PART EIGHT

'Colonel Sheppard!' Laranne greeted him, surprised to see him again.

'John,' he reminded her. 'I said I'd come back.'

'Something is different,' Laranne looked a little more alert now, though still very weak. 'What have you done?'

'Just breathe deeply,' was all John would say, watching carefully for any change. The first indication was a faint green haze moving out from where they were.

'I can remember,' Laranne exclaimed, struggling to sit up to watch the transformation. 'I can sense the garden and I remember.'

'Good,' John smiled as he helped her to sit up, using himself as a support as she didn't have the strength yet to sit up on her own.

Sitting in silence, the two of them watched as the haze of green turned into grass as far as the eye could see, small flowers beginning to spring up. As the garden grew, so Laranne began to regain strength, no longer requiring John's support until she got to her feet, a little wobbly but standing unaided.

'I did not think this could happen,' Laranne told John. 'I think I will be well now, but I must complete the renewal of my garden before I can rejoin you in the outside world. Now you must go. It is not good for either of us to spend too much time in the other's mind. You have my thanks for what you have done.'

'You're welcome,' John grinned, pleased as a small child that his scheme had worked. The grin was still on is face as he surfaced once again in the infirmary.

'What are you smiling about?' Elizabeth asked him. 'I take it everything went well?'

'Oh yes,' John told her. 'You'll have to tell Dr Brown that she's a life saver.'

'I'll certainly do that,' Elizabeth agreed then turned to Beckett.

'Laranne's beginning to stabilise and is responding to stimuli. Her brain activity is returning to normal, she should…' Carson was interrupted before he got any further.

'John?' Laranne's voice was very quiet but got everyone's attention.

'Nice to have you back with us,' John grinned at her, giving her a wave. Laranne smiled in response before closing her eyes again.

'She's asleep,' Carson reported. 'Which is what you need, Colonel.'

'But I've been asleep,' John tried to argue.

'I don't think telepathic communication counts as proper sleep,' Carson told him firmly. 'But if you don't want to go to sleep, that's up to you.' He paused before continuing, subduing the triumphant look in John's eyes. 'I won't be clearing you for duty until I'm satisfied you're fully recovered. But, you'll know best of course.'

'You know, doc,' John said. 'You can be a real…'

'Ok, I think this is where we take our leave,' Elizabeth turned to Dr Heightmeyer. 'Good work, John.'

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Three days later, John had returned to light duties but Laranne was still in the infirmary, spending a great deal of time sleeping.

'Is there something we don't know about?' Elizabeth asked Dr Beckett. 'Shouldn't she be recovering now?'

'There's nothing wrong with her as far as I can tell, other than this extreme exhaustion,' Carson told her. 'Her brain activity hasn't returned to it's previous levels yet so I can only assume that whatever she did to help Colonel Sheppard took a lot more out of her than we realised. When she's awake she appears to be normal, she's eating and drinking a little and she's able to hold a conversation but then she can only stay awake for half an hour at a time.'

'Can she shed any light on the matter?'

'I have asked but she's told me it's very uncommon for anyone to use their ability to heal others in quite that way so there's nothing to compare it with.'

The following day, John and Teyla arrived in the infirmary to put forward a proposal to Dr Beckett.

'Colonel Sheppard has been telling me how Laranne helped him heal himself,' Teyla began. 'I was thinking that as her garden is very important to her, that may be the reason why she is not getting better on Atlantis. If we were to take her to join my people on the main land, she may begin to recover properly.'

'And they'd be alright with that?' Dr Beckett asked, considering Teyla's suggestion.

'They would welcome someone who loves nature as much as they do. And she is someone who has lost her own people, they will understand and help her to make a new life.'

'Well, we've got to try something,' Carson agreed. 'We'll need to clear it with Dr Weir, though.'

'They've already spoken to me,' Elizabeth appeared at that moment. 'I agree with Teyla, if a natural environment is what will help her, then I can't see we have any option. Carson, I'd like you to go with Colonel Sheppard and Teyla to make sure there aren't any problems.'

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Laranne had fallen asleep for the ride to the mainland, only staying awake long enough to take her leave of the people she had met on Atlantis. As soon as they had landed and the door was opened, the fresh air roused her.

'This is beautiful,' Laranne spoke with awe in her voice. 'I had almost forgotten what it could be like.' Oblivious to those who had travelled with her, she left the jumper and began to wander, gaining strength immediately from the change in environment. She hadn't gone very far when a small group of people approached from the cluster of homes a short distance away, stopping to speak to her.

Moving to join them, Teyla smiled and turned to the other two. 'I think she will do well here. See, they are welcoming her already as though she belongs to them.'

'Well, it looks as though you've found yourself a new home,' John smiled warmly at Laranne.

'You have given me more than you can know,' Laranne thanked him.

'Well, you did kind of save my life first, so let's just call it quits,' John said. 'I guess this is goodbye, then.'

Laranne stood and watched as the Jumper took off, waiting until it had disappeared from view to join her new people, ready to begin her new life knowing she had fulfilled her life's work.

THE END

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