Chapter 6: Hello old friend.
After two days in the jumper, they had found nothing. Teyla's initial excitement at jumping into the hyperspace was long gone because a few minutes after they had entered hyperspace, they had exited it. When she had confronted Sheppard about it, he had merely said that the jumper only had enough power for a small jump. John had then quizzed him, on how there was even a hyperdrive in the jumper in the first place? Teyla couldn't really blame John for being annoyed though as Sheppard had lied to him again.
Sheppard had merely shrugged his shoulders and told them that it was apparently something McKay had installed before they had left earth. John had been incredulous at that comment, and he'd ranted about the fact that McKay had never bothered to tell him and if McKay had never bothered to tell him, how the hell did Sheppard know about it? John had then continued to rant, claiming that when they got home, he was going to kill McKay.
John had then confronted Sheppard on why the hell he hadn't told him about the hyperdrive, and Sheppard merely shrugged his shoulders again and told him that he wanted it to be a surprise.
Apparently, Rodney had left instructions on how to activate it in an encrypted file in the database of the jumper and Sheppard had discovered it years ago, but until he'd worked out a way to get off the planet without being sucked into the anomaly, it hadn't really mattered.
John had then continued to mumble about how he was going to kill McKay when they got home since this was something that he as the military commander of Atlantis should know about. Finally, John had stopped complaining and gone and locked himself in the front compartment of the jumper.
Teyla stayed at the back to keep a close eye on Sheppard as she still didn't trust him.
The fish that they had caught before they left was long gone and for the last twenty-four hours, all they had eaten was power bars and MRE's. They all knew that they would have to ration the food as they had no idea how long they would be stuck in the jumper. But John had suggested that they could set down and look for supplies if they found a habitable planet.
Part of her really wished that they had stayed on the planet because at least they knew it was habitable, but then she also knew that if they never left it there was no way she would ever get home to her son.
Teyla had kept her eye on the children throughout the journey and although they were quiet, they seemed to be enjoying themselves despite the initial arguments. As much as she liked these children and enjoyed their company, they were not hers; even though they looked like her and John she couldn't help but think of Torren every time she looked at them. Then her thoughts would get away from her, and she would imagine what her children would look like if she ever had them with John.
She had been in to see John throughout the last two days and he claimed that he wanted to be left alone, so she had spent most of her time with Sheppard and the kids, playing cards and watching movies that had been downloaded on John's computer. Luckily, it had survived the crash. They had sent out radio transmissions throughout the last two days as well hoping that someone would respond.
It had been six hours since she'd last been in to see John and she knew that it was probably time to see him again since he probably needed something to eat by now.
She was just about to knock on the door, when John came out and he didn't look well, "Teyla I didn't say goodbye to Torren!" He said with anguish in his eyes and then he passed out in front of her.
Kneeling beside him she took a good look at him, and she was shocked to see that there was sweat beading on his brow and his face was as white as a sheet, she suspected that if she looked at his arm it would be infected by now, but she had no idea why his arm would suddenly become infected again.
Sheppard was by her side in a split second wiping a damp cloth across John's brow.
"I must look at his arm," she suggested feeling incredibly worried, how was he sick again since they had defeated his infection on the planet.
It took her a few minutes to unbandage his arm and she was horrified to see how red and swollen it had become, and that was something she certainly didn't understand because she had checked his wound twelve hours ago and at the time his arm had been healing well. It was times like this that she wished that Carson or Jennifer had come along on their mission to New Athos. Even Rodney may be able to shed a light on what was going on.
"I have brought some of the herbs along from the planet, perhaps if I mix them with some water and make a paste, I can then put it on his arm and then maybe it will help with the infection. If we can manage to get him to drink some as well, it may help reduce his fever." Sheppard suggested before turning to Charin, "Charlie honey can you continue to wipe his brow down while I mix some herbs?" He then turned to David," and Dave can you go up the front keep an eye on the HUD to see if anyone is nearby?"
Teyla was surprised by what Sheppard had just said, "Does David have the ATA gene?"
"Yeah, I discovered him activating the jumper a few years ago and his gene appears to be almost as strong as mine."
"Well, it will certainly come in useful now," Teyla commented.
John moaned from the floor and grabbed her arm, "Teyla where is Torren, I need to say goodbye, he thinks I don't love him?"
She felt tears come to her eyes as she answered, "John I am sure that he knows how much you love him."
