PART SEVEN

John leant back against the chair in exhaustion. It had taken several hours, but at last the Wraith ships had been destroyed and there were no more in the vicinity. He had done it.

'You have done well,' Laranne appeared in front of him, making him jump. He had almost forgotten she was there. 'You used what was in your mind to heal it. I did not expect you to grasp what was needed so quickly. You will recover now.'

'I guess it's all thanks to you,' John was willing to accept her now. She had proven herself and deserved nothing less.

'I only provided support, if you had not done the hardest part yourself I could not have helped you.' Laranne stepped away. 'My time here is over, I can no longer remain. Live well.'

'Thanks,' John stood up to shake her hand, only to see her disappear before his eyes. 'Wait!' He called after her. 'What's going on?' But it was too late, she had gone and he was alone in his mind. Shaking his head and frowning, he realised that the room was beginning to fade and he was unable to stop it. The next moment he heard a more familiar voice speaking.

'Welcome back, Colonel. Glad to see you're back with us,' Dr Beckett greeted him.

'What happened?' He asked, gratefully accepting the water offered to him.

'You were attacked in the lab,' Beckett told him. 'We had to remove a bullet from your chest and you had a head injury.'

'I think I heard you talking about it,' John frowned as he tried to recall where the memory had come from.

'You were unconscious at the time, but I do know that people can often hear what is going on around them.'

'How long have I been here?'

'Three days.'

'Is Laranne...?' John left the question in the air, not sure if what had gone on in his mind had really happened or not.

'I think she saved your life, though we don't know how,' Carson told him. 'She was unconscious the whole time you were but until now her vitals were stable.'

'And now?'

'Once you began to regain consciousness she started to deteriorate although there's no sign of injury or disease. We've managed to stabilise her again but I don't know for how long.'

'Damn it. I should have known.' John thought for a moment before turning back to Dr Beckett. 'I want to see Dr Heightmeyer.'

'I really think you should get some rest now,' Carson tried to argue. 'You're still recovering from a serious injury.'

'Now!' John snapped. 'I don't know how much time she's got.'

'I'm sure she'll be able to spend as much time with you as you need.' Carson looked worried, wondering if the head injury had caused more permanent damage.

'Not Dr Heightmeyer – Laranne. I don't want to have to explain everything twice – can you get her here or do I have to go find her myself?'

Accepting defeat, Carson retreated and a few minutes later Dr Heightmeyer arrived, along with Elizabeth.

'What's going on John?' Elizabeth asked him, her face showing the concern they all felt.

'When I was unconscious, Laranne was somehow able to get into my mind and told me how to heal myself,' John began.

The three people listening glanced at each other. 'It's alright, I'm not going crazy, at least I don't think so. You said before that Laranne had some kind of telepathic ability so isn't this at least possible?'

'Well, yes,' Dr Heightmeyer agreed. 'Dr Beckett has filled me in on what happened before, so given what else I've seen since we came here, I'd say it's a possibility although I've no idea how it would work.'

'Fine,' John said shortly, wanting to get the help he needed as quickly as possible. 'She said she couldn't do anything herself, but she could advise me and give me the strength to carry on. It was what she told me that helped me defeat the Wraith, not the real ones, it was just what my mind conjured up.'

'So the Wraith represented your head injury, and the battle you fought was what healed the wound?' Dr Heightmeyer tried to clarify the situation. 'Does that mean you were here, in Atlantis?

'Yes.' John was relieved that someone seemed to be taking in what he was saying. 'She told me it was my mind's way of getting me to defend somewhere of importance to me. Anyway, whenever I felt I was too tired to continue, she was able to give me a boost of energy that kept me going. Right before I woke up, she said she had to go and told me to "live well", then she disappeared. Does that sound like the kind of goodbye from someone who's expecting to see you again?'

'I see your point,' Dr Heightmeyer agreed. 'Dr Beckett?'

'As I've already said, there's nothing more I can do, her brain activity is minimal and her blood pressure is continuing to drop. I've already tried everything I can think of, there's no reason for her to be unconscious.'

'Yes, but maybe there's something that I can do,' John said.

'What on earth do you think you can do?' Carson sounded surprised.

