Ancient History
Chapter Two: Tours and Meetings
By Ddoskocil
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Thanks for the reviews of the first chapter. I'm glad you all liked it . This chapter is a little long, sorry. And sorry for the lack of Carson, but I promise he will be in the story soon. Hope everyone enjoys this chapter.

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Erika stretched on her bed and pillowed her head on her hands. She spent her last week on the Daedalus much as she spent the first: isolated in her quarters leaving only to eat and indulge in a late night run. But the trip was over and she looked forward to settling in to her new home. With a smile, she rolled out of the bunk and stuffed the last of the loose clothes into a dull green duffle bag.

There was a rap at the door. Erika looked up and a frown creased her forehead. She threw a shirt into her bag as she tried to ignore the pounding.

"Erika," John yelled through the door. She groaned and banged her head against the metal frame of the bed. Repeatedly.

"What, John?" she growled. He would not leave her alone and she was tired of the attention.

"I came to escort you to Atlantis. Give you the grand tour. That kind of thing." Erika shouldered her bag and threw the door open. She tried to suppress a grin but failed miserably when he stumbled into the room. A small giggled escaped through her pressed lips and she raised a hand to cover her expression. She laughed out loud as he jumped to feet as if nothing happened.

"Come on," he said stiffly as he brushed a hand over his pants.

"I already have a tour guide, John," she replied, her jovial mood suddenly gone. She brushed past him, but he grabbed her arm.

"What do you mean you 'already have a tour guide'?" he asked with a cocked eyebrow and a cool stare. Erika rolled her eyes and snorted at him. She pulled her arm out of his grasp as she met his eyes.

"I mean someone already volunteered to give me the 50 cent tour. I'm supposed to meet him in a few minutes. Good day, Colonel," she said slowly. She turned and started to walk away.

"I haven't dismissed you yet, Captain." She scowled but stopped, cursing five years of military training for her response. And cursing him for using her rank as a way to stop her.

"Yes, Sir," she replied through clenched teeth with as much spitefulness as she could. She turned slowly, her eyes shooting daggers John's way.

"Who's taking you on this little tour?"

"Lieutenant Thompson, Sir."

"Thompson..." He looked to be in deep thought for a moment and Erika shifted from foot to foot, anxious to be gone from the ship.

"Colonel Sheppard," Elizabeth called over the radio. Erika smirked, but was wise enough to keep it covered with her hand.

"Yeah," John replied.

"Report to the command room." He swore and looked at Erika. She stood as straight as she could, holding her laughter in check as he stared at her.

"Fine. I'll be right there. Sheppard out," he spoke into the radio. To Erika he commented, "We'll talk about this later."

"Um, sure," she replied. Before he could say anything else, she turned and jogged down the hall. She heard him swear again, but did not hear him follow. She slowed to a walk and sighed loudly.

"Captain Sheppard," someone called. She glanced over her shoulder to see Lieutenant Thompson jogging toward her. She smiled at him.

"Lieutenant Thompson," she replied, her mood improving after her encounter with John. She always felt frustrated when he was around. She shook her head to clear the unpleasant memories and shifted her bag to the other shoulder.

"Dr. Weir wanted me to give you a tour," he said uncertainly. Erika smiled at him reassuringly. He seemed to relax a little.

"I know, Lieutenant. Why don't we get started?" He nodded and led her off the Daedalus to the control room, pointing out sites as he went. Erika half listened to his stories as she looked around, awed by what she saw. She tried to pay attention to their direction, but was soon lost in the maze of halls.

"This place is amazing. It's so different from the SGC," she said in wonderment.

"Yeah," he replied. "This is you're room." They stopped in front of a door that looked much like any of the others. Erika looked from side to side.

"How do you know?" she asked. The young man blushed and looked down at something on his boot.

"Um, Dr. Weir told me," he stammered out. Erika chuckled.

"That's not quite what I meant, but that's okay, Lieutenant." She walked up to the door and it slid open. The lieutenant jumped back, but Erika did not pay him any attention. She entered the room and threw her bag on the floor.

The room was bigger than she expected with a bed, a few shelves, and a door that she hoped led to a bathroom of some kind. She saw a switch on one wall and touched it. The room was suddenly illuminated in a soft light. Erika smiled.

"Where to next?" she asked as she exited the room. She rocked back on her heels and clapped her hands in front of her, ready to continue the tour. The lieutenant nodded and led her through the rest of the facility, stopping at the mess hall, the labs, and the few offices. She made note of each, but knew she would need a few weeks before she would be able to navigate through the maze of halls. They were on the way to the infirmary when Elizabeth sounded over the radio.

"Captain Sheppard, I need to see you in my office."

"Of course," she replied. She turned to Thompson. "Sorry to cut this short, Lieutenant."

"No problem, Sir," he replied lightly. There was a brief pause. "Would you like me to show you back to the control room, Sir?"

She sighed, relieved. "Yes." They made it back to the control room with no problems where she said goodbye to him at the door. The second she stepped through, she was accosted by John.

"Where the hell were you?" he demanded as he grabbed her arm. Erika froze. Her eyes darted to his hand then back to him.

"John," she whispered urgently. She gestured with her head toward his hand. John looked down and hurriedly removed the offending appendage from her. He glanced around, an embarrassed smile plastered on his face.

"Captain," he started over. "Where were you?"

"I was with Lieutenant Thompson, Colonel. Remember?" she replied evenly.

"Oh," he commented in the same manner. There was a silent moment between them. Erika looked around the room. John looked at his boots.

"Hey, Sheppards." Erika turned to the balcony. Rodney stood at the rail, a cup of coffee in one hand and a pastry in the other. Erika rolled her eyes at the scientist, but a faint smile played on her lips. She chuckled.

