I am VERY, VERY sorry about the enormous delay. RL has been busy lately, but I should be more prompt this week. Maybe I can even get finished soon.

The Mind of Atlantis - Chapter 15

Beckett paused at the door to the infirmary. Taking a deep breath, he stepped in and looked over to Sheppard's bed, half expecting a crisis of some kind. He relaxed when he saw Sheppard sitting up in bed eating breakfast and talking to someone. As he moved closer, he noticed Nick was sitting in the chair next to Sheppard's bed, drinking a cup of coffee.

"Hey, doc," said Sheppard between bites. "Dr. Strauhan was just telling me about you and Atlantis talking last night. She's pretty cool, huh."

"Aye, Major. She's pretty special. How are you feelin' this mornin'? I see you've shed all your monitors."

"I feel pretty good, actually. We had an emergency electrode-removing session this morning because I couldn't figure out how to drag all those machines to the bathroom." Sheppard grinned mischievously.

Nick nodded. "Emergency session is right. He was yanking those things off like nobody's business. You've never heard so much yelping in all your life. I think the Major found out that chest hair isn't always a good thing."

Sheppard stopped chewing and looked at Nick in disbelief. "And you think I just found that out this morning? Where have you been the last few months?"

Beckett grinned and turned to Nick. "Everythin' went okay, then?"

Nick nodded again,. "Everything's fine. I checked the Major out while we waited on his breakfast. Pulse, blood pressure, and temperature are all fine. Pupil size and reaction to to light is normal. All the monitors showed no problems. I put the print-outs on your desk. And...drum roll please...Major Sheppard is on his second tray."

Beckett looked suprised. "Did you say he working on his second tray of food?"

Nick pointed to an empty tray on the table beside the bed. "That wasn't my breakfast, Carson. He finished it off and was still hungry, so I sent out for a second."

Beckett looked pleased. "Well done, Doctor. How did you manage that?"

"Look, guys," said Sheppard. "It's really not that amazing. It's been twenty-four hours since the last time I ate anything. I think being starved is a natural response to a total lack of food. By the way, when do I get out of here?"

"Well, Major, since you are doing so well, I'd say after breakfast. Finish your meal and let me have one last look and then I'll dismiss you."

"Now we're talking," said Sheppard.

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Sheppard strolled into Weir's office to find her talking to McKay. He sat down in the chair beside the door and propped his feet up on the corner of her desk. The movement caught their attention and they turned to face him.

"So, did you get released or did you escape?" she asked.

Sheppard immediately shot a look at McKay, who innocently shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. He then looked back at her in feigned exasperation. "Why does everyone always ask that?"

Weir smiled. "I think we all know the answer to that one. So which is it...or should I call Carson and ask him?"

Sheppard smiled smugly. "I don't care who you call because I was released from the infirmary almost an hour ago."

Weir reached over and smacked the side of his feet, sparking him to get them off her desk and place them back on the floor. "Well, good for you. Rodney and I were just discussing..." They were interrupted by the gate alarm announcing an incoming wormhole. All three walked out to the gate control room.

"It's Sgt. Stackhouse's IDC," said one of the techs at the control console.

"Lower the shield," said Elizabeth. They all stood watching the gate as the shield was lowered. Almost the instant the shield was gone, the gate shut down. She turned back to the tech. "What just happened?"

The tech was frantically working at the controls, trying to figure out what was going on. "I don't know. The gate controls are off line and I can't get them back on. Nothing on the control panel is responding."

McKay stepped up and tried for a minute, but nothing happened. He was urging the tech to get out of the way and preparing to sit down, when Sheppard walked up to the console.

"Let me try, McKay."

McKay laughed. "Major, be serious. How would you..." He stopped and looked back at Sheppard. "Oh...yeah...I forgot. Okay." McKay stepped back hesitantly and let Sheppard in front of the console.

