Fools Said I You do Not Know4
"John! John! Thank God! John!" the woman exclaimed, rushing to the front of the cell as John strode into the room. She paused as the force field glimmered blue, hands raised as if she would grasp the bars and earn her freedom. "John! Please, it's me, Moira! Get me out of here!"
John steeled himself as he strode to the cell. The resemblance was uncanny, even more so in person. If he hadn't have known any better he would have sworn that it was his wife that stood in front of him now. A desperate expression on her face. Brown eyes pleading, pleading. Long hair caught in a messy ponytail. Clothes rumpled, dirty. One green sleeve stained with dried blood.
His eyes slitted.
She flinched. Took a half a step backwards.
He blinked, restoring them. Smiled. It was a cold, cold smile. He turned on his heels and almost crashed into Richard. "That is not her. That thing in the cell is not my wife," he said, voice curt. Absolute.
"What? How did you...you've only been here a second! You didn't say a word! How did you..." But John was striding past him now, out of the room.
"John! John, you startled me! Please, John, it's me! John, it's me! I swear I am Moira! John!" the woman shouted. "John, please! John!"
John ignored her. His heart was hammering. She even sounded like his wife. But he was confident. Assured. Convinced.
"John! John, wait! How can you be sure?" Richard demanded, rushing after him. He froze as John whirled to face him. Furious expression making the other man hesitate, reach for the tie that wasn't there.
"That thing...whatever it is, is not my wife! I don't know how it remained hidden in this city. I don't know how it can look like her or is even reading as her, but it is not my Moira! My wife, the real Moira, is in my quarters with our children! You get that thing out of my city!"
Moira was pacing, pacing, bouncing the crying baby in her arms. She kissed the infant, patted her back, gently moving her as she carried her round and round the room, but the little girl would not be appeased. Tears flowed from her blue eyes and rolled down her rosy cheeks. Cry after cry escaped her rosy lips, rising in a crescendo.
When the force field suddenly evaporated Moira breathed a sigh of relief. Watched the protection dissolve around the room. The shields lower from the windows. The door whooshed open and John strode into his quarters, pausing as the cacophony hit his ears. "Moira?"
"John, please! Can you help her? It's her ear. I've given her the drops but they don't seem to be doing much. Can you help her?"
John neared as his little girl turned in her mother's arms to face him. Crying and pouting. One little hand up at her ear again. "Yes. Here we go, princess." John took the child. "Easy now, precious. Easy." He kissed the baby's brow. His eyes slitted. He noted Moira's lack of response except that of recognition, concern. It solidified his earlier decision. "Nothing hurts my precious princess. Nothing. Here we go, Ems, easy now. Easy, princess, daddy will make it all better for his precious, precious princess." He kissed the child's wet cheek, moving to her ear.
Moira watched, curious. Wondering what John would do, if he could heal the infant of her discomfort and pain. Trusting him no matter what he did, but readying herself if she needed to take the baby to Carson for more practical care. She touched her arm in memory of his healing skills. How he had healed a vicious knife wound.
John nuzzled the little girl's neck, then her ear. Circling and nuzzling, tongue flicking as he directed his thoughts, his emotions into healing his little girl. To easing her pain and calming her. To finding the source of the problem and eliminating it. Using emotions more than thoughts, feelings more than words.
The baby was still crying, crying. Abruptly stopped. Hiccuped. Little hands clasping at her father. Blue eyes wide. She hiccuped again. Snuffled. Began to coo. Little sounds she only made for her father. A giggle escaped her. She smiled, began to prattle at him. "Dada? Dada, dada, dada, dada, dada ,dada," she babbled.
John smiled. Blinked to restore his eyes. Met her gaze. Kissed her brow. "Better, my precious princess? That's more like it, Ems. Easy now." He gently bounced the baby in his arms. Met Moira's stare. "Problem solved."
"How...I mean...thank you, sweetie." She smiled, kissed his cheek, kissed the baby. "What did you do?"
"Hell if I know, exactly. It worked, that's all I know. You do know I have amazing powers over women, right?"
She snorted. "Yes, colonel, how could I ever forget?"
"Where are the boys?" No sooner were the words out of his mouth then the two little boys ran to him as he set the baby into her playpen.
"Daddy! Daddy, we were watching mammuts on film!" Johnny informed with a smile.
"Daddy! Daddy, whatcha doin'?" Seamus asked in a drawl. He giggled as John met his gaze, raised a brow.
"I be workin', Seamus. Whatcha doin'?" he rejoined in the same drawling slang.
Seamus giggled. Took his father's hand, staring up at him. "We watch mammuts, daddy!"
"I said that," Johnny said with a sigh. "Daddy, daddy, there are big cats on the vid too! Mommy said we could watch it on big screen can we can we can we?"
"Well, if mommy said," he acquiesced, smirked and glanced at the baby as the little girl chortled.
"Although Ems and I hardly see the excitement of it all."
"Daddy! A herd of mammuts!" Johnny sternly lectured, shaking his head.
"Yes, buddy, I've heard of mammoths. We all have with paleo girl here," John jested, ignoring his wife as she rolled her eyes at his poor jest. "Over and over and over and–"
"Daddy, daddy, come see!" Seamus pulled, but found his feet sliding on the floor as his father was all but immovable. He giggled as John began to swing the child around gently, lifting him off the floor as if he didn't see him.