"What, Rodney?" John yelled.

"Don't mind him, Rodney," Erika shouted with a laugh. "What's up?"

"We have a meeting," Rodney retorted, annoyed. He waved an arm, spilled some of his coffee, cursed, and headed into the conference room. Erika glanced at John with a raised eyebrow.

"I guess we're needed up there," she said softly before she headed up the stairs. John was a breath behind her as she entered the conference room.

"Why do you have to be up here?" he snarled. At that moment Elizabeth entered the room. She nodded to everyone, lifted an eyebrow a John, and gestured for them to take their seats.

"I'm sure you're all anxious to catch up on your work, so I'll make this short. I wanted to introduce all of you to Captain Erika Sheppard. Erika is the new head of the archeology department. She'll also be taking over recon teams 9, 10, and 11. I'm sure you'll all help her out while she's settling in," Elizabeth said. She looked around the table as she introduced everyone. Her eyes rested a moment longer on John before she returned her attention to the group as a whole.

"What happened to Dr. Jackson?" Rodney interrupted. Elizabeth looked over at him.

"Erika," she commented.

Erika made a face as she looked around. She hated speaking in front of people. "He...there was an incident. He was handcuffed to an alien known as Vala." That got a few raised eyebrows. "Well, not handcuffed, exactly. They're connected by these Goa'uld slave bracelets. If they're separated for more than a few hours, they die. As you can imagine, it's a big problem."

"So he just slapped these bracelets on without studying them?" Rodney asked in apparent disbelief.

"I'm sure there was more to it, McKay," John commented dryly.

"Just a little. Vala didn't know exactly what the bracelets did. She just slapped it on his wrist and refused to take it off. Something about wanting her half of some treasure," Erika answered with a shrug.

"But-"

"Rodney," Elizabeth warned. He shut his mouth without another word, but he scowled at everyone at the table. Everyone ignored him, which only made his scowl deepen. Erika smiled behind her hand.

"So, is that it?" John asked.

"No," Elizabeth replied. "I wanted everyone's opinion on doing something for our people in the next few days."

Erika tuned out the conversation and studied the people in the room. Her eyes darted first to John. He looked just as bored as she felt with his arms crossed over his chest and his feet stretched out in front of him. She still felt mixed feelings toward her cousin. On one hand, she loved him. She worshipped him when she was a child and spent every moment she could with him. And he tolerated it because...she never really knew why he tolerated it. On the other hand, he left twelve years ago never to be heard from again. And she was still angry with him.

She sighed and let her gaze drift around the table to Rodney. He tapped his pen impatiently against the table as Elizabeth spoke. Erika just shook her head. They spoke on the trip back to Atlantis at some length. He was pompous, arrogant, and a complete ass. They argued, cursed, yelled, and fought about everything. But he saved all their lives and she respected him. Of course, she would never tell him that.

She followed his gaze to Elizabeth. The older woman talked lightly, her hands gracefully punctuating her words. She was calm in every situation Erika ever saw her in. She seemed to always know the right thing to say to make someone feel better. She helped the captain more than a few times back on Earth when she went through hard times. She was a strong, fair leader and Erika held great admiration and respect for her.

The Athosian woman spoke and Erika shifted to study her. Her name was Teyla. Erika knew nothing about her, other than the fact that she was a leader of the Athosians on the mainland. But she made a note to get to know the warrior woman. If only to find out more about her culture. Erika mentally smacked herself. She hung out with Daniel too much.

That left only on other person in the room. She let her eyes glide over to examine Dr. Carson Beckett. He played with a pen, twirling it in his hands over and over in what Erika guessed was a nervous reaction. She only talked to him a few times on the Daedalus and then only in passing. He seemed kind and she enjoyed the brief moments they spent together. And, she admitted to herself, she was attracted to his boyish good looks and charming smile. He chose that moment to look at her and grace her with that charismatic smile. She felt her stomach flip, but managed to smile back. She held his gaze for a few more seconds before turning back to Elizabeth.

"Then it's settled," the leader commented. Erika blinked and shook her head as Elizabeth continued. "I think everyone will enjoy a celebration after everything that has happened. You're dismissed, everyone." Erika stood and stretched as the rest of the people filtered out of the room. She slowly rolled her head in a circle, trying to work the stiffness out.

"Hey," John said as he grabbed her shouldered.

"Ow," she whined with a pout. He frowned and removed his hands.

"So, what do ya think about Atlantis?" he asked, a knowing smirk lit up his face. He arched an eyebrow at her and his eyes sparkled. Erika chuckled at his childlike eagerness for her response. He pouted at her laughter.

"That doesn't work with me, remember? As a matter of fact, I think I taught you that," she reminded him. "And I love everything I've seen about Atlantis. Although I'm not sure how you guys find your way around."

"Yeah, takes a little gettin' use to it. I'm sure McKay can get you one of these map things," he fished his Atlantis PDA out of his pocket. Erika scanned it from a distance, impressed. "So, whatcha doing the rest of the day?'

"Unpacking. Why?"

"I just haven't seen you in a while."

Erika's eyes narrowed dangerously as she glared at him. Her anger flashed in her honey-brown eyes as she lips formed a tight frown. She wanted to scream at him, but she held her anger in check, realizing there were several people within range who would hear. Instead, she bit back the piercing words and took a deep breath.

"I have a lot to do today. I'll be in my office."

"Erika." He used "the voice." That pleading, almost begging, voice he used when he wanted something and knew he was going to get it. She hated that voice because it worked on her every time.

"All right," she gave in. "Lunch. Tomorrow. We'll catch up."

"Tomorrow?"

"Yes."

"All right."