Chapter 5: A plan.

The excruciating pain he was expecting never came, he wasn't being fed on and his life wasn't being drained away and John had to wonder why. Before he had a chance to blink, he got his answer as the super Wraith before him toppled to the ground beside him – shot through the head. When he was finally able to breathe he saw a man who was the splitting image of him – except for the bright red hair – standing in front of him. He had a strong suspicion that this man was one of his ancestors and John was glad that he hadn't ended up with the same red hair.

"Ummm… thanks," he said as he continued to stare.

"I am Johan," the red-haired man replied, "why are you out here and how did you get here?"

There were so many questions that he wanted to ask this man, but right now he had no time for it, "we need to get back to Arastica and stop the Wraith from infecting the city with a virus."

"We are ready to head back to Atlantis and then we are going to earth. All is lost in this galaxy. Our only hope is that one day our descendants will find Atlantis and walk her halls once again."

"What about Arastica, surely you hope that your descendants will one day walk her halls as well."

The red-headed man stared at him for a minute, "who are you, have we met because you look familiar?"

Rather than replying, he started to walk towards Arastica. The smoke wasn't as thick, but it still tickled his throat, and the charred remains of the dead wraith that littered the field created an unbearable stench of death. There were many more still alive and they were fast approaching the magnificent city, and he wondered how they were going to plant the virus. Perhaps the queen would do it? He continued in silence assuming that Johan was following him. By the time he reached Arastica, it was already too late as the Wraith had already infiltrated the city….

oOo

A deep hacking cough invaded her consciousness the next time Teyla awoke and this time she came to awareness much quicker. Her first thought was John, so when she looked over at him, she was relieved to see that Carson was attending to him.

She was out of bed and by Carson's side within seconds and she wasn't happy by what she saw. Carson had him sitting up in bed with an oxygen mask over his face and he appeared to still be asleep.

"Carson, what happened?"

"He's just had another seizure and then he started coughing. For the moment his brain pattern is the dominant one and the other one seems to be getting weaker."

"Is there anything you can do for him?"

"I'm sorry lass, but the only thing we can do is get to Sheppard's planet as soon as possible because I'm not sure that he won't suffer brain damage if he has too many more seizures."

"What time is it?"

"It's 0600 and breakfast will be served in another hour and a half, so if you want to get some more sleep, I suggest you get it now because the only hope Colonel Sheppard has is if we get to Arastica today."

"I think I'll sit with him for now Carson and when he awakes, we can share breakfast."

She sat next to his bed determined not to leave him. Carson took the oxygen mask off John's face and placed a nasal Cannula under his nose. When he listened to John's chest, he looked up at her with an alarmed look on his face.

"What is wrong now Carson?"

"He appears to have some fluid on his lungs, so we'll be keeping an eye on that."

"Is that because he inhaled water when he was attacked by the sea creature?"

"Aye Luv that's probably the case. I'll start him on a course of antibiotics and hopefully, it'll clear up in a day or two."

"Thank you for looking after him so well Carson?"

"I only wish I didn't have to do it so often. Anyway, Luv, I'm about to go off duty, but Dr Keller will be here in a minute."

"Well, I will see you later then Carson."

He nodded and left the room leaving her alone with John and her own thoughts. Poor John hadn't had an easy run of it since they had been back in the Pegasus galaxy. He had been sick or injured for most of that time and she wondered when it would end for him. Because when it did, she had every intention of asking him to be bonded with her for the rest of their lives. She was also going to ask him if he wanted to undertake the Athosian ceremony for him to officially become Torren's father.

oOo

John stood in the control room overlooking the Stargate as the Ancients left Arastica. A great sadness overcame him because now the city would stand alone for ten thousand years with no one to help her. He knew that the Ancients were headed back to earth and that there was nothing that he could do to change it because that was what was meant to happen, but could he change Arastica's fate?

Once the Wraith had entered the city it was very quickly overrun, and many Ancients were fed on and lost their lives. He knew that the virus had already entered Arastica's operating system because systems were beginning to fail all over the city, and it wouldn't be long before the gate would become inactive. And it would be more than ten thousand years before anyone would use it again.

Most of the Wraith had gone back to what was left of their hive and there they would remain hibernating throughout the centuries, waiting for another hive ship to come to their rescue, but from all accounts that wouldn't happen.

Suddenly he heard a screeching voice in his head, "help me, John Sheppard, you must not let this happen again?"

"I'll do my best Arastica."

"Please hurry."

The screeching in his head intensified and after one last look at the dead quiet city, he found himself falling into the darkness….

