Title: The Last Chance
Date: 16th December 2007
Author: Kazavid
Chapter: 4/9
Rating: M
Pairing: John Sheppard / OFC - Alex from (Doppelgänger – Mating Instinct – Didn't think...)
Archiving: None
Warnings: Sexual Content
Spoilers: Anything up to The Seer
Feedback: Yes
Disclaimer: Stargate Atlantis and its characters do not belong to me.
Summary: Four days, five chances, to stop Atlantis from being destroyed. And he can't tell anyone what he knows, or what he's doing. Is Sheppard up to the task, can he stop the destruction of Atlantis and save everyone he cares about.
The Last Chance
Chapter 4
Lorne and Teyla didn't return from M5T 942 till after 7.00pm, and John was there to greet them. He had a few words with Lorne to find out if she'd asked to see her friend, but Lorne assured him that she hadn't even mentioned him.
He headed to his quarters, there wasn't much else he could do, he'd done all he could for today. He'd have to wait and see what developed for tomorrow, hopefully he'd done enough today, so anything he did tomorrow could be considered a bonus.
He lifted his head back and rolled his neck to the side, trying to ease the tension from it. When he entered his quarters, Alex wasn't there, so he took a quick shower hoping it would help ease the tension away.
When he'd finished showering he pulled on jog pants and a t shirt and walked out of the bathroom, Alex was sitting in the chair holding Aaron. She looked up at him her expression a little wary. He didn't blame her, he had been pretty abrupt with her today.
He leaned down and loosely draped his arms around her and the baby, and kissed the top of her head and then the baby's, "I'm sorry for the way I acted with you today, forgive me?" he said resting his forehead against hers.
"Why were you so upset?" she asked, pulling her head back so that she could look at him.
"I just don't want you touching that thing."
"Why, what's wrong with it?" she wasn't going to give up.
"I don't like it." he said, lowering his eyes, not looking at her as he spoke.
"I don't believe that. Something else is bothering you, now tell me what's it is." she rested the baby against her shoulder.
"Nothing is bothering me." he said evasively, he stood up and started rubbing the towel over his damp hair.
"Don't lie to me, I know something is bothering you, so tell me." she knew he was lying, and she wanted to know why.
"I'm just tired with all the work, and the late nights."
He still wouldn't look at her. "I don't believe that either, you're hiding something..." she said, watching him closely.
"Alex..." he groaned, he couldn't tell her the truth no matter how much he wanted to.
"Just tell me what it is." she said exasperated by his refusal to say.
"Trust me, it's nothing." he said, he dropped the towel on the floor and leaned down to kiss her, hoping he could distract her from her questioning.
He could see it wasn't working, she didn't believe him, "Look, just give me a couple of days, then I promise, I'll tell you everything." he said, smiling at her, "You never said if you forgive me?"
"Of course I forgive you, I just don't like it when you keep things from me, and you are, I know it. But I'll give you a few days, then I want the truth from you." she warned him.
"I Promise." he whispered, and placed a kiss on her forehead.
"Want me to put him in his cot?" he asked when he saw that Aaron had fallen asleep.
"Sure, I'll just take a shower while your doing that." she passed the baby to him and went to take a shower.
He sat in the chair Alex vacated, and held the baby for a while, before he put him in his cot.
>>>>>ooooo>>>>>
Alex pulled on pyjama bottoms and a sleeveless top, twisting her hair up she placed a clip in it to keep it back from her face. John was sitting in the chair, leaning forward, rubbing his hand across the back of his neck.
"Headache?" she asked as she stopped beside him.
He looked up, "Mm, just a bit sore." he wrapped his arm around her waist and brought her to stand between his legs. Lifting her t shirt up he pressed his cheek against her abdomen. Just feeling the warmth of her skin beneath his cheek helped to ease some of the tension he was feeling.
When she started stroking her hands over the back of his head, and down his neck, he groaned with pleasure. He kissed her stomach then rubbed his cheek against the heat of her skin, he didn't want to move, he wanted to stay like this, let her stroke away the tension and the fear that clouded his thoughts.
After a few minutes he moved, intending to get up.
"Don't move, stay there." she told him. Moving out of his arms, she grabbed a couple of pillows and stuffed them behind his back. Then she sat behind him, on top of the pillows, which lifted her up slightly. She rested her legs on either side of his waist.
"Take your shirt off." she pushed at his shirt till he pulled it off and threw it on the bed.
