Date : 28.01.2008
Title : The A.U. Series : Lost City Of The ZPM's
Author : ElaineDex
Chapter : 4 of ?
Rating : M
Pairings : None at this point in the story.
Warnings : Some Sexual Content, Romance, Adventure, Maybe Some Strong Language.
Spoilers : This story has character's in it from my Loves series and follows on from my last story - New Beginnings.
Feedback : Yes please, always welcome whatever it may be.
Disclaimer : Dr. Ellie Harrison, Lt. Matthew Franks, and any O/C's are mine. Lyssa Hunter belongs to Kazavid and is from her Atlantis stories Behind The Mask and Reunions. Stargate Atlantis, unfortunately, has nothing to do with me.
Summary : Can the teams survive an adventure fit for Indiana Jones as they search for a whole city supposedly full of ZPM's?
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The two teams made their way down toward the walls of the maze and stood staring up at them for a moment.
"Could we not just walk along the tops of the walls?", Sheppard asked and Ellie shook her head.
"I doubt it", she replied but Sheppard tapped Ronon's arm.
"Give me a help up here", he said and Ronon cupped his hands so that he could help boost Sheppard to the top of the wall.
No sooner had he stood on top of it though than it lowered to ground level.
Sheppard moved off of it and it returned to its original height.
"Don't say I told you so", he said pointing a finger at Ellie and she grinned at him.
"Here's the way in", Lieutenant Franks said from further along and they all moved and saw the archway that led into the maze.
"So we definitely have to go through this too?", Lorne asked of Ellie and Rodney who had their heads together studying their maps.
"It looks that way Major", Rodney replied and Lorne raised his eyebrows at Sheppard as they prepared to go in.
"Okay, same formation, stick together", Sheppard instructed as he entered the maze first.
They made their way around and got quite far in before encountering their first dead end.
"Damn….turn around guys", Sheppard said doing a 360 with his finger in the air and everyone turned around and headed back the way they'd come.
"Well…at least we haven't seen any wraith so far", Rodney said just as Lorne held a hand up indicating that they stop.
"I think you just spoke too soon Doc", he said and they all crowded around to see the dead bodies of two wraiths.
"Do you think they're dead because they couldn't find their way out of this maze?", Franks asked and Rodney looked at Ellie accusingly as he replied,
"Probably".
Ellie sighed getting a little tired of Rodney's negativity.
"For heavens sake anything could have killed them", she said and Sheppard glanced around.
"Well I say we move on before the 'anything' comes back".
Lorne agreed and they moved on and abruptly came to another dead end.
They were about to move away again when Ellie noticed some carvings on the wall of the dead end.
As she looked at it she said, "I've seen this before".
She reached into her back pack and pulled out a printout.
"Well would you look at that", Lyssa said as they all saw that the lines of the paper matched the carvings on the wall exactly.
"These are all possible routes that lead through the maze", Ellie said.
"But which is the right one?", Rodney asked anxiously.
"That I don't know", Ellie replied deflating slightly and Lyssa leaned in to look more closely at the printout.
"Look at that….", she said pointing at one particular route.
"Does that look more prominently drawn to anyone else or is it just me?".
The paper was passed around and everyone agreed that it did. Even the same route on the carving on the wall was slightly deeper than the others.
"I bet that's it then", Ellie said.
"You bet?", Lorne asked, his tone of voice telling her that he was not a betting man.
"Do you have to pick up on everything I say Major?", she asked sounding annoyed.
Before Lorne could reply though Sheppard said,
"Now, now kids, let's play nicely and find the entrance of this damn maze again so that we can start over", and he moved past them leaving Ellie and Lorne glaring at one another yet again.
They all got back to the starting point and began to follow the route from the print-out.
Things were going well until the ground began to rumble.
"Crap!", Sheppard said as they all stopped to look around.
"I suggest we RUN!", Rodney screamed as the wall behind them began to fall.