"Daddy! This is serious! We have footage of mammuts and big cats and an ice field and we can see their matriarchal society."
John glanced at Moira who was smiling at her son. He met the little boy's gaze. "Wow...you sound like a scientist, junior. Can't allow that, can I? Now where the devil did Seamus go?" He looked round as if puzzled, swinging the child off the floor. Seamus giggled helplessly.
"He's very smart, John. Must get that from me," Moira noted. Johnny laughed.
John scowled, but smiled. "Yeah, right. Now where the devil is that Seamus lad?" he asked, looking round.
Seamus laughed. "Here, daddy! Here!"
"Where is...oh! How did you end up there, you silly boy!" he asked, lifting him higher. He hoisted Seamus abruptly into the air, causing the younger boy to shriek in delight.
Emily chortled loudly, little arms in the air. Johnny laughed, shaking his head.
"Fine. We will watch the footage on the big screen tonight, all right, junior?" He set down the younger boy. "Why don't you two go and rewind that footage, all right? Go on. I need to speak to your mother."
"About mammuts?" Seamus asked.
"Yes, of course, what else would we talk about?" John asked with a raised brow.
"Daddy, daddy, I wanna swing like Seamus!" Johnny urged, taking his father's arm.
"Fine, one swing!" John hoisted the boy, swung him up and round and high. Johnny laughed in delight, giggled as he was held upside down before being righted and set onto his feet. "Now go and rewind that footage."
"I wanna do it again!" Seamus demanded, jumping up and down.
"Me too! Me too!" Johnny agreed.
"Go!" John bellowed. The boys shrieked in mock terror, ran out of the room. John shook his head, turned to see his baby daughter staring up at him, smiling. "And not a peep out of you, princess."
"Dada! Dada dada dada dada dada," she babbled.
"These kids definitely get their verbosity from you, sweetheart."
Moira laughed. "And their stubborn streak from you, colonel."
John nodded. Abruptly serious. He drew Moira towards the bed. Arms loosely around her as he met her gaze. Just looked at her a moment. She stared back at him, worried. Waiting. "You wouldn't believe it, Moy," he finally said. "It looks just like you. Sounds just like you. They say it even tests like you, both in DNA and in knowledge past and present."
"What? How...how..."
"You tell me, baby. How? How could that thing have been in my city without my knowing it? Without the city knowing it? Without even Johnny knowing it?"
Moira considered, hands on his chest. "It...it must have been hibernating. Until it changed. Used my DNA to complete its transformation into, into me. Is that even possible?"
"You tell me," John repeated. Caressing her back, her hair. "They say it knows things. Things you know. Things only you would know...mostly."
"How? Unless it..." She touched her temple. "I've been having headaches. A lot. And I'm so tired yet I can't sleep. And what I told you was true...I couldn't remember where I went or what I did. I thought I was sleepwalking...but maybe, maybe not. It must have been probing my mind...my memories. The females have powers much greater than the males, and if this one is from that alternate reality where they are so much more advanced...but how can it test as me? Genetically, I mean."
"It tests fully human, Moira. They say there's not a trace of Wraith DNA...but there has to be. I mean, it's not a clone. Not like Carson. It's something else entirely..."
She met his gaze. "John, John, you know it's me, right? I'm me. Your Moira. Yours. I don't care if this plays into some kind of kinky twin fantasy you might have but I am me, sweetie."
He smiled. "Well, now that you mention it I was thinking we could test it definitively by having sex, a threesome, you know, me and two Moiras and two bottles of caramel and–"
"John!" she scolded, hit his chest, not amused.
"Okay, okay!" he snorted. "But think of it, Moy...one of you could tie me down while the other went down on my...okay, okay!" he conceded as she glared at him. He became serious again. "And yes, I know you are you. My Moira. Trouble is no one else is entirely convinced," he admitted. Frowning. "They seem almost adamant about it, actually."
"As long as you are sure, that's all that matters. As long as the children aren't exposed to it. You can't let the children be exposed to it, John. They can't see it!" She frowned. Chewed on her lower lip a moment, debating. Deciding. "John, I want to see it."
"What?" He stared at her. Saw the firm determination in her brown eyes. The anger. Her hands stilled on his chest. Her body close to his. Warm. Soft.
"I want to see it," she repeated.
"I don't think that's a very good idea, Moy."
"Don't care. I want to see it."
"Moira, no. You will stay here with our children where I can keep you safe and secure. Moy!" he barked as she shoved free of him, moved away from him.
Moira tapped her earpiece. "Maggie? Could you come to my quarters, please? I only need five minutes if you don't mind watching the children."
"Moira!" John scolded. "I said no! I said..." he paused as she turned to him, all fierce determination.
"I have every right to see this, this thing, this parody of me, and to confront it! If I have to prove to everyone that I am me I will do so, John Sheppard, and you can't stop me! The only way we are going to understand this thing and figure out what is happening is by firsthand observation and comparison. Speculation will get us no where! I have to see it and analyze it and I can find any chinks in its armor to prove that it is not me! Who better to test it than myself? Who better to tell the difference between us than me? You can't stop me, John, you can't!"
He raised his hands. "Whoa, doctor. Okay. If it's that important to you, fine. But I am going with you. No objections, no arguments, nothing."
"I wouldn't have it any other way, John," she said sweetly.