She started by smoothing her hands across his shoulders and neck. She rested her hands on his back, and began to rotate her thumbs firmly against the tense muscles at the back of his shoulders. He groaned and arched his back at the touch, which was slightly painful, but it was helping to ease the tension.
"I'm not hurting you am I?" she leaned forward and kissed the back of his neck.
"No, it feels good." he whispered, he leaned his head forward as she pressed her mouth and then her fingers over the back of his neck. His hands rested on her legs, and he began absently stroking them along the outside of her thighs.
She carried on massaging him, working her hands down his back, careful not to press on his spine. Every so often she placed a kiss on his back or against his neck. He started to lean back against her, his body became more languid as she slowly kneaded the tension away.
"Not falling asleep on me are you?" she asked, leaning her head over his shoulder.
"Not yet." he murmured, but he was starting to feel sleepy.
"Why don't you lie on the bed." she suggested, she could tell he wanted to fall asleep.
"I'm too comfortable to move." he leaned further back and turned his head to the side so he could grab a kiss from her. He didn't want to move, he was enjoying the massage too much, and he didn't want it to end just yet.
"You'll be more comfortable on the bed." she said, pushing her hands against his back until he finally got up.
He stretched out on his stomach while Alex straddled his back and continued with the massage, slowly kneading her hands across his shoulders and back. When she heard the deep even breathing that told her he'd fallen asleep, she stopped massaging him. After checking that the baby was alright she grabbed a blanket and threw it over John, she joined him under the blanket, snuggling up against his side, where she fell asleep.
>>>>>ooooo>>>>>
He was standing in the corridor, facing Alex, she had a stunner pointed at him, and she kept glancing around, looking for someone, or something.
"John, you have to stop what you're doing." she told him, backing away as he advanced towards her.
The thoughts that were running through his mind weren't his own, they couldn't be. There is no way he would want to hurt Alex, he'd rather die before he did that. He looked down at the knife he held in his hand, he wasn't in control, and he didn't know what to do.
All of a sudden the image changed, Alex was now lying on the floor, her body covered in blood. Lying on the floor beside her was the knife he'd been holding. He raised his hands up and looked at them, so much blood...
He jerked upright in the bed, his body was drenched in sweat, his eyes slowly, adjusted to the blackness that was all around him. He realised that he was in his room, he looked to the side of him and saw Alex asleep. He looked at his watch, it was 3.00am, he'd only been asleep for a few hours.
He dropped back down and closed his eyes, the images from the dream where still fresh in his mind. He'd had plenty of nightmares before, but not like these ones, these felt so real. He got out of bed and went in to the bathroom, he took a cloth and ran it under the water and wiped the damp cloth over his body, shivering when the cold cloth touched his heated skin.
All this must be getting to him, all his fears about what would happen if he didn't succeed. Wondering if he was doing enough, could he do something else, but he didn't know what else to do. He went back in to the bedroom and got in to bed. He pulled Alex in to his arms and tried to sleep.
>>>>>ooooo>>>>>
2 Days Before Atlantis is Destroyed
It was very early morning when Teyla headed towards the training room to do some exercises. A young female marine was already there doing her own exercises, when she saw Teyla she came over to her.
"Teyla, did you get the message from your friend?" the young woman asked her.
Teyla smiled at her, "Hi Miranda, a message... no, I haven't received any message. Did Rylan leave a message? Do you know what the message was about?" Teyla asked her.
"Yes, I was in the Gate room earlier when Rylan managed to get a message through to us, he said to tell you that he was going to stay on an extra few hours. So if you wanted to meet with him, he'd be waiting."
Teyla was surprised and very happy, "He did, that's wonderful news, thank you for telling me."
Teyla left the training room pleased that she would get to see Rylan. She went to see Colonel Carter, so she could get permission to go off world.
An hour later and Teyla was going through the Stargate to meet with Rylan.
>>>>>ooooo>>>>>
"I don't know about you having late nights, but this is certainly a late morning." Alex whispered against his ear.
She stroked her hand down his chest, moved passed the waistband of his pyjamas, and slid it further down over his groin, where she felt the stirrings of his erection.
"Oh, yes... keep going." he groaned, as she stroked him through the jog pants he still had on.
He turned on to his side and pulled her in to his embrace, pressing his mouth, hotly, over her neck and shoulder. Shuddering with pleasure, as she worked her hand over his burgeoning shaft.
"Colonel Sheppard!" the faint voice came from his comms that was on the bedside table.
"Not now." he groaned at the interruption, his mouth was just inches from Alex's breast, he rested his head against her chest.