He awoke with a start as a stabbing pain shot through his temple. Grabbing his head with his hands he gritted his teeth as he tried to ride out the excruciating pain. Someone was calling his name, but he couldn't hear what was being said because the pain was so intense that he thought that his head was going to split in two. And then as quickly as it had started it stopped leaving him totally exhausted.

Someone was wiping his brow with a damp cloth, and it was the most wonderful thing he had ever experienced – at least at that moment it was. A soft voice was whispering words of encouragement to him, and he instantly knew who it was, "Teyla," he whispered before he felt a tickle in his throat which very quickly led to a coughing fit.

Gentle hands helped him sit up until the coughing subsided and then a bendy straw was placed in front of him, so he happily drank the whole glass of water. Once he had finished, he lay back on the stack of pillows feeling totally spent. He was about to close his eyes when someone spoke to him and it didn't take him long to realise that it wasn't Carson or Teyla, so the only person it could be was Dr Keller.

"Colonel Sheppard are you in pain?"

He tried to speak, and he felt a tickle in his throat again, so he remained quiet hoping that it would go away. When it didn't and he started to cough again a bendy straw and a glass of water appeared in front of him.

Once the coughing had subsided and he was laying back on the stack of pillows he attempted to answer the doctor's question, "No, I had an excruciating headache for a minute or two, but now it's gone." Closing his eyes, he tried to muster the energy to keep talking, "what's with all the coughing anyway?"

"You have a chest infection. At the moment it's not pneumonia and we have you on some strong antibiotics. We're hoping that will fight it and it won't get any worse."

Suddenly he felt too hot, and he tried to push the sheet off, "Why's it so hot in here anyway doc?"

"You have a slight temperature, but again we're hoping that the antibiotics will bring it down." She adjusted his nasal cannula and fiddled with his IV before continuing, "I have one piece of good news though?"

He was just too tired to say anything so he just looked at the doctor and hoped that she would explain.

"That other pattern that was overlaying yours is gone, so hopefully the seizures that you were having will stop now."

"That's because Arastica has finished communicating with me, but she still needs my help, so when can I get out of here?"

Keller looked at him with her don't mess with me or I'll make your life hell look, and it actually scared him, "you won't be going anywhere until you are over your chest infection. But if you'd like I will allow the meeting to be conducted in your room this morning."

He thought about arguing but decided that he was wiped, and he didn't really want to get out of bed right now anyway, "you win doc, but right now I think I want to go back to sleep."

"Colonel it's 0730 hours and someone should be bringing you some breakfast in a few minutes and then the meeting is at 0900."

He looked around the room and realised that Teyla was no longer there, "where's Teyla?"

"I believe that she had gone to have some breakfast."

"Well, I'm completely wiped so I think I'll go back to bed until the meeting. Leave me some breakfast and I'll eat it when I wake up if I'm feeling hungry," he told her closing his eyes.

"I'll be in to check on you before the meeting Colonel."

He didn't even bother to reply as he could feel his eyelids drooping already, he didn't like the rattle that he could hear in his chest, and he hoped that whatever the problem was he would be over it quickly because all he wanted to do right now was get to Arastica in the past because she desperately needed his help – although right now he had no idea how that was going to happen, so he could only hope that his genius son from the future had a solution.

oOo

Rodney was completely frustrated and annoyed with Torren and Dave by the time they walked into the infirmary for the morning meeting. After having breakfast with the two men and spending the entire meal engaging in small talk, he had cornered them in the hallway and demanded answers. Torren had spoken on behalf of the two men and told him that they would not be divulging any information about their plan until John Sheppard was present. Apparently, John had a large part to play in enacting their plans.

Now he was sitting beside John's bed waiting for him to wake up and the man didn't look good. His cheeks were flushed, and they were a stark contrast to the rest of his ashen grey face, there was sweat beading on his brow, a nasal cannula was placed under his nose and the rattle that was coming from his chest every time he took a breath was disconcerting, to say the least.

Ronon was in the room, as were Teyla and Torren, but Dave, Woolsey, Lorne, and Carson would join them when sleeping beauty woke up.

As the time slowly ticked by, he became more and more agitated because unlike the other people in the room he had important work to do and the quicker he got out of here the better, he wasn't interested in rescuing the ancient city, he was just here to hear whatever ludicrous plan Torren had come up with to go back in time. Or maybe he would go back into the past, just to see if time travel was more than just a theoretical construct because although he believed that Teyla and Sheppard had travelled to the future, he had to see it for himself.

Finally, the waiting became too much for him, so he had to complain, "Can someone let me know when sleeping beauty awakes because right now I've got work to do and I don't have time to sit around the infirmary?"

