Thanks for the reviews, and I'm glad you liked the little twist! Of course, that leaves two big questions - who has taken John, and where the hell is he?

THE TIES THAT BIND

CHAPTER 6

John yawned, stretched, and winced slightly at the residual ache lingering in his chest, but all in all, he felt pretty good.

He felt relaxed, something he hadn't been in a long time, and relished the unaccustomed luxury of lingering in the soft, warm bed. John knew that sounded weird, ironic even, given the length of time he'd spent in the infirmary. But the large waterbed in which he was lying, was definitely not military issue, and the infirmary's cribs were particularly narrow, plus their orthopedic mattresses were definitely not designed for a prolonged stay such as his had been.

Blindly, he reached out for his alarm, but it wasn't there. John glanced at the empty space on the table, then suddenly remembered he'd been so damned tired he'd fallen into bed. The truth was, soon after getting into the car he'd zonked out, the ride over a complete blur, and the next thing he knew he was standing, being supported by Janus on the driveway of the house. Still, what did it matter? He was on vacation and for the next three weeks, there would be no early runs with Ronon, no meetings to attend, and no off world missions to plan. Time was relative here, so with a wry smile, he threw the blanket over his head to block out the sunlight streaming into the room, and decided to take an extra five.

John could smell the tantalising aroma of coffee and guessed if this was home, he would have been on his second cup by now, snarking with McKay, and generally chewing the fat over breakfast with the rest of his team. It was hard to believe he'd only been away for a matter of days, as he missed them already, Atlantis too. The city so much a part of his life now, he felt almost unfaithful for having left her behind. John finally admitted he needed the break though. He was under par, well under, and if he was to continue to be able to do his job, it was imperative he get back to full fitness. It just wasn't on, not to mention embarrassing, to pass out like he did last night, too beat to make it into bed under his own steam.

Janus seemed like a nice guy, but he was almost a stranger and John didn't like having to accept help, especially from people he barely knew. Dave would be arriving today though, and he was looking forward to seeing him. He hoped this vacation would give them a chance to properly re-connect, as the last couple of times they'd met he'd been laid up, so it would be good to finally spend some quality time together outside of the infirmary.

John already owed him big time for getting the house ready for his arrival, as even shrouded in darkness, it still looked awesome. He already knew it was a rambling, single story property, but from the little he'd saw, John liked it. From what he could tell, the large picture windows would fill the house with light during the day, and he could just make out the long decked balcony jutting out from the side, where he looked forward to enjoying a drink before dinner, while watching the breakers crash onto the beach.

He'd paid the bills of course, but all the rest had been down to Dave. It was him who had pushed through the quick sale then hired a hot shot interior designer, although John wasn't impressed with the result. The bright, yellow walls not the plain white he'd envisioned, and the garish brown zigzag wall covering, definitely not his style. It did however match the pair of retro patchwork leather couches, and the seventies feel continued with the brightly coloured rugs strewn over the polished wooden floorboards. The only thing he liked – the old fashioned log fire. John preferred the real thing, as the warmth it generated filled the whole room, and was a genius touch, only too aware how quickly the temperature dropped at night when you lived beside an ocean.

Besides, it invoked memories of happier times when mom was alive and they'd sit beside the open fire. He and Dave used to joke around, as they drank their hot chocolate, while mom made toast on a long fork over the open fire. Loaded with butter, it had tasted wonderful, which reminded him he was hungry, as the meal on the plane had been hours ago, and now his stomach, was growling, demanding to be fed.

"Mr Sheppard…John. I've made coffee, would you like me to bring you a cup?"

John jumped when he heard Janus' voice, but when he peeked out from beneath the covers, he was relieved to find him standing on the other side of the door. "No…No thanks. Well I mean yes, I'd love coffee, but I'll come out and get it – just give me a few minutes."

In the daylight, while John fished about the floor searching for something to wear, he got a good look at his new quarters, for the first time. The room was painted plain white, which was a relief, with blue blankets instead of a duvet, to add a bit of colour, although the wrought iron head board was a bit too effeminate for his taste. Still, it wasn't a biggie, and he quickly decided that given the short amount of time he would visit, it would do just fine. His room was clean and better than most billets he's been in, besides given the short time Dave had been given to get the work done; John reckoned he'd done a good job.

That was until he hit the shower. John didn't mean to be ungrateful, but he was surprised Dave hadn't replaced the plumbing. It was really dated, especially compared to the high powered spray he was used to, and was the only thing he couldn't put up with. One thing was strange though – his dog tags were missing. John rarely if ever took them off, but given the condition he'd been in last night they could be lying around the room, or maybe Janus had found them. Either way, he was sure they would turn up – they couldn't be far away.

Now he was one of the great washed, John felt refreshed and was eager to see round the rest of his new digs, first though, he needed a change of clothes, and his case appeared to have gone AWOL. John searched all over, but couldn't see it anywhere, so reckoned it was still in the car. There was a small built in wardrobe, and he was surprised to find it still contained clothing from the last inhabitant. From what he could guess, the guy had been the same build and size as him, but had obviously been a seventies nut, so John decided it would have to be the soiled clothes he arrived in, that, or look like an extra from Starsky & Hutch.

From the window the view was awesome. John didn't think anywhere compared to Atlantis, but this place came pretty damn close. The sun was dazzling from a deep, blue sky devoid of any cloud, and the golden sand shimmered as the waves broke onto the shore. He wanted to get out there. Grab a board and catch the next wave, but while his heart said yes, his body said no – for now. John was desperate to surf, but knew he wasn't up it, at least not yet, but once he felt a little stronger, nothing was going to stop him.