"Colonel Sheppard!" the voice sounded a little louder.
"No escaping I'm afraid." he grimaced.
"Pity, just when it was getting interesting." Alex teased, squeezing her hand around his erection before he rolled over to grab his comms and put it against his ear.
"Colonel Sheppard here, what is it?"
"Colonel could you come down to Doctor Zelenka's lab right away." Colonel Carter asked him.
"Sure, what is it?" he asked watching as Alex got out of the bed to check on Aaron.
"I'll tell you when you get here." she said cautiously.
"Okay, be there as soon as I can." he told her.
"What is it?" Alex asked, turning around to look at him, while she began to change Aaron.
"Colonel Carter, she didn't say, but she wants me to go to Zelenka's lab."
"Maybe they've found out who planted the bomb." Alex said absently.
He tensed slightly at her remark, "Maybe they have."
He entered the bathroom to take a quick shower, he wondered what Carter wanted to see him about. It might not even have anything to do with the explosion so he wasn't that worried. When he finished showering he got dressed and went to see Colonel Carter.
>>>>>ooooo>>>>>
Colonel Carter and Doctor Zelenka where standing in the lab talking as he entered.
"So what is it?" he walked over to them and stopped. He noticed several pieces of debris strewn about the work benches.
"Colonel, you know Dr Zelenka and his team took several samples of debris out of the room where the explosion occurred." Carter said.
"Yes, so?" he frowned, and looked straight at her.
"Well they've been running some simple tests on them, and they managed to come up with a slightly unusual result." Carter told him, she was watching him closely, too closely, almost as if she were looking for a reaction from him.
He played it cool, "What kind of result?" he asked.
"One of the pieces of debris had a fingerprint on it."
He wasn't sure if he reacted to this piece of news, he didn't think he did, and Carter wasn't acting as if she saw anything, "It did?" he queried.
"Yes."
"So who's fingerprint is it?" he asked calmly.
"It's yours." she told him, not in an accusatory way, no she just sounded like she was stating a fact.
"Mine." he laughed, "It was probably something I touched when we went to check the explosion out." he said, he folded his arms across his chest and leaned back against one of the work benches.
"No, that's what they assumed at first, but after running the tests again they discounted that possibility. This print happened before the explosion, they know this because of where the print was."
"Why where was it?" he wanted to know.
"It was situated beneath the residue of chemicals that occurs after the explosion."
"You think I blew up an empty room?" he laughed wryly.
"No, I don't believe you'd do something like that. But I'm just wondering if you've been in that room before the explosion. That would explain the fingerprint."
"I don't know, I've been in lots of rooms in Atlantis, I can't remember every one of them." he didn't want to jump on the excuse she'd given just in case she got suspicious.
"Well I think that's probably how it got there in the first place, so we'll put the finding down as accountable. That should satisfy anyone who reads the report." she said dismissively.
"Did you really think it was me?" he asked, frowning at her.
"No, but you know how some of these IOA guys are for official records."
He smiled, "Sure, no problem." he moved to leave then stopped, "Anything else you need me for?"
"No, not at the moment." Carter told him.
After John had left the lab Zelenka turned to Colonel Carter.
"Surely you don't suspect Colonel Sheppard of doing something like that do you?" Zelenka asked her.
"No, I don't think he'd do something like that, but I needed to get it on record that he was cleared of it."
"Of course, I understand. Do you want me to continue testing the debris."
"Yes, keep testing it, we need to find out why someone wanted to blow that room up, there must have been a reason. Even if it was only as a distraction, I'd still like to know." Sam told him.
"Okay, I'll have my people run more tests."
"Thank you."
>>>>>ooooo>>>>>
"So what did Sam want?" Alex wanted to know when John returned back to their room.
"It was nothing, they found a fingerprint of mine among the debris from the explosion."
"Don't tell me they thought you caused that explosion?" she said incredulously.
"No, but she needed to discount it just the same."
"So what have you got planned for today?" she asked, when she finished dressing Aaron, she sat him on the bed. John laid out across the bed, and started teasing the baby, playfully.
"I don't have a lot to do." he admitted. He'd done enough yesterday, so all he had to do today – and he wasn't sure he had to do it – was keep Alex with him, to make sure she didn't touch the artefact that McKay had.
"How about spending the day with me." he asked.
"Doing what?" she asked a little suspicious.
"Doing nothing, just being with me."
She looked at him warily, he was up to something, she could tell.