A croaky voice from the bed caught his attention, "what's the matter, McKay, you can't stand to be around a friend when he's sick?"

"You're finally awake Sheppard, can we…." The rest of his sentence was drowned out when Sheppard started to cough and it was a deep hacking cough, which sounded more like a dog barking.

Jennifer and Carson came running into the room and helped John sit up until the coughing had subsided, they then gave him a glass of water before laying him back on the pillows.

"What the hell is that?" Rodney asked, "he isn't contagious, or anything is he?"

He felt severely chastised when Carson replied to his question, "no he's not, but he's a very sick man who needs his rest, so can we get on with this meeting so that my patient can get some rest."

At that moment Woolsey, Dave and Lorne walked into the room and stood in the corner of the already crowded room.

Woolsey was the first to speak, bringing the meeting to order, "okay let's get this meeting underway shall we. Carson, how is Colonel Sheppard?"

"The other pattern has disappeared, and his own brain pattern is the only one present, he also has a nasty chest infection, probably due to the water he breathed in when the sea creature attacked him. We're hoping that the infection should clear up within a couple of days."

Next Woolsey turned to Torren, "Okay, Torren what is your plan for changing the timeline?"

"First, we need to go back to Arastica in this time period to see if I can re-activate the anomaly so that we can travel back in time to the exact moment the hive ship came through because we need to prevent the Wraith from reaching Arastica somehow."

"The hive ship was badly damaged when it crashed, so I figure if we can set some explosives, we may be able to destroy it completely."

Rodney snorted, "and how do you know that Colonel flyboy?"

"Arastica showed me when she communicated with me?"

"In the future?" Woolsey quired.

"No that's what the other pattern was in my brain, Arastica was communicating with me from the past."

A frown crossed Woolsey's face as he answered, "how is that possible."

Rodney snorted again, "haven't we already had this conversation once in the last few days. In case you've forgotten let me repeat it for you, we live on a floating city in another galaxy – a city that can fly through space for that matter. We travel from planet to planet through an active wormhole, we travel in starships that travel through hyperspace and there are life-sucking aliens who can suck the life out of you with their bare hands. And you're telling me you don't believe Sheppard – again?"

"That's enough Dr McKay," Woolsey Chastised and although he wanted to continue, he sensed Woolsey's disapproval, so he kept his mouth closed.

Torren very quickly continued, "right, so our only hope is to destroy the hive ship in the past. What do you suggest Dad?"

John tried to clear his throat and it led to another coughing fit, which made Rodney shudder. There's no way that the man in the bed was going to be able to get out of bed let alone blow anything up. Tears were streaming down the man's flushed cheeks by the time he'd finished coughing and Rodney wondered if he was going to be able to speak.

When John finally spoke, his voice sounded weak and croaky, "you get us to the right place in time and I'll know what to do?"

Woolsey spoke again and it was obvious to Rodney that he was confused – again, "please forgive my ignorance, but does it matter if we change the timeline? Because from my understanding an alternate timeline has been created."

This time it was Dave who supplied the answer, "Some points in space and time can never be changed because the ramifications to the timeline could be catastrophic – and before you ask, we have no idea how this event has affected the future. The changes may not show up for another ten thousand years, but at some point, a catastrophe is going to happen."

All Rodney could do was stare at the young man in front of him, could it be that Torren and Dave were as smart – if not smarter – than he was, "and you know this how?"

He didn't miss the eye roll that Torren gave him, "because, as I told you before, the ancients on Arastica were researching a way to scan timelines and alternate realities and Dave and I finished their research before we came here. It was that research that taught us that some events cannot be changed. That virus being implanted into Arastica's operating system should never have happened, so we have to stop it from happening."

"Forgive me for my ignorance again," Woolsey said holding his hand up, "but you're saying that the virus that Colonel Sheppard eliminated from the system, should never have been there in the first place. And it was caused by Sheppard's actions when he tried to destroy the hive ship attacking the planet?"

"Yes, yes, it's all very confusing, but what we need to do now, is fix this timeline, because I'm beginning to understand where Torren and Dave are coming from and believe me when I say these men are up to my level of genius, which is something that doesn't happen very often."

"Thank you, Dr McKay," Torren replied, "you taught me everything I know."

He blushed before looking at Woolsey, "right now we know what we have to do. When can we go? Torren has a jumper with a Zed PM in it, as well as the coordinates."

Before the conversation had a chance to progress much further Carson interrupted, "Colonel Sheppard will not be going anywhere for the next few days at least."