They all did as he said, Ellie up front trying to follow the correct line through the maze.
"A little quicker Doc if you don't mind", Lorne shouted out from the back as a wall barely missed hitting him on its way down.
Ellie didn't respond, merely quickened her pace and she found the exit and they all just about got out in time and turned to see the maze collapse in on itself completely leaving huge clouds of dust and them all coughing.
"That was close", Ronon said as Rodney cleared his throat nervously.
They caught their breath and Sheppard said,
"Okay lets carry on…we'll find somewhere suitable to rest for a few hours…looks like the light is starting to fade".
They moved into the trees unaware that they were now being observed.
--
A while later and they were all walking single file along a narrow path of which either side were steep embankments covered in twigs and leaves and Ellie was finding it increasingly difficult to keep her heavy back pack in place. Her shoulders ached as did her back but she didn't complain.
She tried to switch the bag onto one shoulder but the weight of it swayed her unexpectedly and before she knew what was happening her right foot unbalanced on a stone and she fell and began hurtling down the embankment.
"Ellie!", Sheppard and Lyssa called out at the same time but it was Lorne who was already following her down the slope.
Ellie landed at the bottom in a heap having rolled through mud and having torn her combats on various sharp twigs but at the most she was bruised and her pride stung.
She groaned and was trying to get up when Lorne appeared at her side.
"Don't move", he told her as he checked for broken bones.
"I'm alright Major…", she told him, still trying to get up as they heard Sheppard holler down to them,
"Major…what's happening?".
"The Doc's alright Sir, just bruises. We'll be back up shortly", Lorne called back and Sheppard sighed in relief and looked at the others who also looked relieved.
Lorne tried to help Ellie up but her weighty back pack was a hindrance and he grabbed it from her, surprised to feel just how heavy it was.
He dropped it to the floor again as Ellie got up.
"What the hell have you got in this thing? You need to leave this here and…", Lorne began but Ellie shook her head.
"I need everything that's in there and I wont leave it", she said absently rubbing her elbow but anger flared in her as Lorne bent and went to open her pack.
"Surely there is some crap you can get rid of…", he began reaching for the clasps and she grabbed his wrist forcing Lorne to look at her.
"I want everything that's in there…and I don't know why you're so bothered as you aren't the one that's carrying it are you?", she snapped and Lorne glared at her.
He was just about to order her to leave it when Sheppard's voice filtered down to them.
"Major? What's taking so long?".
"Just on our way Sir", Lorne called back and he stood and handed the pack back to Ellie, who immediately sagged under its weight.
"For Christ's sake", Lorne muttered, snatching the pack back from her and hoisting it onto his back, over his own.
"Are you alright to climb back up?", he asked and Ellie glanced at the embankment and nodded.
Eventually they reached the path and Teyla and Lyssa approached Ellie, asking if she was okay and Sheppard smirked at Lorne when he saw that he was now carrying her back pack. He knew from experience how heavy Ellie's, and Rodney's for that matter, could be.
Still he said nothing and they carried on eventually reaching a clearing of sorts, a small waterfall and pool to one side.
"Okay we'll stop here", Sheppard said and Rodney immediately sat down.
"Oh thank God", he groaned rubbing at his ankles and legs.
"Lorne, Franks, Ronon…we'll each take an hours watch", Sheppard said and Lorne moved forward.
"I'll go first Sir", he volunteered, needing to put some distance between himself and Ellie before he throttled her.
He didn't know why she wound him up like she did. She didn't seem to irritate Sheppard or Franks or anyone for that matter the way she irritated him. Sighing he took up watch position as the others set up camp.
Ellie rummaged in her back pack and to her dismay realised that she hadn't packed another pair of combats…only a dress for some reason and she sighed in frustration.
'That will have to do', she thought as she tucked it under her arm and headed for Sheppard.