"No, no he doesn't, "John mumbled, and it was clear to Teyla that he was delirious with fever.
She watched as he closed his eyes again and his breathing evened out as he lost consciousness again.
"Sheppard, how are you coming with that herb?"
"It's almost ready Teyla," he handed her something before continuing; "I found this in your first-aid kit so how about you take his temperature."
Taking the thermometer from Sheppard she took his temperature and was relieved to see that it wasn't as high as she thought it would be.
"How bad is it Teyla?" Charin asked looking at her with her big brown eyes and she could certainly sense her worry.
"It is not too bad Charin, it is only 100 degrees and hopefully it won't get any higher."
"That's a relief," Charin answered, while still wiping John's brow.
She kept her eye on John, and was worried at the way he kept moaning and thrashing about, his temperature wasn't that high so she would have expected him to be more coherent than he was.
"Sheppard, did you suffer much of an infection in your arm when you first crashed on the planet?"
"I was sick for about six hours and then when we used the herbs on my arm, I felt much better. My arm healed up fairly quickly as well. Even though, the bones didn't heal straight."
Sheppard handed her the herb paste that he had made, and she spread it on John's arm, she then put some on the compress that Charin was wiping across John's forehead.
Teyla looked down at her beloved, "I really hope that this works because if we do not find some help soon, I am not sure what we can do for him."
Sheppard put his arm around her and for some strange reason, she felt comforted by it. She knew that he wasn't her John, but right now he was the closest thing to him that she could find.
Looking at him, she sensed that he may be in a bit of pain himself, "are you alright Sheppard?"
"My arm is aching; in fact, most of my bones ache these days, but don't worry about it you should really be keeping an eye on John."
Teyla didn't miss the pain lines around his eyes, and she sensed that he was in more pain than he was willing to admit. "I can give you some pain medication if you like."
"Perhaps some Tylenol thanks and then if you can stay here with John, I will go and sit up front with David and keep an eye on the HUD and hopefully someone will be along soon."
After giving Sheppard some Tylenol she watched as he went through to the front compartment, and she was relieved when he kept the door open.
Looking down at John again she was relieved to see that he was sleeping peacefully, so she turned her thoughts elsewhere. She wondered if Torren was still alive out there somewhere and if he was, did he have a family of his own? What about Ronon and Rodney, or Jennifer and Carson? Had Rodney and Jennifer ever married and had kids, did Ronon and Amelia stay together? What happened to Atlantis, were people from earth still there, or what about the Athosians did they survive? Halling was much older than her when she last saw him so he would probably be long dead by now, but what about Jinto, was he still alive with a family of his own?
All of these thoughts were too much for her and she felt tears coming to her eyes, what was to become of them, would they get home, would she ever see her son again?
She sat in silence, listening to John's breathing and she was relieved that for now, he seemed to be sleeping peacefully. His fever seemed to be under control for now, even though his arm was still red and swollen. In the front, David and Sheppard were whispering to each other quietly and she had no idea what they were talking about. But right now, she didn't care since all she wanted to do was rest as the last two days were beginning to take a toll on her. So, lying down next to John she closed her eyes and much to her relief it wasn't long before she fell into a deep sleep.
She awoke sometime later to the sound of someone moaning followed by someone speaking soothing words, she recognised the voice in an instant it was John's, but something was off, it was different somehow. Opening her eyes, she very quickly realised why it was Sheppard speaking and he was kneeling next to John and whispering soothing words to him.
In an instant she was kneeling beside John to see what was happening, "Sheppard what is going on how is John?"
"His temperature hasn't changed, but he seems to be becoming restless again and he keeps mumbling about how he thinks Torren doesn't love him."
Teyla sighed she wondered whether Sheppard knew the truth as to what was bothering John, "before we left New Athos, John didn't bother to say goodbye to Torren, and I fear that is something that he is beginning to regret."
"Believe me I know. I regretted it for a long time until my Teyla and I had David and Charin, and although I still missed Torren, having the twins seemed to help a little."
"You are very lucky to have such wonderful children Sheppard, they are beautiful."
"Yeah, just imagine if I'd been stuck on the planet with McKay," he quipped and for a moment she saw her John in him.
"Yes, I cannot imagine what that would have been like with his constant whining and complaining. It was lucky that you got stuck with your Teyla."
All of a sudden Sheppard listed to the side and Teyla managed to catch him and sit him on the floor, "Sheppard what is going on, are you feeling alright?"
