"I'm picking up irregularities in the gate power system," one of the techs in the control room called out. The funny noise the device was beginning to make definitely wasn't normal. "I can't stabilize it!"
Teyla, Rodney, and Ronon stepped through the event horizon, and everyone covered their eyes as the Stargate shut down with a bright flash. Elizabeth stood on the balcony, staring down in shock.
"Where's John?" she asked. The team looked around, their eyes widening.
"He was right behind us," Rodney said. All of a sudden, the Stargate reconnected. The shield was still down, and before it could be raised, John stepped through the event horizon. Everyone's jaws were on the floor.
"Wormholes don't do that," Rodney pointed out. "You shouldn't exist."
"I'm fully aware," John replied. Elizabeth was already halfway down the staircase. She came to a stop in front of him and they had an entire conversation with just their eyes. John finally closed the gap between them and kissed her. A few cheers came up from the control room, mixed with grumbles about lost bets.
"Where did that come from?" Elizabeth quietly asked him as they broke apart.
"It's a long story," he replied in kind.
"I look forward to hearing it. You and the rest of your team need to get checked out in the infirmary."
"I want Carson to get a look at you, too," he countered. Elizabeth raised an eyebrow. "Trust me. I'll tell you everything later. I just have a…rather strong suspicion that there are going to be some major changes around here in about nine months."
Much to Elizabeth's frustration, John remained mostly silent while they waited for the results of the tests that Carson was running on both of them. He wasn't sure exactly how much he was going to reveal of what he'd seen. If people in the city knew the future, would it change the good aspects of what was to come?
John and Elizabeth both looked up as Beckett walked into the corner of the infirmary where they were waiting. "You've got a clean bill of health," he told John. "And should I assume you're the one responsible for Dr. Weir's current state?"
Her eyes widened. "He was right?"
"Aye. You are indeed pregnant."
Elizabeth turned to John. "How did you know?"
"Remember that little physical impossibility of me coming through the gate after it already closed?"
"It wasn't something I was likely to forget."
"Well, that was my return trip from about twenty years in the future." They both just stared.
"Your what?"
"Something went pretty seriously wrong with the Stargate when I coming to Atlantis and I wound up in the future. That's how I knew about our little surprise."
"The Stargate isn't designed for time travel," Elizabeth pointed out.
"I'm aware. Getting back was a bit complicated, but…" he hesitated, considering how much to say, "There are going to be some pretty bright kids growing up in this city."
"You saw our child?" Elizabeth asked.
John grinned. "Yes," he answered simply, deciding to let their son be a surprise for her again.
"I have a feeling this is going to be a very interesting mission report," she replied with a smile.
By that evening, Atlantis' rumor mill was in full force. Everyone in the city was talking about the snippets of information they'd picked up about the day's events. John had been highly amused by some of the stories he'd overheard with regards to the future that he'd supposedly seen. People certainly had good imaginations.
As the night wore on, he headed up to the control tower to see if Elizabeth was burning the midnight oil. She wasn't in her office, and he was about to head back downstairs when a bit of red out on the balcony caught his eye as he passed the door. Elizabeth was out at the railing without a jacket, watching barely-visible wavelets crash into the city far below. "Hey," he said as he joined her.
"Hi. I was just thinking about…everything."
John smiled. "Yeah. It's been an interesting day."
"I still can't believe it…I guess you've had a little more time to get used to things."
"Mmm. A couple days with the end result."
"I know we never talked about children…Actually, we never planned much of anything for the future. I guess that was kind of the problem this morning."
"Yeah…but the reason I'm standing here right now is to get a second chance at a future with you – and a family with you. We'll work everything else out along the way."
"SGC is going to flip when they hear this," Elizabeth pointed out.
"So we won't say anything. At least not yet."
"We're supposed to do a data upload tomorrow."
John shrugged. "A few documents might just happen to fall through the cracks. Honest mistake. Besides, I'm sure that you're going to come up with something amazing to convince everyone that there's no issue with us staying in Atlantis."
She smiled. "No pressure."
They remained together in amicable silence for a few minutes longer before John finally spoke up. "Close your eyes and stick out your hand," he told her.
Elizabeth looked at him warily. "Why?"
"Do you trust me?"
"Yes. I trust that you have the sense of humor of a five-year-old."
"Hey! Seven-year-old, at least." Elizabeth laughed, but obediently offered her right hand and shut her eyes. She could feel something small land in her palm and John curling her fingers around the object so she wouldn't drop it. "Okay, open." She looked to see what he'd done, and quickly realized that she was holding a blue-stoned ring. "It's the best I could do at the moment," John explained, "But…that's my ring from the Academy. I know it's too big; you can put it on a chain or something. And next time I'm on Earth, I'll get a real ring. You can help, if we go back at the same time, if you want. I'm not sure how good my taste is with such things, but – "
" John," Elizabeth finally cut off his ramble, "Are you asking something?"
"Well…we've got a lot to figure out – I know that – and I don't want you to think that I'm only asking because you're pregnant. I'm not; I hope we would have ended up here anyway. It just probably would have taken longer."
Elizabeth rolled her eyes with a smile. " John? The answer is yes."
TBC...
one chapter left!
