Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate Atlantis or any of its original characters.
So glad people are still reading this story. Thanks for the reviews. You guys are so awesome. Sorry about waiting so long updating. I got sidetracked big time. You all know how life just gets a little crazy sometimes. Not only that, I was working on a couple of other fan fiction stories. Also, writers block keeps rearing its ugly head at me even though I fight it for all I'm worth. Well, please read and review. And I hope you enjoy it. Still got another couple chapters left.
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John didn't know how he was going to tell Teyla about the latest news. He knew that she had gotten upset about it in the past and he didn't want to upset her even more. Before telling Teyla about everything, he needed to think about how and when he was going to tell her. He couldn't do any thinking with anyone around though so he decided to go out onto one of the balconies to think.
Once he stepped out onto the balcony, he walked over to the edge and took a deep breath of fresh ocean air. "So, you still come out here to think?" Teyla said making John jump and turn around to see Teyla sitting against the wall.
"Teyla, I didn't know you were out here." John said.
"Nobody did." Teyla said. "I also came out here to think." She said as she looked up at him. John gave her a small smirk as he walked over and sat down next to her. "Something Dr. Heightmeyer said to me that she wanted me to think about….well, that is what I am thinking about." She looked over at him. "You?"
"Just thinking about something McKay and Weir told me." John said. Teyla lifted her eyebrows as if to ask him what McKay and Weir told him. John took a deep breath and told her. "McKay figured out how to destroy the artifact."
A smile appeared on Teyla's face. "That is wonderful news." Teyla said but her smile quickly disappeared when she saw the look on John's face.
"He knows how to destroy the artifact but there's a catch." John said. He took a deep breath and continued before Teyla could say anything. "The artifact has to be turned on and dropped into the ocean."
"That is the only way?" She asked with a combination of confusion and sadness on her face.
"Well, I guess they could drop it into a glass of water but where's the fun in that?" John said in a bit of a sarcastic tone.
"Will that not have worse effects on you?" Teyla asked trying to get him to clarify it.
"I don't know." John said as he looked at her. "I guess that if I'm more than fifty feet away from it when its turned on it wont have much effect on me but I don't know what will happen when it hits the water."
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"You said you needed to see me?" Beckett said with a questioning look on his face as he walked into the lab where Weir and McKay had been discussing possible solutions for how they were going to get the artifact destroyed without hurting John in the process.
"Yes…..we thought that maybe you should be here for this discussion." Weir said.
"I figured out how the artifact has to be destroyed." McKay said. "I ah…….missed some of the notes in the ancient database that describes how it needs to be destroyed."
"Okay." Beckett said. "So you know how to destroy it now?"
"Yes." Weir said. "But it could cause some harm in the process."
"Harm……..just how much harm is it going te cause him?" Beckett said as he sat down at the table facing Weir and McKay.
"We aren't actually sure what is going to happen." Weir said. "But what we do know is that there is only one way to destroy it and that the artifact has to be turned on in order to do that."
"What do you mean turned on?" Beckett said. "You cant turn the bloody thing on…..have you even seen what it does to him?"
"Yes….we have seen what it does to him but there is no other way to destroy it." Weir said.
"Look…..you don't understand." Beckett said. "Every time that thing gets turned on, the effects get worse."
"Which is why we need to destroy it as soon as possible." Weir said. She paused for a second with a look on her face as if a light bulb had lit up in her head. "Wait a minute……we could send him through the gate."
"Is that such a good idea?" McKay asked as he looked from Weir to Beckett.
"It's a bloody terrible idea." Beckett said. "Even if you do send him through the gate, you still don't know how much it will effect him. What if something serious were to happen, all of my equipment would be here."
"Well we need to think of something to do." McKay said. "We need to destroy the artifact before it falls into the wrong hands….again"
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John didn't know what he was going to do. He didn't know how he was going to occupy himself until the rest of them figured out what they were going to do with the artifact or how when they were going to destroy it. He didn't want Teyla to get upset when it happened but it needed to happen. The sooner the better. Teyla had to go do something and left him sitting out on the balcony all by himself. So many things to think about and so little time. He needed to keep thinking positive. Not only for his own benefit but for Teyla's as well. She wasn't acting herself since this whole thing started and he didn't want to put her through any more upsets. She was strong but he knew that if something were to seriously go wrong, she might actually lose it.
John was so preoccupied with his thoughts that he didn't even hear the door open. "God...what am I gonna do now?" John said out loud, honestly thinking that he was alone.
