You guys have done it again. Another day of walking on air. Thank you so very, very much for the kind words.

Emrys: You must know the real reason I write stories is to read your feedback. By the way, I did kind of miss your evil side and the scare it sometimes gives me (LOL).

Fox Mac and moothril: I did remember SG1 shows commenting on how Ancient seemed to be similar to or derived from Latin (particulary love Jack trying to learn Latin in Window of Opportunity, one of my favs). However, since I know virtually nothing about Latin and didn't feel I had time to learn...I just sort of made up a bunch of...gibberish. I appreciate the help and advice - I'm just too lazy and impatient to try to make it work. Hope that's not too disappointing. I realize a better writer would do the research and the work necessary to make it more Latinish. Lazy me! (Hope you're laughing!)

The Mind of Atlantis - Chapter 3

"So, can I go now?" asked Sheppard anxiously. Beckett sighed as he looked at his patient, sitting on the edge of the bed, swinging his legs back and forth.

"In a minute, Major. Let me do one last temperature check."

Sheppard frowned. "Again? It's been normal for twenty-four hours now. You said I could go when my fever was gone for ..." Sheppard was silenced by the thermometer Beckett shoved in his mouth.

"Be quiet for a minute or you're not goin' anywhere." The thermometer finally beeped and Beckett checked the reading. He silently noted it on Sheppard's chart as the Major patiently waited. After a few moments, Sheppard realized that Beckett was purposely drawing the process out to test his patience, but he was determined to keep quiet. Beckett finally turned his attention back to Sheppard.

"Normal."

"YES!" Sheppard exclaimed. "No offense, doc. I'm just ready to do something besides lay in bed. I've done a little more than my fair share lately."

Beckett smiled and Sheppard was relieved to see the doctor wasn't angry with him. Sheppard started to slide off the bed, but Beckett put his hand up to the Major's chest, stopping him. "Now wait a minute. There are some conditions to this release."

"Aren't there always?"

"Major...you'd better see that you follow them this time. I'll be doing a little more checking up on you this time around. I am NOT releasing you to duty of any kind yet. You are to rest in your quarters except for meals. No work...and you better not go anywhere near that Ancient lab that you and Rodney are so engrossed with until I have cleared you to do that. You're both daft when it comes to judging how long you should stay down there."

"Hey! I'm not...daft." Sheppard argued. Beckett crossed his arms and looked at him sternly. "Ooooo-kay-y-y. Shutting up now," he said sheepishly.

"It's about bloody time. You are to report here about six each evening so I can give you a look and make sure you're not overdoin' it again. I may do a few drop-ins, as well."

Sheppard was not looking happy. "So, warden, when do I really get released?"

"That depends on you, Major. If you follow my directions and really get enough rest, it should only be for a few days. Every time you do something foolish, it will prolong the recovery period."

"Okay, doc. I got it. Anything else?"

McKay came flying into the infirmary at that moment. "Major...where have you been? I thought you were getting released. Teyla and Ford are waiting in the mess hall. Are you coming or not?"

Sheppard looked expectantly at Beckett. "Go. Just remember what I said." Sheppard nodded and slid off the bed, joining McKay as he walked hurriedly out the door. Beckett sighed as he shook his head and mumbled, "Just like children, the both of them."

----------------------------------------------------------------------

As McKay and Sheppard put their trays on the table, they noticed that Teyla and Ford had already eaten, their empty trays before them. Ford looked apologetic.

"Sorry we couldn't wait, sir. Teyla and I are due to go to the mainland in a little while. We're helping deliver supplies and I think Halling needs our help with something while we're there."

"How are you feeling, Major Sheppard?" asked Teyla.

"Pretty good, actually. I finally got rid of that headache. Mostly, I'm just hungry and I'm about to solve that problem right now." Sheppard took a big bite of the day's serving of mystery casserole. He crinkled his face in disgust and made a run for the garbage can, where he spewed out the contents of his mouth. He stood gagging and spitting into the can for a couple of minutes before returning to the table and downing his glass of water. "Ford! Why didn't you warn me?"

Ford and Teyla had their hands over their mouth, trying not to laugh out loud. "Sir, you really didn't give me time. I'd stick with the salad, the fruit, or the dessert today."

Sheppard narrowed his eyes and tilted his head to one side. "Ya think? Nice of you to clue me in," he said sarcastically.

McKay looked warily at his tray. He picked off a small bite of the casserole with his fork and slowly edged it up to his mouth. Sheppard pushed his glass of water closer to his hand.

"Here. You're going to need that."

McKay put the small bite in his mouth and chewed thoughtfully as the rest of his team watched in curiousity. After a few seconds, he began to chew with more enthusiasm. "This isn't too bad." He looked over at Sheppard's tray. "So, are you going to eat that?"

