A/N: Now, we are moving into the second part of our story, where Elizabeth well and truly starts to come back. Hold on to your panties...'cause I'm not sure she is...
Chapter Thirteen: Change My Mind
"Electro-shock whatwhat?" Beth asked in a scandalized tone, not sure what it was, but knowing that it didn't sound very nice.
Dr. Beckett stepped closer; though she hoped not too much closer considering they had company in the small examination room and she didn't want things to get...tense. Gordy was never fond of anyone who overstepped personal boundaries. "It's not as bad as it sounds, Elizabeth. With Ancient technology, it's painless, with only mild seizures having ever occurred."
"Seizures?!"
"It could help you remember faster, stimulate certain areas of your brain that deal with long-range memory storage. Just small ten-minute sessions to begin with, to see if it can be beneficial."
Beth slid from the cold table where she'd been receiving a brain scan and glared at the strange-speaking Earthling before her. "You want to electrocute my brain. That doesn't sound healthy at all. Maybe you need to be seeing the Colony's therapist, and not me."
Beckett laughed, "It's a perfectly acceptable procedure, and it quite successful with amnesiacs."
"Go electrocute yourself, 'cause you ain't getting near me!" Beth exclaimed while she started to slide into her clothing behind a screen. She could hear Gordy snickering on the other side. "You better not be laughing at me, Gordy."
"I am."
"Oh, well, that's just nice. One guy wants to jumpstart my brain, and the other finds it funny," Beth muttered as she poked her head around the screen. "I need better bodyguards. You're actually going to let that maniac stick probes in my head!" Beckett, though still present, was now being ignored.
"My people have a similar technique, Beth. We use herbs to stimulate a trance-like state before using extreme physical sensations to cause reactions."
Beckett became interested in Gordy rather than in listing the advantages of electrical therapies. "What kind of herbs? And sensations?"
"Mainly herbs that are natural to our world, little of it that remains," Gordy explained, taking care to keep the door and windows in sight at all times as he moved closer to speak to Dr. Beckett. "I saw one such procedure formed where a man was shot to stimulate memories of a battle he'd fought in long ago."
"Shot? Your doctors purposely shot a man?!" Beckett was agape.
"It wasn't a critical wound, merely a flesh one," Gordy said nonchalantly. "It worked as well, which is why I brought Beth to speak to you."
"Yes, you told me she had a flash of memory," Beckett brought the conversation round again and turned back to Elizabeth. "I sincerely hope you're not thinking of shooting yourself."
Beth laughed as she stumbled to Gordy's side, using his arm as a balance and slid on her shoes. "No, but the principle is the same. Gordy and I were talking about what his people do in this circumstance, and I've done a bit of the same. Been in Elizabeth's room, walked down halls she'd walked down, and it's helping some. I do remember a few things." She warily eyed Beckett, unsure how he would take to her next idea. "I was thinking maybe...I'd more easily remember...if I went through my day just as I would if I remembered. Maybe by doing the things Elizabeth did, I can remember who she is."
"Who you are," Beckett corrected automatically, sighing as he sat down on a small wheeled chair. "I'm not sure Colonel Sheppard would approve. He doesn't want," he glanced at Gordy, "any visitors in the command areas. Truthfully, he doesn't really want you there until you're recovered. Things are tense these days, and he doesn't want a situation occurring anywhere critical."
"Surely you can convince him to let me have a walk-through, at least? From what I've seen of Elizabeth's logs, she spent most of her time in command areas. You want me to see familiar people and places, but you're keeping me from what would be most familiar of all," Beth said, for an instant invoking the quiet strength that Elizabeth had carried so deep inside her. Beckett watched her watching him and knew that they were closer to having their Elizabeth back than anyone realized.
For all her ramblings that she might never get her memory back, since Beth had returned to Atlantis she'd already begun to change. The overt attitude she'd first displayed was easing away in favor of a grace of spirit that was purely Elizabeth. In only a day, she'd recovered more of herself than she had in a month on another world.
Dr. Beckett stood, taking her hands. "I'll speak to him, but I don't know how malleable he'll be."