"What's the matter, don't you want to spend the day with me?" he grabbed her and pulled her down on to the bed, where he manoeuvred her beneath him.
"What are you up to?" she asked, looking up at him.
"I'm not up to anything, I just want to spend the day with you." he leaned down and kissed her, then raised his head to look at her. "So?"
"This has something to do with that artefact doesn't it?" she watched the veil come down over his eyes. "It is isn't it?" she prompted.
"No, I just want to be with you, it has nothing to do with that thing." he rolled over on to his back. Alex rolled on to her side so that she could look at him.
"Alright, I'll spend the day with you... only if you admit that you're doing this because of the artefact."
He grimaced, "Okay, part of it is to do with the artefact." he told her.
"I really don't understand what your problem is with that thing." she sighed.
He didn't say anything to her, he just got up and grabbed Aaron, then he took hold of her hand to pull her up and headed out the door.
>>>>>ooooo>>>>>
Everything had gone fine for a few hours, Alex had dropped the baby off with a minder, then she and John had taken a walk around Atlantis. She'd helped him with some paperwork, which had bored the hell out of her, so that hadn't lasted long. They'd gone for lunch, and it was a few hours after lunch when things had suddenly gone wrong.
While they were in the Gate room dropping off the finished reports, John remarked that he hadn't seen Teyla around. He shouted over to one of Teyla's friends, asking where Teyla was, but the friend didn't know where she was.
One of the technician's in the Gate room told him that Teyla had gone to visit her friend.
"She's gone where?" John asked with disbelief.
"She went to visit her friend." the technician replied.
"How can she be visiting her friend, he was supposed to have left yesterday." what the hell was going on, he wondered.
"He stayed on another day so that he could see Teyla."
John clenched his jaw as his anger started simmering, "How long has she been gone?" he bit out.
"Just over four hours." he was told.
"Four hours." he repeated, he couldn't believe it, the guy was supposed to have left yesterday. How the hell was he supposed to change things, it's not like he can keep tabs on everyone 24/7, that just wasn't possible, so what the hell was he supposed to do.
He slammed his fist down on the desk in frustration, the laptop that had been resting there got the full force of his anger, it's outer casing cracked. The technician who was sitting at the desk, jerked back in shock as John's fist connected with the computer.
Alex quickly grabbed hold of his arm. "John, what's going on?" she asked him, she was a little shocked by his behaviour. Whatever was bothering him, he'd better sort it out soon, or someone was going to get hurt.
"It should have changed." he bit out.
"What should have changed, what are you talking about?" Alex asked as she pulled him away from the desk and the worried looking technician. "Do you know something about Teyla's friend?"
"I... no, it's nothing..." he said curtly.
He looked around the Gate room, what he was looking for she didn't know, "Come on." he grabbed her hand and led her along the corridor. "Ronon, where are you?" he asked in his comms.
"I'm in the training room, why?"
"I need you to do me a favour."
"What are you doing?" Alex asked him, but she didn't get an answer, he just tightened his hold on her hand, causing her to wince.
>>>>>ooooo>>>>>
"So what's the favour." Ronon asked, his eyes not missing the fact that Sheppard seemed to be holding Alex's hand in a death grip.
"I want you to keep her away from McKay, and that artefact." he told him straight out.
Ronon raised his brows at the unusual request. "Why?" he asked him.
"Doesn't anybody trust anyone around here any more?" John bit out, why did everyone want to know 'why'.
"I don't need anyone to stop me from doing something." Alex shouted, she was getting fed up with him going on about this blasted artefact.
"Do either of you trust me?" he asked pointedly, looking between Ronon and Alex, neither of them spoke. "Can't I ask for a favour without having to explain why?"
"How long do you want me to keep her with me?" Ronon asked.
Alex hung her head down, he made her feel guilty, like she didn't trust him, but she did. Okay, so maybe she'd let it go this once and really trust him, but he'd better explain himself later on, she thought.
"Just an hour or so, that's all."
"Okay, I'll do it." Ronon said.
"Alex?" John looked at her.
"I'll stay with Ronon."
"Thanks." he said, he leaned over, kissed her and then left.
"Do you think he's acting rational." Alex asked Ronon while she stared at the door John had just left through,.
"No." Ronon replied, he turned his head to look at her.
"Neither do I." she said returning his look with a frown.
"So what do you think is up with him?" Ronon asked her.
"I don't know, but we'd better find out soon or someone could get hurt." she said.
TBC...
>>>>>>>>>>ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo>>>>>>>>>>