He looked up at her with glassy eyes, "Ummm…. I just felt dizzy for a moment or two, but I'll be fine."
"Sheppard you are most certainly not fine, and you will sit here for a few moments while I check you out."
"Sorry I'm already taken, "Sheppard quipped.
Glaring at him she stuck the thermometer in his ear, as much as she liked his sense of humour now really wasn't the time.
"Your temperature is slightly elevated, are you experiencing any other symptoms?"
"My left arm has become incredibly painful in the last few days. The rest of my body aches too, but not as bad as my arm."
"Let me look at your arm Sheppard?"
He held out his left arm towards her and rolled up his sleeve and she was shocked to see that it was red and swollen, the same way that John's was.
"Teyla this is getting weirder and weirder. I really hope that we can find someone to help us soon because I have a feeling that John and I are going to get even sicker."
"I tend to agree with you, Sheppard. I think it is about time to send out another radio transmission, hopefully, someone will hear us this time?"
"I couldn't agree with you more Teyla I will go and do that while you keep an eye on John."
"No Sheppard, you sit here, and rest and I will go and send out a transmission."
A moan from John caught her attention and before she knew what was happening, he was starting to retch, so she quickly rolled him on his side so he could expel his meagre stomach contents.
She held him on his side and rubbed his back long after he's finished retching and finally, she rolled him on his back again and helped him sit up and gave him a drink of water. Charin was by her side in an instant and holding a bendy straw up to John's lips and she wondered why the girl had been so quiet. Teyla was thankful that John took a few sips of water before trying to lie back down.
She looked at the mess on the floor, then she looked over at Sheppard and he certainly didn't look good, so she turned to Charin and asked for her help, "Charin I am going to clean this mess up and then I am going to go up front with David for a while. Do you think that you could keep an eye on your dad and John? Make sure that your dad has some water to drink as well?"
She was relieved when the girl nodded her head.
After cleaning the mess up in the back of the jumper Teyla took one last look at John and Sheppard and walked into the front compartment where she found David studying the database, "have you found anything helpful in there?"
"Not really, but I have just sent out another radio transmission," he replied with a lopsided grin.
Sitting down next to him she took the time to get a good look at him and although at first, he appeared to be the splitting image of John, she could certainly see a lot of her in him. She suspected that if she took the time to study Charin's face she would probably find a lot of Sheppard in her as well.
Things were certainly freaky and she suspected that things would probably become weirder before they managed to find a way home.
She sighed and looked up at the window and she saw nothing, no planets and certainly no ships so she turned around and looked at the three people in the back of the jumper. At the moment Sheppard and John were quiet and appeared to be unconscious. Charin seemed to be whispering soothingly to them both.
A voice interrupted her musings, and it was a voice that she never thought she'd hear again, "Teyla is that you?"
She looked up at the HUD and was shocked to see Ronon's face in front of her. He looked to be about fifty years older, there were a few more wrinkles around his eyes than she remembered and his dreadlocks were completely grey, but it was definitely him. She really had no idea how long she'd been lost in her thoughts since she didn't even know that there was a ship on approach.
"Ronon," she whispered, not really believing what she was seeing.
"You've been missing for the last fifty years, so how is it you're here, where's Sheppard and is this your son?" The questions tumbled out of his mouth, and it was clear to Teyla that he was as shocked to see her, as she was to see him.
"This is David, and his father is in the back of the jumper along with his sister and John who is very ill, so may we come aboard your ship and if you have a doctor on board maybe they can have a look at John."
"We don't have a doctor, but we will be docking with a larger ship in a day or two and they should have a Doctor. Bring your jumper aboard and Amelia will do what she can for Sheppard?"
"Amelia is still alive?"
"Yes, she is, come aboard and we'll bring you up to speed and then maybe you can tell us what happened to you and Sheppard."
She was so relieved to find that Ronon and Amelia were still alive and if they were, perhaps they would know where Torren is, or what about Jennifer and Rodney did Ronon know where they were?
"David, can you please Pilot the Jumper into Ronon's ship, while I check on John and your father?"
"Sure Teyla," he answered with a grin, "is that Ronon the ex-runner that Dad was always talking about?"
"Yes, it is, and I am sure that Ronon would be able to tell you some wonderful stories about your father once we are on board his ship. I must go and see how John and Sheppard are now so if you can please pilot the jumper."