Sheppard screwed his face up in disgust again. "Not if I was starving." He pushed his tray towards McKay. "Enjoy. I'll help you to the infirmary when you're done." Sheppard retrieved the piece of fruit that looked something like a cross between an apple and a plum.

Teyla looked at Ford, one eyebrow raised in surprise. "You were right, Aiden. Dr. McKay really will eat anything." McKay didn't seem to notice the comment, so she looked over toward Sheppard. "We must go now, Major. I am glad to see you up and feeling better."

"Thanks Teyla. Me too." Sheppard waved at the pair as they left the mess hall.

McKay shoved a big fork full of food in his mouth and then proceeded to ask Sheppard, "Did oo ever figure out ow oo poke An...cent?"

"Oh, McKay...that's disgusting. Don't talk with your mouth full. I have a hard enough time understanding what you're talking about when your mouth is empty."

McKay swallowed and took a drink. "I said, did you ever figure out how you spoke Ancient?"

Sheppard sat thinking for a moment, deciding how much he should tell McKay. He really needed a sounding board on this and he didn't think anyone else would have a chance of figuring it out except McKay. He couldn't just keep wondering if Atlantis was real or if he was losing his mind.

"Hel-lo...is anyone home?"

"Yeah...just thinking. And no snide remarks. I'm not sure how to explain this...I don't really understand it myself, but...something's going on, McKay. I...I need your help figuring out what's happening and...if it's real." Sheppard looked at McKay, trying to read his expression.

"Okay...I can do that. What's going on?" McKay looked curious.

Sheppard took a deep breath, hoping that McKay wouldn't call Beckett and have him stuck in the infirmary again. "Okay...I've been talking to Atlantis."

McKay's eyes widened and he stopped chewing. "The city?"

Sheppard shrugged. "Yes...well, sort of. Okay, you remember the night we stayed so late in the lab. When I went to bed that night, I had this weird dream. I met this...lady on one of the balconies. She told me she was Atlantis...that she was a kind of ...embodiment of the city. She said she brought all the parts together and unified it. Anyway, she was trying to explain something about how the technology worked. She said she could help me learn to understand it and use it."

"I take it you think this was more than just a dream."

Sheppard sighed. "I don't know what to think. I guess maybe I do think it was more than just a dream. A lot of what she said made sense. She said the particular things in that lab had to connect or bond to the user and that it drained your energy. It certainly drained mine for the next few days. She came to me again the next night and I asked her to tell me more. She said she had to wait until I had regained by strength...that even coming to me in the dreams could draw my strength and make me weaker. I haven't seen her since...but...I've heard her."

"What...like you hear voices?"

"Don't say it like that. It makes me sound...crazy. I'm not crazy, McKay. This is happening. I've felt something since the minute we stepped through the stargate. Something unlike anything I ever felt on earth. It's like...I can feel the city running. Every time we do something different - turn on a new piece of technology, move the energy outputs around, anything like that...it feels different to me. And lately...sometimes it sounds like someone is whispering to me...like...almost like it's inside my head. I think it's been the city all along, I just didn't understand." Sheppard watched McKay closely, desperately hoping the man didn't think he was several cards short a full deck. The more he replayed recent events in his head, the more convinced he became that this was really happening. He was connecting to the city in ways he never would have thought possible.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier? My gosh...the city's been trying to talk to you all this time and you didn't ask for help? Carson is right...You are daft. Think of the possibilities...we can open up the whole city...oh, well, we could if we had a fully charged ZPM. Still, we can explore and figure out what the most important pieces of technology are and rearrange the power grids to feed them and..."

"McKay!" McKay stopped and looked at Sheppard. "I...I take it you don't think I'm nuts?"

McKay smiled, realizing what Sheppard had been fearing. "Yes, Major, I do think you're nuts...but not because you can hear Atlantis. That's a whole other story. We HAVE to tell Elizabeth. And Carson. Oh, Carson is going to be furious that you didn't share that little energy draining tidbit with him earlier. I see large pointy needles in your future. But, that aside, we need to..."

McKay continued to rattle on about the possibilities of Atlantis so fast that it almost made Sheppard's head swim. He was so glad to have someone believe him and not think he was crazy, that he let McKay ramble on for a good thirty minutes, trying to give the supportive head nods in the appropriate places. By the time McKay wound down, they both agreed they needed to have a meeting with several key personnel. McKay called Elizabeth and Carson to set it up for later that afternoon.

------------------------------------------------------

Sheppard and McKay walked into Elizabeth's office to find Carson already seated there. The doctor stood as soon as he saw Sheppard. "Major, you've only been out of the infirmary a few hours and you're already disobeying my instructions."