"That's all I ask," Beth replied, trying not to be too obvious as she hastily removed her hands from his. She'd never liked being touched to touching, except when it came to certain people.
Silently, she and Gordy left the medical area and walked the halls. It was mid-afternoon, not quite early enough for the night-shift people to be about, but late enough that the morning shift was already safely ensconced in their quarters or recreational activities. The three-shift rotation on Atlantis was crafted so that the shifts themselves weren't overly long, and allowed for time to be spent in relaxation or other pursuits. Elizabeth had always taken the morning shift and the afternoon shift, working from seven in the morning to 1900 in the night.
Beth paused in her walking; not recognizing the number her thoughts had just given her. Little did she know she was thinking in military time, instead of the Earth-time she'd unconsciously been using for the past month.
"What's wrong?"
She smiled up at the Gordy's strong features. "Nothing. I'm bored. Let's go cause trouble."
"Shal won't appreciate that."
"Who gives a fig what Shalimar thinks?"
"What's a fig?"
"I have no idea, but I don't give one!"
Speaking of, Shalimar was at that very moment seated in Elizabeth's office facing off with Colonel Sheppard. They didn't speak, instead staring intensely into each other's eyes as a battle of wills of immense proportions unfolded.
Sheppard broke first. "So, you're trying to say that your people would like to embark on an alliance with Atlantis?"
Shal nodded slowly. "If that would be agreeable."
Sheppard narrowed his eyes. "Your government currently allies themselves with Kolya, I'm pretty sure that's a conflict."
"We think you would be a better alliance."
"So, your government is flaky, breaking promises as it suits them?" Sheppard asked with an "A-ha!" look to his face.
Shal sighed. "I'm not a diplomat; I won't play the word game with you. We've been considering breaking truce with Kolya for many months. The mission where we discovered Beth was a last ditch effort to patch the differences. It didn't work, and by protecting her as we have, the little friendship we have between our people has been broken. When Gordy and I return to our planet, I'm certain we'll immediately be sent into battle. I think that with Atlantis's support, we can prevent that and the death of many of my people."
Sheppard was not an unsympathetic man. In fact, before Shalimar had even sought him out, he'd made the decision to send a diplomatic team to Shalimar's world. Still, he wasn't about to let the warrior before him off easy. "Just you and Gordy returning?"
Shal immediately picked up on the innuendo. "If she wants to come, she's welcome. I won't force her to stay somewhere she doesn't want to."
Shep nodded. "When do you think you're going to head back?"
Shal sighed and leaned back into his chair. "My leader is asking that I return within the week."
"I doubt Elizabeth will have her memory back by then," Shep noted, stepping around the large desk that was her's.
"If Beth so chooses to remain, I have no quarrel, if she wants to return with me, I expect none from you." It wasn't a question, but a command, and Sheppard was a man used to receiving them. Still, this one didn't sit well with him.
"I doubt she'll want to."
"Why is that?"
John grinned. "We're so damn lovable."
Shal laughed and stood. "I think we know where we stand, Colonel."
"I've already sent a team to discuss alliance with your government. This little talk wasn't really necessary."
Shal paused at the door. "It was informative nonetheless."
Even as Shal disappeared from sight, there was a small voice in Shep's ear demanding his attention. "Sir, we've got a problem."
"What?" Shep asked, recognizing the voice as one of those he'd assigned to shadow Elizabeth.
"We've...um..."
"Spit it out, soldier!"
"We've lost the target."
"Just how did you do that?"
"Um...well...it's complicated."
"It always is," Sheppard muttered even as he entered the command center. "Hey, you!" He'd never been in here often enough to learn names. "Scan for Dr. Weir."
The man looked at Sheppard like he was crazy. "Can't really do that, sir."
"Why not? I've seen you do it before!"
"I could locate her...if she was wearing her headset. She's not, therefore, I can't."
Sheppard muttered a few obscenities. "Alright, we'll have to find her the old fashioned way."
"What was is that, sir?"
Sheppard glared even as he signaled for Ronon and Teyla. "By looking for her on foot. She can't have gotten far."
If he only knew...