'I think I may be able to help her just as she helped me,' John glanced around at the faces watching him. 'Telepathically I mean.'

'I'm not sure how,' Dr Heightmeyer frowned. 'Laranne is the one with the telepathic ability, from what I've heard, she was the one who was in control. You've got no point of reference to start with…'

'But when she first started to help me, she took me into her own mind – she said we had to be there so she could explain things to me. I saw what's important to her in the same way she came with me and saw that Atlantis was important to me,' John told them. 'Look, it can't do any harm can it? She's going to die if we don't try something.'

'I'm not sure about this,' Carson sounded doubtful. 'You still need time to recover yourself, you may not be strong enough.'

'I feel fine…Well, ok, maybe a bit of a headache, but it's nothing I can't live with,' John admitted after a stare from Carson. 'Dr Heightmeyer?'

'It does have it's risks, but providing we're monitoring him all the time I think we should give it a try,' Dr Heightmeyer agreed. 'But remember, John, at the first sign of trouble we're going to bring you back.'

'Are you sure about this, John?' Elizabeth asked.

'I'm sure and I've got to try at least. She saved my life and I wasn't exactly nice to her before was I?' John was adamant.

Muttering unhappily under his breath all the time he was setting everything up, Dr Beckett turned to John at last. 'You're ready to go. I'll administer a sedative and then it's up to you, Dr Heightmeyer will talk you through it. Remember, at the first sign of trouble I'm going to wake you up.'

'Ok, John,' Dr Heightmeyer began, 'I want you to close your eyes and listen to my voice. Try to bring up an image of what it was like in Laranne's mind: what did it look like, what could you see, what could you smell. Try to recreate it in your own mind and imagine yourself there with Laranne.'

John's breathing grew deeper as he concentrated and at last reached his goal.

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Everything looked different this time. Instead of the green pastures and forest he had seen before, there was nothing but a bleak, barren wasteland with a single shock of green in the very centre.

Afraid of what he might find, he approached the patch of green and realised he had come to the right place. Laranne was curled up in the centre of the green, asleep and oblivious to his presence.

'Laranne?' John called softly as he approached, not wanting to startle her. 'Laranne?' He tried again, a bit louder this time and shook her gently by the shoulder, getting a reaction this time as Laranne tried to lift her head but found herself unable to manage it.

'Colonel Sheppard!' Her voice was very quiet, betraying how weak she now was. 'You should not be here. I cannot stop what is happening to me. It is not safe for you to be here.' Even in her weakened state she was putting him first, not concerned about herself at all.

'One, I think we've both been through enough together to stop worrying about being formal – call me John,' John replied. 'And two, I couldn't leave you to die without trying to help in some way. There must be something we can do?'

'I am afraid it is too late,' Laranne told him. 'I can no longer recall my garden, it is gone from my memory. Soon the very last part of the garden will disappear and I will go with it.'

'So that's it?' John said in frustration. 'You're just going to lie there and accept that you're going to die?'

'I do not have the strength to act.'

'In that case I guess I'm just going to have to have the strength for both of us then,' John spoke firmly. 'I'll think of something, just…just make sure you hang in there for as long as you can. I'll be back soon.' John patted her reassuringly on the shoulder and stood up, trying to figure out how to get back. Before he knew it, he was opening his eyes and looking up at three concerned faces.

'How are you feeling?' Dr Beckett asked immediately.

'Fine,' John replied, his mind already working on the problem. 'I need to see Dr Brown.'

'What on earth for?' Carson asked.

'To give her a lesson in unarmed combat,' John spoke impatiently. 'Look, in Laranne's mind, her garden is the most important place but she's too exhausted to remember how it looked or to do anything about reconstructing it. I think the only way we can help her is to bring the garden to her.'

'And maybe the plants will help her to remember,' Dr Heightmeyer finished for him.

Elizabeth summoned Dr Brown. 'Do you really think this can work?' She asked.

'It may do,' Dr Heightmeyer said. 'Memories can be invoked through a variety of means, including smell, and there are a lot of benefits to aromatherapy and similar therapies that focus on the senses. It certainly can't do any harm.'

'We have to hurry, I don't think she's got much time left,' John urged.

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