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Part 7/24

-Chapter 7-

Past and Present

"We made it!" Perhaps not the most intelligent words that John could have said; but it was the truth, and boy, was he glad.

Elizabeth, an Elizabeth alive and well again, looked at him as though he'd lost his marbles. "Excuse me?" She was giving him the eyebrow of doom: the raised eyebrow that she always gave him when he was in trouble. She shifted her gaze from him to Ronon.

It occurred to John that they were in Rodney's lab only a split second before McKay's head popped out from behind the Thing. "Got it!" he said. "I think it just transported someone to. . ." He stopped, staring at John and Ronon. "Wait a minute. What are you doing here?"

John couldn't seem to get his thoughts unstuck from the reality of Elizabeth's presence. Ronon had to bump him sharply with his elbow before he was able to form any coherent words. "I-- Uh, it's a long story. I don't suppose there's somewhere more suitable where we can talk."

Concern began to moderate the severity of Elizabeth's expression. She tipped her head to one side and opened her mouth to speak.

The lab doors swished open. John Sheppard and Ronon Dex strolled in, Sheppard saying, "Thought we'd find you here. You guys up for lun—"

If the reason behind their situation hadn't been so grim, John would've found the expressions on his and Ronon's counterparts' faces—not to mention Elizabeth's and Rodney's—hilarious. But these next few minutes were too fragile for humor.

The tableau held for only seconds. Predictably, Dex (John made a split second and arbitrary decision to refer to their past selves by their last names) broke it by snatching for a gun he wasn't wearing. Elizabeth took two hasty steps backward, reaching back to steady herself against a workbench. Sheppard instantly placed himself between her and their perceived threat. McKay, after a gabbled "Butbutbut—" dove for his laptop, currently interfaced with the Thing.

Matters were rapidly moving to the bad side of out-of-control. John carefully raised his empty hands out away from his body. When Ronon didn't immediately copy his gesture, he jabbed an elbow into the Satedan's diaphragm to get his attention; then jerked his chin in a "do it!" motion. Ronon slowly lifted his hands.

John attempted his most ingratiating smile. "No need to get hostile, folks," he said. "Would it help if I said 'we come in peace'?"

Dex took a couple of threatening steps forward. Elizabeth said sharply, "Ronon, stop!" Dex halted, but still managed to give an impression of a big cat on a thin leash.

Sheppard leaned forward, scrutinizing John warily. "He looks like me," he said. "He even sounds like me."

McKay raised his head and swept them all with a wild-eyed gaze. "Um, maybe because he is you."

Weir rounded on him. "What? What are you saying, Rodney?"

The scientist gulped and squared his shoulders. "Ah, well, you remember I thought this was some sort of transfer device, maybe a-a prototype for the site-to-site transporters used in the city." He ran his hands over his head, as though he was having trouble with what he was about to say. "I just analyzed the data from the recent transport. Elizabeth, it doesn't transfer site-to-site but time-to-time. They're from the future. It's a time machine!"

Stunned silence followed McKay's pronouncement. John broke it. "See, Rodney?" he said, and nodded at the Thing on the lab bench. "Flux capacitor."

-Atlantis – Past-

"Well, this is going really well so far." Ronon flung away from the window to pace restlessly across the room and back. "It's been how many hours now that we've been locked up in here?"

John, stretched out on one of the two cots, shrugged. "At least we're not in the real lockup," he replied. "And we knew Beckett would have to run DNA tests on us. That takes some time."

"Too much time," Ronon growled. "The Wraith are coming." He leaned against the window frame again, relapsing into moody silence.

It wasn't much longer, maybe half an hour, when the sound of many footsteps approaching brought John to his feet and Ronon to stand beside him. Voices murmured outside; the door slid open.

"Oh, geez, that's weird," John muttered to Ronon as he watched himself enter the room, Elizabeth and the rest of the team right behind him. When his teammate didn't respond, he glanced his way.

Ronon's eyes were locked on Teyla, his gaze wistful and sad. John looked away guiltily, those feelings finding a ready echo inside him. He himself wanted very badly to pull Elizabeth into his arms and kiss her. He smothered the desire. Instead, he cocked his head to one side and said, "So, guys, what's the verdict?"