When he nodded his head, she turned around and went to the back and she was relieved to find that John was still sleeping. She looked over at Sheppard and he appeared to be sleeping as well. They both had sweat on their brow and pain lies around their eyes, so she wasted no time in taking their temperatures and she was shocked to see that they both had a temperature of 101 degrees.
"How are they Teyla?" Charin asked, interrupting her thoughts.
She had assumed that Charin was asleep as well, but she'd obviously woken up, "it is very strange they both seem to have an infected arm and their temperature is elevated, indicating a fever. Which is strange considering your father's arm was healed almost fifteen years ago."
The engines chose to cut off at that moment and it was obvious that they had landed. She quickly opened the hatch and was overjoyed to see that Amelia and Ronon were standing outside waiting to greet her.
Standing up she rushed out of the jumper and threw her arms around them, "Ronon, Amelia it is so good to see you again," she let go and turned to look at John before continuing, "John and Sheppard are very ill, is there somewhere that they can stay?"
"There is room in the control room. Our ship is small, but it's a bit bigger than a jumper," Amelia told her while staring at the two men in the back of the jumper.
Ronon walked into the back of the jumper and kneeled in between the two men and Teyla could see the confusion in his eyes, she was going to explain things to him, but Charin beat him to it.
"They're both John Sheppard, one arrived in this time recently and the other one arrived fifteen years ago. There is a lot more to the story, but maybe we can tell you over a meal?"
"And who are you?" Ronon asked with a bewildered look on his face.
"I am Charin Sheppard and Sheppard is my father."
"Which one," Amelia asked and she looked equally as confused?
"The older one," David answered, "it's a long story so how about we have something to eat, and we will explain it to you?"
"Sure, I'll carry Sheppard and John to the control room and put them on the benches in there," Ronon suggested leaning down to pick up Sheppard.
Teyla was relieved when Sheppard didn't wake as Ronon picked him up. David, Charin and Amelia followed Ronon out of the jumper. Once the others had left, she looked down at John and was surprised to see that he was awake, "John it is good to see you awake, how are you feeling?"
"Not too good Teyla, why am I so hot and why does my arm hurt so much?"
"Your arm appears to be infected. But the strange thing is that Sheppard's arm seems to be infected as well."
He looked at her blankly and his eyes became unfocused as he tried to look around the room, "where are we?"
Taking a deep breath she smiled down at him and grabbed his hand, "we are on Amelia and Ronon's ship."
"How, are we home?" He asked and Teyla could see how confused he was becoming.
"No John we have yet to find a way home, but we have run into a future version of Amelia and Ronon."
"Oh…how?"
"I have no idea, but Ronon will explain everything to us. Do you think that you can manage to walk to the control room and then I will give you a drink of water and some pain meds?"
"I think so, but you'll have to help me," John mumbled and Teyla wasn't convinced that he was going to make it to the control room unaided.
"I will help you to your feet John and then I will help you walk to the control room unless you want Ronon to carry you?"
The look on his face could almost be described as one of terror as he replied, "No….!" He said immediately sitting up and she was surprised how much strength he seemed to have.
Teyla stood beside him as he slowly got to his feet. Once he was standing on his feet she grabbed his hand to steady him and they walked out of the jumper together.
As they stepped out into the corridor she held John's hand and took a good look around the small ship. It was relatively simple and was made of some kind of shiny metal. The corridor they were in was narrow, with two doors on each side which she assumed were cabins. At the end of the corridor, there was another door. That was the one she was heading to as she assumed that it was the control room.
They had almost reached the control room when the door opened and Ronon came out, "hey Sheppard, where the hell have you been for the last fifty years?" He asked with a smirk.
John let go of her hand and staggered down the corridor to meet Ronon and Teyla watched as Ronon gave him a huge bear hug, when Ronon let go John fell to the floor and she flinched when she heard the loud thump.
She was by John's side in a split second and although he was unconscious she was relieved that he was still and wasn't thrashing about.
"I'll carry him into the control room and put him next Sheppard and then I'll try and increase speed so that we can meet the Daedalus ahead of schedule."
"The Daedalus," she asked with confusion?
"How about we get Sheppard into the control room and then speed up the ship and then I will explain everything," Ronon suggested before bending down and picking John up.
She nodded before placing her hand on Ronon's shoulder, "can you please call him John because I have been calling the older John, Sheppard so that we do not get confused?"