"I need to wash this crap off me", she told him and he looked her up and down, grinning at the state of her torn and muddied clothes.
"Well I guess you could use the pool over there", he thought for a moment then continued, "Teyla! Lyssa!", and the other two women headed over to them.
"Watch Ellie while she cleans up will you…no-one should go anywhere alone".
Lyssa could see the disgruntled look on Ellie's face which clearly said that she did not need to be watched and as the three of them moved toward the water she said,
"I'm glad you wanted to clean up too…I need to but I was a little dubious about coming over here alone".
"You were?", Ellie replied sounding uncertain and Lyssa nodded as Teyla joined in.
"I also needed to wash and you never know what creatures are lurking in a place like this".
Ellie had a feeling that the two women were just trying to make her feel better but she graciously accepted their efforts and smiled. She was feeling a little sorry for herself after her fall and Lorne snapping at her again and she just hoped that at the end of all this they found at least one working ZPM to take home otherwise she was going to resign and head back to earth.
A fact she was sure Major Lorne would rejoice about.
The three of them washed and Ellie pulled off her torn clothes and Lyssa stopped mid-putting her T-shirt back on as she saw the pale blue, knee-length sun dress that Ellie put on and she knew that Lorne was going to flip out.
Ellie looked up and caught Teyla and Lyssa looking at her and she coloured up.
"I know, I know…but I have nothing else", she said as she re-tied her boots and Lyssa had to laugh at the image.
The perfect sun dress accompanied by military boots and socks pushed down…nice.
Lyssa decided that she would like to get to know Ellie better and maybe they could be friends. She liked the way that the Doc didn't fold under Lorne's glare and that she always stuck up for herself.
She looked over at Teyla as they went to head back to the guys.
"Hey, maybe when we get back to Atlantis we could all get together?", she suggested and Teyla and Ellie nodded.
"That would be nice", Teyla agreed and Ellie sighed.
"I'd love to…if I haven't resigned and gone back to earth", she said and Lyssa regarded her.
"We'll find the ZPM's Ellie, don't worry".
They headed back to the others and once there, Ellie opened her back pack again.
She began to pull out sandwiches and a few bottles of water and handed them around.
"Ellie I love you", Rodney said gratefully unwrapping the sandwich that she gave him and Franks nodded,
"Me too".
"I cant believe that you did this", Teyla said and Ellie shrugged.
"Why didn't you say this was what was in that thing…along with all your other crap? I'd have carried it for you", Sheppard told her, taking a swig of some of the water.
"That's okay", she said taking the back pack to head over to where Lorne stood a distance away.
Lyssa and Teyla glanced at one another before eating their sandwiches.
Lorne looked at Ellie…her attire catching his attention seconds before the back pack and she saw him begin to look like he was going to implode and so she bent down, reached into the cumbersome pack and then thrust a sandwich under his nose.
"What the….?", he trailed off and Ellie said,
"It's a sandwich Major…and here..", and she bent again and retrieved a bottle from the pack and thrust that at him too before continuing, "is some water…please be careful not to choke on either wont you", and with that she turned and stomped away.
Lorne stared after her, his mouth hanging open.
She had been carrying food for them all plus her own gear.
'Well now I feel like a jerk', he thought. 'But how the hell had he been meant to know that's what she'd been up to?'.
Sighing he took some water and then swiftly ate the sandwich, all the time keeping watch for any signs of movement.
He changed positions a few times before Ronon came to take over.
Lorne headed over to where everyone was trying to get some sleep and he sat down not far from where Ellie was lying on her bedroll, shivering.
'Well she would in that stupid dress', he thought. 'You'd have thought she'd have known that the temperature would drop when the sun went down'.
Sighing he pulled his jacket and bedroll from his pack and stood. Moving over to her he dropped his jacket gently over her and then moved away.
Sheppard observed through squinted eyes and smiled to himself.
Love/hate relationships…you had to love 'em!
End of Chapter 4