." Lorne stood at attention and gave Sheppard his sharpest salute before stepping back.
Beckett kept watch on the heart monitor, which was fluctuating between 'where the Hell is it' and 'way to damn fast'. "Come on, son! FIGHT!" The monitor abruptly went flat, one steady line across the screen. "NO! You will not die this day!" Beckett grabbed the paddles and prepared to shock the life back into Sheppard.
The group had fallen silent, looks of horror and disbelief displayed on every face. Weir broke down first and threw herself over Sheppard's motionless body. "JOHN! NO!" She pummeled his chest with both fists, screaming his name in agony, face flushed with grief and covered with hot angry tears. "Don't you dare die! NO!"
"Elizabeth!" Sheppard tried to take her in his arms, but Chaya and Anna held him back.
"John, we need to go! Now!" Chaya pulled on his arm, fiercely trying to make him leave.
Reacting quickly, McKay and Lorne dashed to Weir's side and hauled her off the dying Sheppard so Beckett could try the paddles.
She fought them, took a swing at Lorne who grimaced when it connected and tried gently to capture her flailing arms. McKay crooned soft words of comfort to Weir as he glanced at Sheppard with deep anguish.
McKay's face turned thoughtful before it blossomed into hopeful. He looked around at the others, fingers snapping furiously to get their attention, and then began to chant. "John, 'to save your soul and return from the light, do not quit, stand and fight; stay the course you know to be true, your life shall be returned to you!' Quick, say it with me, as loudly as you can." The entire group began to chant the ending of the ancient poem.
Carson joined in even as he warmed up the paddles. "I'll quote the bloody poem, but I'm adding in a bit of shock therapy for good measure!"
Chaya looked at Anna imploringly. "Help me! We need to take him back! He shouldn't see this!" Sheppard's eyes remained frozen on Weir's face as she watched him dying. Sheppard turned a stunned gaze on Anna and Chaya. Reacting quickly, the two women latched on and dragged him out of his reality.
As they stepped back into the padded room, Sheppard rounded on Chaya in fury. "They're going through Hell back there trying to save me! Did you see Elizabeth's face? I never, ever wanted to put her through that!"
"Then you should return to her." Anna's quiet voice brought him up short.
He spun and looked at her, dumbfounded. "No! You're going back. Rod needs you and you have such a wonderful life. You have true love and great friends and no Wraith!" Sheppard took her by the arms and gave her a small shake. "Don't you get it? You worked so hard to get your life back after the accident. You made it! You have the perfect life! I don't! You need to return."
Anna raised her hands, placed them on either side of Sheppard's face, and tugged until hazel eyes met moss green eyes and locked. "John, what I saw back there were your friends who are deeply committed to one another, people who love and respect you and would die for you, as you are trying to do for me. They need you to lead them in the battle against the Wraith. They need you to protect Atlantis. You have a connection with your Atlantis that I don't have with mine. Atlantis herself needs you. You're right, my life is safe, perfect even….but yours is essential! You need to go home."
Sheppard's demeanor turned as immovable and cold as stone. He stood with arms crossed and head raised defiantly. "If I stay here, my whole reality disappears, taking the Wraith with it! I might be able to save everyone, across thousands of realities, by not going back."
He said it with such quiet conviction it shattered Anna's heart. She started to cry, silently, soundlessly, mournful eyes glued to Sheppard's unyielding ones. With a heart-wrenching groan, Sheppard gathered her in his arms, holding tightly, raining kisses over her hair, her tear dampened face and, finally, her quivering mouth. As soon as his lips connected with hers, he was home. Years of what-ifs seeped into his kisses. He couldn't draw away, even knowing she wasn't his any longer. She matched him, memory for memory, until they were breathless, until he stumbled.
Anna drew back and looked up at Sheppard as he struggled to keep himself upright. His legs became rubber and he sank, bonelessly, to the floor, drawing Anna with him.
"Chaya, what's wrong with me?" Sheppard's head lolled to the side as he tried to locate the Ancient woman. He couldn't move, couldn't lift a hand to touch Anna's frightened face in reassurance.
Chaya appeared in his line of vision, concern evident in her mysterious eyes and on her face. "You have been in this place too long. Your body is dying. If you are to return, you must go now!"
"No! Send Anna back! Promise me!" Sheppard ordered, or tried to, but his voice came out a raspy whisper.
"If that is what you wish. Before you both decide, I must inform you of something imperative. The one who returns must destroy the well to prevent others like the Wraith from stumbling on this place. The Ancients who ascended thought they had destroyed all the wells, but apparently they missed some." Chaya watched Sheppard as his eyes lost their luster and rolled back in his head. "John!"
"Send…..Anna…..home!" Sheppard pushed each word out on a shallow breath just before his lids surrendered to the downward spiral into darkness.
Anna screamed his name and shook him violently, with no response. She spun and confronted Chaya.
"Can we still send him home or is it too late?" Anna implored.
"You understand your sacrifice if you choose to send John home?..." Chaya knelt, took Anna's chin and tipped her face up, searching her eyes deeply.
"Yes!" Anna didn't hesitate, eyes resolute. "He has a proven tendency for attempted self-sacrifice in the name of friendship and love. Well, not this time!"
Chaya, satisfied by what she saw, let her hand drop. "Then we must hasten! Come, help me move him." As the two women lifted and dragged the heavy, awkward weight of Sheppard's unconscious body across the floor, hampered slightly by the padded surface, the wall wavered and undulated until a door appeared.
"Can't you just float him over there like you did earlier when he was asleep in the chair and wouldn't wake up?" Anna panted.
"Yes, but in order for this to work, you must be a voluntary participant in his return." Chaya replied.
Once they had Sheppard propped up near the door, Chaya directed her question to Anna. "Are you ready?" At Anna's nod, she continued. "When I tell you, you need to open the door and slide John through. Once he is in the passage, you need to close the door. Okay?"
Anna nodded, fighting back tears. She sat stroking Sheppard's pale face while Chaya once again worked her magic until her hands glowed. Chaya placed her luminous fingers over Sheppard's heart. The Colonel's chest began to shimmer and his shallow breathing eased a bit. After a moment, a hint of pink flowed back into his cheeks.
"It is done." Chaya withdrew her hands as the radiant light melted away. "Now it is time."
Anna leaned down and placed one last lingering kiss on Sheppard's cool lips. "I love you John, for all time and in every life, I love you." She stood and opened the heavy door. A shadowy, dank passageway loomed on the other side. Anna hesitated, looking toward Chaya. "How will he get out of the tunnel?"
"This is the last step on his journey home. He must find the strength within himself to return." Chaya placed a hand on Anna's arm. "Hurry, I helped as much as I could but it won't give him much time."
Anna turned and quickly nudged Sheppard's upper half sideways until his shoulders met with the open doorway. His body tipped backwards into the oppressive darkness. Anna managed to stuff his legs and feet through the opening until he lay sprawled on the floor of the tunnel.
Chaya stood beside her and waved one gleaming hand in Sheppard's direction. He moaned, reached for his head and started to sit up. "Now, Anna! Close the door!"
Anna took one last look at the man she loved beyond eternity and slammed the door just as his dismayed eyes collided with hers.
TBC