"Okay gentlemen, "Woolsey stated," It looks like we have a plan, when Colonel Sheppard is feeling better, you have a go for the mission. In the meantime, coordinate with Major Lorne to take whatever personnel you feel are necessary."

Rodney looked down at Sheppard and realised that he was now fast asleep. He had no idea how Sheppard was going to be ready to go back to Arastica in two days, but then Sheppard was the most stubborn cantankerous man he'd ever met, so if there were a way for it to happen, then John would make it happen.

oOo

Teyla knew the moment that John fell asleep – it was sometime between Rodney's rant at Woolsey and Torren complimenting Rodney. She hoped that in two days he would be ready to go to Arastica because she needed this mess to be over sooner rather than later. But for now, she needed to decide what to do with Torren – baby Torren – as there was still a chance that they may not succeed in their mission and they wouldn't make it back to Atlantis. There was only one solution to that question, and it was the right one; Kanaan would have to raise Torren if they never made it back. She had contacted Kanaan just that morning and asked if Torren could stay with him for a while longer and of course he was delighted. That made her feel a little uncomfortable because Kanaan had hardly spent any time with him until this point and John had helped raise him. For now, she needed to put those feelings aside because John needed her and when he was well they had a mission to complete.

A deep voice interrupted her thoughts, so she looked up straight into the dark brown eyes of her son, "I am sorry I did not hear what you said."

"I asked if you were alright?"

"Yes, sweetheart I was just thinking about what may happen to you if we do not return from this mission."

"You mean baby me, don't you?"

"Yes, but for now you are with Kanaan, so I am sure that you will be, okay?"

"Don't worry Mom I was okay when you didn't return from New Athos when you ended up in the future thanks to the ancient's anomaly. So, I am sure that this Torren will survive as well."

"I know he will, and I have every belief that he will grow into a fine man, just the way you did."

"Anyway Mom, I think I'll head to the mess hall and get some lunch, are you coming?"

There was actually a question that she'd been meaning to ask Torren since he'd arrived, but she'd never gotten around to it, "Torren how are Maddie and Charlie."

"They are both fine, Charlie is engaged to a lovely young man and is living on Atlantis and Maddie has just taken up the role of CMO on Atlantis. They wanted to come with us, but with Maddie's new job and Charlie now working as a doctor on Atlantis they were just too busy to come. They both send their love though."

"I am pleased that they are both well and in answer to your question, I think that I will sit with your father for a while."

"Do you want me to bring you something to eat Mom?"

"Do not worry, I will eat when your Dad eats."

She was a little surprised when he leaned in and kissed her on the cheek, "I love you Mom and I have missed you a lot over the last ten years."

"Believe me if I had not seen you for ten years I would miss you also, but it has only been a couple of days for us."

A moan from the bed interrupted the conversation before it had a chance to go any further.

"I'll catch you later Mom," Torren said as he left the room.

Looking down at John she realised that his eyes were open, but they weren't really focused, "John I am here, so you may as well go back to sleep."

"Teyla," he whispered reaching out to hold her hand.

"Yes, John it is me, I have just called for Dr Keller."

"t's hot…"

"I know John you have a temperature."

"Where's Torren," he mumbled, and it almost seemed as if he was delirious?

"Torren had gone to the mess hall to get some lunch."

"Not that Torren, where's our baby?"

"Do not worry he is safe on New Athos with Kanaan."

He looked at her with unfocused eyes and she could see that he was upset by the fact that Torren was with Kanaan, "don't like Kanaan, he's taking away my son."

She was sure that he wouldn't have told her that if he wasn't sick, but she had no idea what to do with that piece of information because whatever happened Kanaan was still Torren's biological father, and nothing could ever change that.

"Do not worry about that for now John. Perhaps you should just go to sleep, and I am sure that you will feel much better when you awake."

His eyelids were drooping by the time she'd finished her sentence, so she started to stroke his forehead and she watched as he drifted off to sleep.

Jennifer came into the room at that point and started to take John's vitals.

"Dr Keller, why does he feel so warm?"

Keller looked at the thermometer that she had just stuck in his ear, "his temperature is up to 101, so I think it's about time we started sponging him down. Do you want to help?"

Teyla nodded at the doctor while continuing to stroke John's forehead.

"Okay, I'll grab a cooling blanket for him and then I'll get one of the nurses to bring you a basin of water and some cloths, so that you can start cooling him down."

Once Jennifer had left the room, she leaned in and whispered in John's ear while she stroked her hand through his damp hair, "do not worry my love, we will succeed in our mission and when we return to Atlantis we will be bonded for life."

TBC…

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