He nodded at her and she followed him through the door to the control room, where Ronon laid John on one of the benches beside Sheppard. Looking around the room she realised that Amelia and the children were gone, "where are Amelia and the children gone?"
"Don't worry, they have just gone into the galley to prepare some food, so how about I speed up this ship and then I will tell you what went on after you disappeared."
She went up and sat in the co-pilot's seat while Ronon sat in the pilot's chair and pressed a few buttons.
"Right, we should reach the Daedalus within twenty-four hours, so how about you tell me where you and John have been for the last fifty years?"
"I will tell you everything, but first what happened after we disappeared?"
She watched Ronon take a deep breath and she suspected that it was going to be difficult for him, but then who could blame him. It had only been a week since she'd seen him, but it had been fifty years for him and she couldn't imagine what he'd been through. She really hoped that he would tell her about Torren, but that could wait until after Ronon's story.
"It must have been half an hour after you'd left when Woolsey contacted New Athos looking for you and John. As soon as we heard from him, Kanaan and I went to look at the jumper site to make sure you had left and obviously there was no sign of the jumper. After that, I headed back to Atlantis to help coordinate a search for you both."
"Did you have any problems travelling through the gate to Atlantis?"
"No, I was able to get straight through. Why what happened to you and John?"
"We ended up in space and were sucked into a strange anomaly; which transported us to this time. Did you ever find anything like that?"
"We never found anything like that near New Athos or Atlantis, but we have tracked down a strange anomaly in a sector of space not far from here. McKay and Todd have been studying it for the last twenty years. There is also a planet nearby with strange radiation in the atmosphere so no one that we know has ever been there."
"Well that is the planet that John and I crashed on and that anomaly has a temporal shift that somehow transported us through time, when Sheppard and the other Teyla tried to escape the planet they encountered the anomaly again and were sent back in time so they crashed on the planet fifteen years before we did." She paused before continuing because she knew that she wanted to know more about what had happened after she and John had disappeared.
"What happened after you returned to Atlantis?"
"Wait there's another Teyla, what happened to her? Are those kids hers and Sheppard's?"
"Yes, Charin and David are hers and Sheppard's. And unfortunately, she died about five years ago. I will tell you all about it later, but first, tell me what happened after we disappeared.
He nodded and began his story, "Woolsey sent a fleet of jumpers to New Athos and we searched the entire planet and there was no sign of the jumper. So he set up a full-scale search, we contacted the coalition of planets and all of our allies. In the beginning, the IOA and stargate command was one hundred percent supportive of the search, but as time went on they began to think it was a waste of time and we were never going to find you. So six months after you disappeared they scaled down the search and declared you missing in action. Six months after that they stopped the search altogether and declared you killed in action."
"What happened to Torren after we disappeared?"
"Rodney and I took him back to Atlantis and with the help of Carson and Keller, we looked after him and raised him and when Atlantis was destroyed by the wraith we took him with us when we left for earth aboard the Daedalus."
"Atlantis was destroyed?" Teyla asked with fear.
"Not destroyed exactly, but it was culled many times."
"Did Torren stay on earth?"
"Yes, and he studied astrophysics and he also met his wife on earth."
She looked at Ronon with hope in his eyes," is Torren still alive?"
He nodded his head and smiled, "Yes he is and you will see him in twenty-four hours when we meet up with the Daedalus."
Before she had a chance to respond a voice came from behind her, "Torren's alive, now's my chance to tell him how much I love him. "
She turned around to look at John and he was staring straight ahead and he had a glassy look in his eyes. She went and kneeled beside him and helped him lay down, yes John we will be seeing Torren again soon and you can tell him that you love him."
"He won't understand he's not even two yet," John told her before he lost consciousness again.
Turning to Ronon she felt tears brimming in her eyes, "we really need to help him, since he appears to be getting worse and whatever is affecting John I feel as if it may be affecting Sheppard as well."
"Don't worry T.J is married to a great doctor and she will be able to help them both."
"Thank you, Ronon, but is there any way you can speed this ship up because I don't know how long either of them has?"
"Don't worry Teyla; I should be able to get a bit more speed out of this bird yet."
Settling down next to John she felt the ship speed up. She hadn't even had a chance to ask him what had happened to New Athos, or Halling and Jinto yet, but that was probably a story for another time because right now she hoped that they would reach the Daedalus in time to save John. After all, if they didn't it wouldn't matter whether they went back in time or not.
TBC…
Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far, I hope you're still enjoying it.