"Well, for starters, you could at lease let people know where you are so if we need to reach you and you don't have your radio on, like for instance right now, we might actually be able to find you." McKay said with a slight hint of annoyance in his voice. That little hint of annoyance was enough to bring a smirk to John's face. Annoying McKay was something he definitely loved to do and he did it on a daily basis.
"What do you want McKay?" John asked a little annoyed back. Although he loved annoying McKay, he didn't enjoy being annoyed my him.
"Well, I was coming here to update you on what we have been discussing. Since you up and walked out before we could make you a part of the discussion, we had to come up with something completely without you." McKay said. "Its not what you would call a good plan but it is a plan nonetheless."
"And this plan is...?" John said trying to urge McKay to just spit it out.
"Well, first we are going to send you to the infirmary with Beckett and then we are going to go throw the artifact into the ocean." McKay said giving a smirk of satisfaction. Knowing that it was his plan and that it was the only way that the artifact could actually be destroyed, he knew that it would work. It had to work. There was nothing else that they could do short of locking it away in a box somewhere.
"That's it?" John said in an unsatisfied tone of voice.
"That's it?" McKay repeated. Now John knew that McKay was annoyed. Having John question a plan that he came up with wasn't something he was planned to handle. "What do you mean that's it? We have been down in the lab desperately trying to come up with a plan that would be not just effective but also safe for you. Not only that but it wasn't like you were actually there to voice your opinion or anything. Remember...you stormed out of the room to go and do god knows what."
"Okay calm down." John said trying to get McKay to calm down some. When McKay got mad, he tended to get into this loud, high pitched tone that was almost deafening. Especially if the person on the receiving end isn't used to it. "I didn't just leave because I was upset. I left so I could find Teyla to could tell her what was going on."
"Teyla?" Rodney said, apparently confused. John hadn't thought that Beckett was the only one that knew about him and Teyla.
"Never mind." John said realizing that McKay didn't know why he needed to talk to Teyla and if McKay couldn't figure it out, then he didn't need to know.
"You know…your plan sucks." John said still a little annoyed about them discussing things without him. After all, McKay was right. He did just get up and walk out and without a radio….there was no way that they could reach him unless they used the city wide intercom.
"Well I'm sorry Mr. Opinionated but it was all we could come up with when we really don't know what were up against." McKay said in a loud voice.
"McKay…there is a stargate….why not just send me through it and then destroy the device." John said emphasizing the obviousness.
McKay had a shocked look on his face. "Do you honestly think I'm that stupid…it was already thought of and it isn't gonna work."
"You didn't think of it?" John said with his eyebrows raised as if challenging him.
"Of course I did." McKay said with a look on his face as if he were hiding something. In fact…he was. Weir was the one to think of it first and he didn't want to admit it.
"No you didn't." John said seeing right through his lie.
McKay sighed. "No I didn't….but that's not the point." McKay said with a disappointed look on his face. "Weir suggested it and Beckett doesn't think it's a good idea."
"So you're saying that I'm gonna have to sit here while you turn that damn thing on….here…and hope that your plan to destroy it actually works." John said with an upset tone. What was he gonna do? They just wanted him to sit there and wait for the pain to come. He would be more then fifty feet away from it when they turn it on but they didn't know much about it and they weren't sure what would happen when they throw it into the water when its on.
"Look…Beckett just wants to be here when it happens just in case something happens and he needs some of his equipment." McKay said in a much calmer voice.
"I don't care what Beckett wants." John said getting up in McKay's face. "I'm the one who feels the pain and I don't wanna be here when the thing is turned on again."
"Well that's what's gonna happen." A voice from behind John made him turn around. It was Beckett. Why did he always happen to come at the opportune moment. "I thought of all the possibilities and I think its best if you're here when it happens."
"If I'm on another planet…nothing will happen so you wont need any equipment." John said. "Every time that damn thing gets turned on, the symptoms get worse….what's gonna happen when the thing shorts out?"
"No….I'm sorry but you're staying here." Beckett said in a firm voice.
"Don't I have a say in this?" John said with a look on his face. That look was something Beckett had seen before but he just couldn't place it. It was almost as if he was thinking it was the end of the world. And the truth is, he could possibly die from this. None of them actually knew what would happen to him when they short the device out. They didn't have any idea.
Beckett sighed with frustration. He knew he was gonna regret this decision. "Okay fine." He said. "We can gate off Atlantis but you better be right."
"Don't worry…I know I am." John said not realizing how conceited he sounded. This was going to be a lot better then he planned. Hopefully he was right. All he could do is hope for the best and get it over with as soon as possible.
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So there it is. I know that may have seemed like a slow chapter. Next chapter will be better. A lot more Shep whumpage. And I mean a lot. Again…sorry about waiting so long to update.
To be continued…..