Sheppard touched a couple of buttons and then reached behind the console and pressed something. He then kneeled in front of the equipment and slid his hand over the front panel. A door slid open revealing a small chamber,. He pulled out a small, vertical tray with different colors of flat, hexagon-shaped crystals. Studying them, he removed a blue one with a blackened edge. He stood and looked around the room. Seeing what he wanted, he walked over to a console in the back corner and waved his hand over it, causing the lights to go out. He then pulled out a similar tray with crystals and removed a blue one just like the one from the other tray. He took it over to the first tray at the gate controls and replaced the blackened one with this one. He slid the tray back in to it's compartment, closed the door, and reached behind the console. He then pressed a couple of buttons and the console lit back up.

"Okay, now try it." He stepped back out of the way so the tech could get back in. He worked a couple of minutes and then announced the gate was back on line.

"You better contact Sgt. Stackhouse and tell them to try again." Elizabeth looked up to see Sheppard at another console. He worked a second to bring up a map on the screen and pointed to a location.

"Here's the store room for the crystals. You should be able to find a replacement for the one I lifted from that back console. It should have several replacement crystals for all the ones used in the control room."

Elizabeth nodded. "I guess I don't have to ask you how you knew what to do."

"See...I told you the training would be useful to running Atlantis."

"Great! What does that make me...obsolete? I've been replaced by a smart aleck flyboy. Who'd have thought?" moaned McKay.

Sheppard grinned and slapped McKay on the back. "Cheer up. I haven't replaced you. It's just that sometimes, now I can help. Don't worry - there's plenty of stuff around here that needs the McKay touch."

McKay nodded. "That's true...I guess there will always be some things that actually require a genius to make work...at least successfully."

Elizabeth leaned back so McKay couldn't see her and mouthed, "Nice save," to Sheppard, who gave her a thumbs up.

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The next day, Sheppard went through another round of simulations in the training room. It was somewhat less dramatic this time, with only McKay and Beckett attending. The training session went much as the one before had, with Sheppard checking out okay afterward. They began to run a regular schedule with training activites every other day. Sheppard would sit in the chair, followed by simulations, followed by the chair again. They found that the simulations did little more than make him a little stiff and tired. The chair sessions were a little more intensive, leaving him exhausted and with a serious headache. Beckett usually insisted he stay in the infirmary after a chair session, but agreed to suspend the monitoring equipment. Sheppard figured out on the third round to dress in sweats and a t-shirt and he didn't have to change into scrubs. Beckett just lead him to the infirmary, tucked him into bed, and gave him something for his headache. Since he usually slept through til the next morning, he decided he could live with that arrangement. After the fourth chair session, Sheppard made a discovery he just had to share. The minute Beckett released him the following morning, he made a beeline for McKay's lab.

"Hey, McKay," said Sheppard, walking into the lab. "Drop what you are doing and grab your laptop. I've got something really cool to show you."

McKay turned to face the Major, who was grinning like a kid at a party. McKay crinkled his brow. "How cool?"

"As in Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday, all rolled up in one."

McKay looked back at the work he was doing and then back at Sheppard. Sensing his hesitation, Sheppard upped the stakes.

"Of course, if you're too busy I could go ask Dr. Zelenka...or maybe Dr. Kavanagh... if they wanted in on this."

That had the desired effect. "Not on your life, Major. I'm coming with you." McKay grabbed his laptop and followed Sheppard out into the hall. "This better be something good," he muttered under his breath.

A few minutes later, they exited a transporter. McKay was getting excited as they began walking down the corridor. "So, how far away is this amazing thing? You do realize we are walking toward a part of the city that is not only unexplored, but also has no power, right?"

"I do realize that, McKay, and I don't know exactly how long it will take to get there. I've never actually been there."

McKay stopped. "Wait, wait, wait. You've never been there? How do you know there's anything there? Do you even know where you are going? Major, I'm a busy man. I don't have time to go wandering around the city while you try to figure out...are you listening to me?" He hurried to catch up with Sheppard, who hadn't even slowed down during McKay's tirade.