Elizabeth stepped past Sheppard, glancing from him to John. She—and all the others—looked a little unsettled. John totally sympathized. "Carson's tests confirm that you are indeed John Sheppard and you," she nodded at Ronon, "are Ronon Dex. Rodney's further examination of the data from the device—"

"We just called it the Thing," John murmured.

Elizabeth's chin and eyebrow both went up. "—From the time travel device indicates you traveled back from a point about four months in our future. Incredible as it may seem, we have to accept and deal with that fact." She no longer looked unsettled, but focused, a leader intent on handling a hard situation. "So, having said that, why are you here? Was it accidental," a swift glance over her shoulder forestalled any comment from McKay, "or did you come for a reason?"

John cleared his throat. He'd known none of this was going to be easy. But now that the moment was really here, his throat wanted to close up so he wouldn't have to say the words.

"Three months, two weeks, five days." Ronon's deep voice came from John's left, intoning the words like a knell. His eyes were hooded, his face impassive as always: except for a single muscle twitching in his jaw. Everybody was staring at him now, especially Dex and Teyla. The Athosian woman's lips parted, as if she were about to speak.

John's voice came unstuck. "We came for a reason." All eyes immediately switched back to him. "A very specific reason. We came to change our past, so our future—and your future—will be made right."

"Whoa, whoa, wait a minute." McKay thrust his way to the front of the group still standing by the door. His face and tone were the ones he used whenever someone had screwed up royally, and was about to get it big time. "Surely the me of the future pointed out what an incredibly bad idea this is. Changing anything in the past could have unbelievable repercussions on—"

John flung up one hand; to his surprise McKay stopped talking. "Yeah, Rodney, we did go all through that. And we decided the risk was worth it."

He should've known it wasn't going to be that easy. Rodney threw up his arms. "Worth it? What could possibly be worth endangering our entire timeline, which you have probably already messed up a million different ways just by being here, and I would never agree—"

"McKay!" Ronon's voice cut through Rodney's tirade like a shot from his blaster through a paper target. He didn't move, but pinned the scientist with such a look, McKay automatically stepped backwards. "If you'll just shut up for two minutes, we'll explain why we're here. And why even you agreed."

Rodney, looking very insulted, drew breath to continue the dispute. Elizabeth, ever the peacemaker, intervened. "Yes, Rodney, perhaps we should let them explain," she said calmly but implacably. McKay got the message. He shut his mouth and folded his arms; but the look he gave John said very plainly, This had better be earth-shatteringly good.

"Thank you, Elizabeth. Three days from now—" His voice broke as a flashback hit, and John suddenly saw Weir not as she was, but as she soon would be. No! No! Won't be, won't be! The denial was instant and fierce, but he realized he would never get through this if he looked at her. Instinctively, he switched his gaze to Sheppard, knowing he had to convince his earlier self of the urgency, the danger.

"Three days from now," he said directly to himself, "you'll pick up the signals of five Hive ships approaching Atlantis. Six hours later they'll arrive and begin bombarding Atlantis. Two days after that the shield will fail and there'll be a massive explosion in the city. Many will be injured and almost as many will be killed, including—" He could feel the intensity building in Sheppard, knew the exact instant comprehension kicked in, the man's mind leapfrogging ahead to the terrible words he still had to say. "—Including Dr. Elizabeth Weir."

And John knew he had Sheppard's total agreement and commitment; even before the tiny acknowledging nod and tightening of the facial muscles. Only then did he allow himself to look back at Elizabeth.

She looked as rattled as he'd ever seen her. Everybody except Ronon was staring at her in varying degrees of shock; not even Rodney found anything to say. "I. . ." She stopped, equally at a loss for words.

For the first time since she'd entered the room, John took a couple of steps towards Elizabeth. Sheppard made no move to block him. It hurt to see her so shaken and disturbed, but not as much as seeing her dead. "That's why we came back," he said. "Please, please, believe me. You're all in danger. If you don't do something to stop it, a lot of people are going to die, a lot of people will be maimed for life. And Atlantis as you know it will never be the same."

To Be Continued. . .