Coming Home

Spoilers: Not intentionally, but references to both seasons may slip in on occasion.

Rating: T for some mild language and potentially disturbing images in some chapters.

Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate Atlantis or any of the characters associated with it.


Chapter Three

Sheppard stalked out of the gatrium, the combination of anger and fear causing his adrenaline to rise like mercury in a thermometer. He couldn't believe Elizabeth had blown him off like that! She had his loyalty, but sometimes he didn't understand her logic. If only there was a military reason to counter her decision… no, he might not like it, but he'd have to abide by the choices she set forth. Damn!

Driven by the need to expel his emotions, he eased into a light jog, heading for his quarters. He thought the door open from several feet away and entered the room, stripping off layers until he wore nothing but snug black briefs and bare skin. Digging through his dresser drawers, he pulled out a pair of soft blue sweat pants, yanking them on over toned legs, the snug black T-shirt that followed settling over his sculpted stomach like a second skin. Donning socks and running shoes, and grabbing his I-Pod and water bottle, he was out the door in less than five minutes.

He slid into the nearest transporter and punched a button, exiting in an unoccupied area on the outskirts of Atlantis. He'd discovered this part of the city during a routine patrol, and had come back several times when he needed solitude. The outdoor area reminded him of a city park, minus the trees and grass. Quaint benches sat in little groupings, waiting for occupants to eat lunch, tossing occasional breadcrumbs to Atlantian pigeons, or simply relax with a good book.

A three-mile walking path wound its way among the benches and surrounding area. Sheppard stretched and flexed, warming up his muscles, before beginning to jog slowly. As his muscles adjusted, he felt a tingle deep inside the tissue. Atlantis--he was used to feeling her power, but the pull always felt stronger here. He threw back his head, letting the morning sun warm his face, before glancing out over the rolling ocean waves. He gradually increased his pace until he was running at full speed, trying to outdistance his anger. The rhythmic slap of his New Balance shoes against the inflexible trail soothed away the knot of tension between his shoulders.

He had exceptional endurance, but even he couldn't run forever. Eventually, his legs began to shake and a stitch in his side caused him to stagger to a standstill. He leaned over, resting his hands on his knees and panting hard, his sweat dripping like raindrops. He watched the drops splatter on the stone path, visible for a moment, then evaporating as the sun lapped them up.

After a few moments, he stood and headed for the transporter, walking slowly while his body cooled. Once back in his room, he peeled off his drenched clothing and stepped into the shower. He washed quickly, sluicing see-through rainbow colored bubbles and hot water into his hair and over his aching muscles. He thought the water temperature down a few degrees and stood under the cool spray, the adrenaline gone, but his mind still full of questions.

Nothing about Jesi's arrival made any sense. Someone had sent a message to the SGC, but no one on Atlantis knew he had a sister. Elizabeth did because she'd read his file, yet she denied sending the message. If Elizabeth hadn't sent it, and he knew he hadn't, that left only one other possibility…

Loud pounding on the door interrupted his thoughts. He thought off the water and stepped out, drying himself with a thirsty blue towel before heading for the door.

"I'm coming! Keep your pants on," Sheppard hollered as he wrapped the towel around his waist and thought open the door.

McKay stood in the doorway, hand raised, ready to knock again. His eyes dropped to the towel. "Maybe you should follow your own advice, Colonel."

"I'm not in the mood, McKay. Did you need something or were you abusing my door for pleasure?"

"Would I have come all this way if I didn't need something?" McKay stepped into the room, pushing past Sheppard.

"Excuse me! I didn't invite you in…"

"I didn't ask you to invite me in." McKay picked up with two fingers the soggy black briefs Sheppard had tossed onto a nearby easy chair. He held them out then let them drop, before sinking into the chair. He glanced around the room, taking in the clothing strewn about. "Did your maid quit?"

"Rodney, please…" Sheppard thought the door closed and headed toward his dresser. He found clean boxers, gray cargo pants and another black t-shirt. He tugged the towel, letting it join the mess on the floor, before slipping into his clothes.

McKay watched his friend, his mouth turning down in a concerned frown. "You'd better not let Carson see you naked or he'll strap you to an infirmary bed and hook you up to a feeding tube. You're too damn thin, Sheppard."

"McKay!" The exasperated colonel flopped down on the bed with a groan, lying back on the pillow and throwing his arm over his eyes.