McKay's chatter eventually drifted off as he had to breathe harder and harder in his attempt to keep up with Sheppard. He was just about to stage a mutiny when the Major finally stopped and waited on him to catch up. He gulped air in for a couple of minutes while Sheppard watched him patiently. When his breathing had leveled out, Sheppard grinned. "So McKay...are you ready for your suprise?"

McKay rolled his eyes. "You realize that whatever you have hidden behind door number one is never going to live up to all this hipe? You have to learn to downplay a little, Major."

"Oh really?" asked Sheppard, looking very skeptical. "We'll see."

"How are you going to open the door...no power to this section, remember?"

Sheppard just looked smug. "I have my ways." He pressed his hand against the door panel and closed his eyes. McKay was about to ask what he thought he was doing when the door slid open.

"How...how did you do that with no power?"

"I just borrowed a little from another part of the city...temporarily."

McKay just stood with his mouth open. "But you can't do that. How did you relay it? That doesn't make any sense...it shouldn't work. I still don't...Oh my god!" McKay had looked past Sheppard to see another chair, similar to the weapons chair and the one in Antarctica sitting in the middle of the room.

McKay rushed forward and ran his hand along the edge with a gentle touch of respect. "How did you know?"

Sheppard leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. "Last training session. I knew immediately that you'd love it."

"Do you know what it does?" asked McKay, almost reverantly.

"You name it. McKay...this is the central control chair for the city. We are dead in the center of Atlantis. This chair can be used to set the others, and just about anything else you want."

"The others? There are more?"

"There are three more that we haven't found yet. They, like the weapons chair, control limited functions. This is central command, so to speak. The problem of course is..."

"...no power," cut in McKay. "We have GOT to find a ZPM. I'd just about kill to be able to at least check this thing out for a few mintutes and see what it can do."

"Well, McKay...you know how I said this was Christmas and birthday all wrapped up into one? I think I can help you out with that."

You could almost see the light click on in McKay's head. "You mean like the door...borrow a little power from somewhere else?"

"Yep! At least, I think I can. It will only be enough for you to check it out with your computer and see what it does. I can't divert enough power to actually run the chair. And I can't do it for too long. But I should be able to give you an hour or so to play with it."

McKay rubbed his hands together. "What are we waiting for? Let's get started."

Sheppard walked across the room and sat down in the chair. "Wait!" called McKay. Sheppard looked up at him.

"What? Problem already?"

McKay looked at Sheppard and frowned. "Are you sure this is okay? It's not going to hurt you or anything? You just got out of the infirmary a little while ago and I DON'T want Carson on my case about sticking you back in."

"I'll be fine as long as we don't do it too long. Just watch the time and stop me in an hour."

McKay nodded. "Okay, I can do that. Give me a minute to get connected." Five minutes later, McKay told Sheppard he was ready. Sheppard closed his eyes and concentrated for a minute before the chair finally leaned back and lit up. McKay immediately began to type away on the computer.

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McKay was studying one of the readings when he heard Sheppard's voice, barely loud enough to get his attention. "MmmKay...gotta ...stop."

McKay quickly saved everything just before the chair powered down and returned to the upright position. He talked excitedly as he disconnected and packed up his computer. "Oh, Major. This is incredible. Talk about a good Christmas present. You just gave me a lifetime supply. Don't worry about getting me anything for the next 20 years...of course, we don't exchange presents anyway...but ...well, okay, let's just say I owe you one. How would that be?" He stood up and looked down at Sheppard, sitting in the chair with his eyes closed.

"Major? Are you okay?" McKay began to get a jittery feeling in his stomach. He looked at his watch. He'd been on the computer for over two hours. Oh crap, he'd done it again. Why did people continue to think he could work and watch the clock at the same time? He knelt down beside the chair and placed a hand on Sheppard's arm. He was relieved to see the man open his eyes.

"Hey...Kay...ready ...t' go?"

Sheppard's words were slightly slurred and his eyes looked somewhat unfocused. "Major...I'm sorry...I lost track of time and stayed too long. Maybe I should call Carson."

"No...no firmary...wanna go to...quarters. Help me, Kay."