"Look, doc," Sheppard began as he sat down. "Let me explain and I think you'll understand. Besides. I'm not really disobeying you. We'll be sitting down talking, not actually doing work."

"Well, that remains to be seen. If I'm not satisfied this meetin' was necessary, you'll be accompanyin' me back to the infirmary where you'll stay until you're one hundred percent."

Sheppard looked at him for a second before passing the buck. "It was McKay's idea," he said, pointing to McKay.

McKay, who had taken up a seat a few feet away, looked hurt. "I'm trying to help you and this is the thanks I get. A friend in need, Major...just remember that in the future. Tell them what's been happening."

Weir and Beckett glanced at each other and then back to Sheppard. "John," she said suspiciously. "Have you been holding out on us?"

Sheppard sunk a little lower into his chair and nervously flashed his crooked smile. "I'm not sure I'd use those words, exactly, but I...maybe haven't told you absolutely everything. Let me start at the beginning."

Sheppard tried to explain the feelings he had upon entering the city for the first time and how he was unsure what they meant. For all he knew, everyone felt it. He continued up through the conversations he had with Atlantis while he was asleep, offering her help to understand and navigate the city. He even reluctantly told them of her warning not to try and do too much so that he could let them know to search for someone else with a strong enough gene or genes to operate the technology. He ended with the fact that he could now almost constantly hear the muted whispers of the city and occasionally the stronger voice of Atlantis. He finished by explaining some of the reasons he had waited to tell them, including the fact that he at first assumed that he had been dreaming...that none of it was real.

To Sheppard it seemed as if the minutes ticked by at a snail's pace as he waited on some sort of response. Elizabeth looked over at McKay. "What do you think? Is this possible?"

McKay shrugged his shoulders. "How should I know. A year ago I would have told you no, but then a year ago I would have laughed at the thought of big, ugly creatures that suck the life out of you with their hand. I'm not laughing now. From what he's described and what we are learning about Ancient technology...I think it may be real. I also think it may be the key to unlocking Atlantis...the city, not the girl. We can leave her up to Sheppard."

"McKay!" Sheppard said sharply. He looked at Elizabeth, who still looked doubtful. "So...you basically think I'm nuts and this is all in my mind."

Elizabeth shook her head. "That's not what I said at all, John. I think you've been through a lot lately and it's possible...that you are still feeling some after effects of your...experience. I think I'd like Carson to run some tests..."

"NO!" Sheppard got up and paced angrily. "Somehow I knew it would end up this way. I KNEW I shouldn't have said anything until I had proof. Let me guess, stick the crazy major in the infirmary and knock him out and run about a million tests...yet again. I've had them all at least three times in the past few weeks. I don't need a bunch of wires and needles and prodding to tell me that this is real."

Beckett got to his feet and tried to take Sheppard by the arm, but he pulled away and paced to the other side of the office, trying to get a chair between them. "Just leave me alone."

"Major...at least let me run another EEG. I need it to compare to..." Beckett looked at Elizabeth. "I've got to tell him."

Sheppard looked even more worried. "Tell me what?" he said, his voice low with stifled anger. "Guess I'm not the only one holding out, huh?"

Elizabeth nodded to Beckett, who turned back to Sheppard. "You need to sit down, Major."

"Oh, crap. I'm not going to like this, am I?" Sheppard dropped heavily in the nearest chair.

Beckett turned his chair to face Sheppard. "It's not as bad as you might be thinkin'. You know I ran several EEG's during your ordeal as a child and another few after you were brought back. There were several odd anomelies in your pattern when you were being affected by the encounter. Some of them...remained even after you were cured. They weren't as pronounced, but they were still there. I was going to just observe you for a while to see if there were any changes in behavior and then run another EEG to see if the patterns were diminishing."

Sheppard didn't know if he was more shocked or hurt. He could see by the expression in McKay's face that he hadn't had any idea. "So, you thought it was okay to forget to mention that I have abnormal brain patterns. Just kind of slipped your mind, I guess. Exactly when were you going to tell me...never?"

Carson tried to calm Sheppard down. "Son, I know you don't understand. We weren't trying to hide it from you so much as wait until you were ready. That...machine caused you to spend several days as a six-year old and several more completely unresponsive. I still don't know exactly what kind of long-term effects the whole thing might have. I honestly hoped the pattern would return to normal eventually."

"NO!" Sheppard jumped to his feet again. "It was wrong...it was wrong and you both know it. You should have told me." He stormed out of the office leaving an embarrassed Elizabeth and Carson to contemplate their decision. McKay, looking very disappointed, quietly stood and followed Sheppard out of the room.

TBC