"What's wrong with you? I wasn't kidding about hiding from Carson, but maybe you should go see him..."

"There's nothing wrong with me. I pushed myself during my workout and my muscles are a little sore. Either say what you came to say or get out!"

"Fine! Rumor has it you and Elizabeth had a little…tiff early this morning. I take it you didn't change your mind about letting Jesi stay?" McKay scooted the chair closer to the bed, leaned back and rested his crossed feet on the end of it. "

"No. I didn't change my mind, but Elizabeth won't send Jesi home." Sheppard uncovered his eyes and peered at McKay. "Hey… did I ever tell you I had a sister?--I mean, before she arrived, did I ever mention her?"

"You, ah, might have mentioned her once or twice." McKay glanced away quickly. "You know… 'my sister could run faster or shoot better than you, Rodney' or 'my sister could kick your ass at stick fighting, McKay', but I always thought you were kidding about actually having a sister."

"Well I wasn't, and she can beat you at all of those things. You suck at soldiering, McKay, but you're a genius in other areas. Like computer stuff. Could you run a check of all the status reports we've sent to the SGC for the past few months?"

"Yeah, sure… what are we looking for?" McKay looked puzzled.

"Ah, it would be a… covert… search. You can't tell anyone, especially Elizabeth or Jesi." Sheppard sat up and studied McKay closely. "I'm looking for a message to the SGC asking them to find Jesi and send her to Atlantis. I want to know who sent it… Was it you, Rodney?"

"Me? No! Why would you think that?" McKay stammered, rocketing out of the chair and pacing the room.

"Elizabeth says she didn't send it and I know I didn't. That leaves you. You're the only other person with access to the system who could have."

"I just told you I didn't know you really had a sister!" McKay's frenzied pacing slowed just a bit. "I didn't send the message, John."

Sheppard stood and put a hand on the pacing scientist's arm. "That worries me even more. If you didn't do it, then someone's been using our systems; we need to find them before they do something worse than sending a message. Will you help me?"

McKay met Sheppard's gaze and sighed. "Oh all right, I'll search the reports as soon as I'm finished in the lab. I'm cataloguing an Ancient artifact Lorne's team brought back from their last mission. The natives traded it for food. Apparently they're a rather primitive society and didn't realize its value." He glanced at his watch then hurried to the door. "I have to go. Jesi asked if she could come by the lab for a tour before she starts work tomorrow, and I want to be ready for her." The door slid open and he stepped into the hallway. "I'll let you know if I find anything, Sheppard. In the mean time, eat something! Your own sister could probably kick your ass!" McKay's laugher lingered even after the scientist was out of sight.


Jesi rounded the doorway to McKay's lab and paused for a moment, observing the man while he worked. He sat with his head bent over a table upon which rested a miniature box made of a white gold-like substance, yet more lightweight and perfectly sized for storing jewelry. Layered in the metal were swirls of deep amber, dusky red and sea green mimicking the stained glass windows of Atlantis, and gemstones of the same colors clung tenaciously to the outside.

From the doorway, Jesi felt small energy bursts radiating from the box. She could see them mildly distorting the air like heat rising from a hot woodstove in winter. With eyes transfixed on the diminutive box, Jesi moved forward, hands extended.

McKay caught the motion from the corner of his eye and turned.

"Jesi, what are you doing? Don't touch that! Oh God, you listen as well as your brother!" McKay watch in horror as his words bounced off the unresponsive woman. "Jesi? Hello..."

Jesi kept moving forward, entranced by the strange box.

"Jesi, no!" McKay moved so quickly the stool upon which he'd been sitting toppled to the floor with a loud clatter. He thrust himself between Jesi and the box, encircling her in his arms and dragging her backwards. He felt her body shudder just before she sagged.

"Rodney…what happened?" Jesi whispered, her dazed eyes tracking McKay's concerned blue ones.

"Well, obviously you and your brother share the same insane tendency to touch things you shouldn't!" McKay smoothed a lock of silky hair away from Jesi's upturned face with a trembling hand and gave a shaky sigh. "Sheppard warned me not to let anything happen to you or he'd kill me!"

The color began to seep back into Jesi's cheeks, and she answered McKay's sigh with a shaky one of her own.

"I can handle my brother."

McKay realized he was still holding Jesi in his arms and abruptly let go, taking two steps back.

"Ah, you okay? I mean… that is…"

"I'm fine," Jesi managed as she gripped the solid wall to keep herself upright. "I just want to know what happened."