Atlantis appeard beside them as McKay wrestled with what he should do. She actually looked angry, an emotion that suprised McKay.

"John...what are you doing? Power diversion should be done in emergencies only. It pulls too much out of you. Even the ancient ones didn't do it for this long unless it was really needed. You can hurt yourself."

John looked up at her, his speech beginning to clear somewhat. "I'm good...juss givin' M'Kay here a peek. Juss tired. Need to sleep. Sorry...didn't know."

Atlantis's expression softened some. "Of course...the trainers usually gave those warnings and you don't really have a trainer. I should have told you. I am sorry, John."

"Ssso kay. I'm good."

McKay looked from Sheppard to Atlantis. "Is he okay or do I need to call Carson?"

"I am not sure. I do not believe he has done any damage. He is correct in that he needs sleep. The effort may make him ill for a while, but he should recover. It is your decision."

McKay knew how much Sheppard hated the infirmary. "What do you think, Major? Can you make it back to your quarters?"

"Sure thing...if you'll help me." Sheppard knew he couldn't walk that far by himself. He wasn't completely sure he could make it to the door.

"Okay,...Atlantis, can you..." McKay looked around, but Atlantis was gone. "That's right," he sighed. "Leave me to carry him back by myself. Okay, let's get you up."

McKay grabbed Sheppard by the left arm and hoisted him up to his feet. He draped Sheppard's arm around his neck and slid his arm around Sheppard's waist. He felt the Major's legs trying to give way as they walked, but by the time they reached the door, Sheppard had begun to support some of his weight. McKay picked up his laptop from the table he had placed it on earlier and they staggered out the door and down the hall. McKay eyed the transporter right next to the chair room. "Man, oh man, for some power right now."

Once they made it to a working transporter, McKay figured the hard part was over. All he had to do now was get Sheppard to his quarters and into bed without Beckett seeing them. When the transporter doors opened, they lurched out into the hallway. Sheppard was tiring and beginning to lean more heavily against McKay, causing McKay to stagger erratically.

"Major... a little help here. Could you stop weaving so much?"

"Dizzy," Sheppard mumbled. Sheppard's headache had grown to monumental proportions since they left the chair room and the constant jerking motions had cranked up the dizziness as well. The headache and the dizziness were combining to wake up nausea, who seemed to be rushing to join the party. Sheppard clamped his hand over his mouth in an attempt to help him gain control.

The motion attracted McKay's attention and he glanced over at Sheppard, noticing the Major seemed to be getting a little green. "Oh no...not on your life. I'll help you to your quarters but you better not barf on me. We're almost there...just keep that hand clamped down hard."

They staggered past a pair of marines who looked oddly at the weaving duo. McKay tried to nod and look normal, the effect somewhat nullified by Sheppard's heavy leaning and queasy expression. "Oh great," muttered McKay. "We probably look like a couple of drunks."

As soon as Sheppard's door opened, McKay propelled him through the room at break-neck speed, praying that neither of them tripped over anything. Sheppard had just reached ground zero when he lost the battle to hold down breakfast. He heaved until nothing more would come up and his throat was raw. He sat trembling with exhaustion for a few moments before he began round two. By the time he stopped, he was pretty sure he was dying.

His vision was getting hazy, but he made out a cup of water being handed to him, which he gratefully took and rinsed out his mouth. As he handed the cup back, he received a damp cloth in it's place. He wiped his face and the cool dampness felt good against his hot skin. He was pretty sure he had spiked a fever now to add to the headache and exhaustion. Beckett would kill him if he ever got wind of this. If McKay would run interference for him the rest of the day, he could sleep it off and no one would be the wiser.

He wasn't sure he could stand, but he didn't want to pass out on the bathroom floor and he felt that was coming up hard and fast. "McKay...help me up."

"Bloody heck, Major. What have you done to yourself now?"

Sheppard lay his head on his forearm, which was draped across the edge of the toilet. "McKay...please tell me you suddenly developed a Scottish accent," he whispered.

TBC