They'd been playing tag with the off duty marines since the meeting started, and the marines' eagerness to play still surprised her. They'd all been informed about the status of their commanding officer, and given orders to pretend he was just a normal little boy, but she'd had her concerns. Yet they all went out the window as she watched Major Lorne in a mad hunt to catch up to Teyla. She was as sweet and observant as ever, but she was playful now.
However, John sat patiently where Carson had left him, ignoring Ronon and Teyla as they ran amuck. He was staring intently over Zelenka's shoulder at the data pad he was working on. Carson had arrived for the meeting a few minutes ago, but had just barely broke his quiet conversation with Rodney, signaling to Elizabeth they were ready.
Zelenka followed them towards the office, leaving his desk abandoned long enough for Teyla to grab the data pad and slip it into John's unattended backpack. She turned to find Elizabeth still at the door and watching. She bounded over and shrugged "It makes him happy." Elizabeth just smiled back and entered the meeting, where she'd been listening to Carson and Rodney arguing over details that she was sure weren't really important.
"The point is, that their bodies may be miniaturized, but their minds aren't. When they're unconscious their minds are weaker, so memories have only appeared in that state thus far, seeming like regular dreams. My concern is that the longer this goes on, the more they'll remember, and the more traumatic it will get."
"They both dreamt about Wraith, Carson, what's more traumatic than that?!"
"Elizabeth, I believe the more appropriate question is what isn't. Think about all the things they've seen since they've been in the Pegasus galaxy. Ford diving into a Wraith beam, people being fed on, a galaxy blowing up, volcanos erupting, flying down the gullet of a hive ship, shooting Sumner! Then think about all the things that must have happened to them before we ever met. Cullings, Afghanistan, the deaths of their parents, and who knows what else they had to endure, and all those horrors could come back to these innocent minds that probably never imagined such things in their short, peaceful lives. They not only dreamt of Wraith already, but from their descriptions he's functioning as sort of a tour guide to their nightmares. The truly scary thing is that neither one of them had never seen one before; Teyla had heard stories, but their details were too specific. It was a memory of a Wraith dictating to their subconscious. And I'm afraid the memories can only get stronger."
"What does that mean for them?" Carson sighed and looked helplessly at his hands as Rodney continued.
"It means that their minds are breaking through the barriers of the time dilation field, and their brains are going to try to overcompensate, and force their bodies back to where they belong by reliving the past. Their brains are operating under the theory that by showing their bodies they've lived longer than what they believe their bodies will return to where they belong."
"I believe that if allowed to persist, they'll end up in a walking dream, seeing around them nothing but these memories, and believing they're living them again."
Elizabeth paused for a moment, debating if she really wanted to know the answer to her question. "Will they all be dreams like the one about Ford?"
"Yes. Physics 101, the strongest force wins, and terrible memories have a habit of being the strongest."
They all sat for a moment, soaking in the dire straights their friends were in, when Bates coughed. Elizabeth stopped herself from rolling her eyes and interrupted their reverie. "Sargent Bates has expressed concern that the Colonel and Teyla aren't being properly monitored."
Rodney snorted, "Properly monitored? They have the most intimidating man on the base with
them wherever they go, they'll be safe from anything while Ronon's with them."
Bates coughed again from the corner where he'd kept himself uncharacteristically quiet. "That kind of monitoring wasn't my concern."
Rodney started at him for a moment and muttered, "You have got to be kidding me."
"No Dr. McKay, I'm not. Despite the Colonel being in his current state, he still possesses the ATA gene to such a degree that allowing an untrained child to roam around the city is a potential security risk."
Carson rose to his feet, and used every ounce of patience left in his being to avoid yelling, "You are proposing locking up already traumatized children?"
"Doctor, you pointed out yourself that these children have the potential to lose control, and with the knowledge that they both possess, any loss of control could permanently damage the city."
Rodney was next to Beckett in an instant, keeping a less firm grasp on his rage than Carson, "Are you kidding me?!"
Bates's voice rose to match Rodney's and replied, "No McKay, I am not! If Sheppard goes crazy, he just has to have a memory of the control chair, and drones will be fired at who knows what! And if Teyla loses it..."
"Sgt. Bates," stopped Beckett, keeping a crisp edge to his very thin voice, "I'm afraid that if you imply Teyla has the potential to betray us to the Wraith again, I may find myself reverting to an ancestral propensity and kicking your arse!" Alright, maybe not quite as much control as he thought he had.
"Gentlemen," interrupted Dr. Weir, "If we could all take our seats." She waited until the men had backed down from their fighting stances before continuing. She gazed down at her desk, closed her eyes, and sighed. Carson swore in Gaelic under his breath, that movement in Elizabeth could only mean one thing, she was about to do something diplomatic.
"As much as I would like to have faith in the lucidity of Colonel Sheppard and Teyla, it is in the best interest of Atlantis to take precautionary measures. Sgt. Bates, I'd like two marines to be with them at all times, but their access is not to be restricted. They can roam wherever they like." Bates nodded his head and left the office to issue orders. She looked both doctors squarely in the eyes as she said, "Don't look at me like that, you know John would've given me the same advice."
Rodney walked out the door in a huff, but Carson stopped on the way. With his back to her he murmured, "Aye Elizabeth. He would've told you to guard him any day of the week, but he never would've set one up for you."