"Right, about that… I think I should brief you on lab protocol." McKay began to pace, his right hand raised, index finger pointed upward. "The first and most important rule--don't touch anything, and I mean anything, without my approval. Most of the stuff in here is of Ancient design. With your ATA gene, you have to be very careful about touching stuff!"

"But I didn't touch anything," Jesi stated with a puzzled frown. She pushed off from the wall and managed one tiny step before deciding that leaning against the wall for a few extra minutes might not be such a bad thing.

"Of course you didn't. You did, however, enter the room unannounced, which, for obvious reasons, you can't do any more. For you and Sheppard, sometimes just being in close proximity to an Ancient device and wondering what it does is enough to activate it." McKay returned to the table and righted the stool. "Just one of the 'perks' of being a descendant of the Ancients."

"Some perk!" Jesi smiled a weak, cheeky grin.

McKay's heart hitched in his chest. He coughed and sucked in a lung full of air.

"Why don't you, ah, stay right there while I, um, put this away?"

"Sure, whatever," Jesi murmured, her interest now focused on the shelves behind McKay which contained hundreds of intriguing Ancient devices.

McKay picked up the jewel-encrusted box and slipped it into a vacant spot on one of the dusty upper shelves.

Jesi peered at him through a thickening haze as her vision began to gray, and the room shifted. She slid down the wall and fought to stay conscious.


Atlantis watched through worried old eyes. The child did not understand her own power. There were rules for using Ancient technology, and these young people disregarded them at a risk to their own lives. Of course, their disregard was based on a desire to understand and learn, but it was still disregard. Atlantis searched her vast bank of knowledge for a way to help the young woman. Finding what she needed, she reached out to help the only way she could.
Jesi focused on her breathing. In, out, in, out…a steady rhythm matching time with the sudden comforting throb emanating from within the cool wall against which she rested. She closed her eyes and let her head fall back. The steady tempo held her suspended between awareness and darkness. She drifted there in the nothingness, expectantly, yet not sure what exactly she expected.

There! A soft whisper slid across her mind, a mental caress meant to quell her fears and lend her strength. Words… she thought there might be words in the whispers. She listened intently, completely languid in the place that wasn't really a place; more like an eternity comprised of immeasurable seconds traveling at a speed beyond light, yet standing still. The infinite universe was hers for the taking. She felt exhilarated, empowered… free!

A sudden sharp finger jab to her left shoulder sent her spiraling down, falling, spinning out of control, crashing… With a gasp of fear, Jesi ripped her eyes open and lashed out, connecting with the solid bulk of a blurry man.

"Rodney!"

"Jesi! Oh God, no, no! Look at me!" McKay lightly captured her erratic chin in the palm of his hand, forcing her glazed eyes to meet his. "What the Hell happened? I turn my back for a second and you faint on me!"

He tried to smile down at her even as his warm fingers found the pulse point on her clammy neck and pressed gently, subtly counting the rapid staccato beat.

"I'm fine," Jesi replied, though it came out sounding breathy and weak. Okay, not exactly the image she'd been shooting for, but she'd have to give a performance using the props she had left. "Help me up, Rodney." Jesi gripped McKay's tense arm and attempted to stand.

"Whoa, take it easy, 'wonder woman'." McKay pulled her up slowly, supporting her around the waist when her legs decided they no longer wanted to play their part. "Can you walk, or should I call and have Carson send a medical team?" McKay asked, his usually light eyes darkening to a worried deep ocean blue.

"I said I'm fine. I'm just tired. If you'll help me back to my quarters..." Jesi concentrated on forcing her legs back into the roll of supporting players and took a tentative step.

"Right, and suffer the wrath of Carson when he finds out what just happened? I don't think so." McKay began to walk, sustaining Jesi as they made their way out of the lab.

"I won't tell him if you won't!" Jesi suggested hopefully. She looked up at McKay with the Sheppard family charm.

"Oh, no, no, no! No puppy dog eyes… Wow, you're good, even better than Sheppard… Ahh, not fair Jesi… Nooo, it's straight to the infirmary with you!"

When Jesi opened her mouth to protest, McKay shushed her rudely and tapped his radio, letting Carson know he was bringing in a reticent patient. McKay let out a startled groan at the angry voice bellowing in his ear.

"McKaaay… what the Hell did you do to my sister?"


TBC