The happy thought brought a smile to his lips, as John stepped out the room in search of the kitchen to snag some breakfast. Janus was standing by the aga and looked round when he came in, but the smile from yesterday was missing, as he turned to give the eggs he was cooking his full attention.

"Morning, Janus. Thanks for the assist last night, but have you seen my case? I'd like a change of clothes; these are getting a bit rank." John asked, lifting the edge of his linen shirt in disgust.

"I'll take a look later. Please, help yourself to coffee, and how would you like your eggs?" Janus spoke, without turning round.

John strolled over and poured a mug, then sat down at the breakfast bar. He noticed with dismay the retro theme seemed to extend to the full house. "Over easy thanks. By the way, Janus, when is my brother arriving? Oh, and have you seen the chain I was wearing? I don't remember taking it off, and I can't find it anywhere..."

"Do you mean this?"

Hot coffee scalded his hand as John dropped the mug, and he turned in shock to face the familiar voice, and immediately recognised the man who was standing there, smiling, swinging his dog tags side to side.

"Forant! What the hell are you doing here? And where's Dave? You better not have hurt him -" John threatened as he jumped off the chair, but as he moved forward felt himself restrained from behind.

"Calm down, John – Dave is fine." Forant turned to Janus. "Take my grandson to the sink and get some cold water on that burn, would you?"

John tried to pull away from Janus' grasp, but either he was weaker than he thought, or the guy was packing muscles he couldn't see, but in either case John soon realised he had no choice but to submit to his ministrations.

"You still haven't answered my first question, Forant. What the hell are you doing here?" He demanded "I thought you never wanted to see me again, in fact, you tried to make sure of it." John was a seething mass of rage and confusion, wondering why Forant had sought him out, especially considering the last time they'd met the Ancient had drugged him with a compound which nearly made him take his own life.

Forant pulled out a seat at the large Formica kitchen table, then leaned back in the chair. "And you don't know how much I regret my behavior that day. I'm truly sorry, John." He replied. "That being said, you do realise if I'd really wanted you dead, we wouldn't be having this conversation."

John felt his hand, now numb with cold, removed from under the tap, wrapped in a cloth then himself pushed none too gently into the seat opposite. "So you poisoned me, for what - the fun of it? Explain it to me would you, grandpa, 'cause I'm confused. Did you intend to kill me, or not?"

From all appearances, Forant looked uncomfortable, embarrassed even, as he went silent for a moment.

"I was angry with you, John, furious. It's no secret that I'm a man who's always been used to getting what I want, but when you unleashed that tirade, well, let's just say no one has ever spoken to me in that manner before."

John watched as the cocky expression vanished, and Forant seemed almost unsure of himself. "Afterwards, when I realised all of my elaborate plans, my years of searching for you had brought me to a young man who despised me…I am ashamed to admit, that for a short while, I did want you dead." Forant confessed. "However, it didn't take me long to realise what I'd done to my own blood, and I was horrified at the person I'd become. You were right, John, I am a monster. Centuries of living on my own, following my own desires, my obsessions has changed me, but I truly believe it was never my intention to end your life."

"Wha – That shit you drugged me with made me want to kill myself." John yelled, and made to rise, but Janus slammed him back on the seat. John winced, and cussed under his breath, as the sharp movement re-awakened all of his aches.

"Janus! Stop that at once – John is my grandson." Forant shouted, his face contorted with anger, then turned to John. "I'm sorry, John, Janus is loyal, but sometimes he forgets his own strength. Anyway, as I was saying, while I deeply regret what I did, the fact remains if I'd really wanted to end your life, there were more lethal drugs at my disposal, any of which would have killed you on the spot. The one I choose, while its intent was deadly, gave your team an opportunity to find and save you, which deep down I guessed was ultimately my plan."

His head was pounding, and John was struggling to make sense of it all, but he realised as Forant had justified his own actions - at least to himself – that was as much of an apology as he was likely to get.

"Fine, if you say so. Now, what do you want?" John asked, already feeling nervous about the answer.

"I would like to try and win your trust." Forant stated, in an expressionless tone. "The last time we met, I should have anticipated your hostile reception. You didn't know me, and had no idea about the kind of life I'd led, or why I felt compelled to do those terrible things. Except patience has never been my strong point, or it wasn't until I realised what I'd nearly lost." Forant sighed, and raked a careless hand through his hair. "I realise you must hate me, but I would like to make it up to you. Before you came into my life I was content to be on my own, but now, I have you - my grandson and I would like for us to get to know each other better. Please, John, give me a chance, If for no other reason than I am the last living Ancient, who would like to leave some kind of legacy to you, and your people."

There was silence, except for the sound of the waves as they crashed onto the beach. It was such a calming noise, but John was in turmoil as he didn't know what to make of Forant's impassioned speech. One thing was for sure, whatever he decided about their future relationship, right now, he wanted him to leave.

John tore his eyes off Forant and stared out the window. He felt exhausted, and after rising with such high hopes for the day, he now felt like crap, and just wanted to head back to bed. "Well, you've certainly given me a lot to think about, but I'll need time to consider your offer. Once my brother has gone back home, and before my friends arrive, would be the best time for us to resume this conversation, in the meantime, I would like you both to leave my house."

Forant expression turned cynical. "You would agree to that, John, after what I did?"

"I just said I would, so now would you give me a break? I'd like to get something to eat, and change into some clean clothes before my brother arrives." As Janus had backed off, John rose from the table to press the point home.

"Oh, dear. I have to say I didn't expect you to be so reasonable." Forant said, sounding slightly amused.

Then suddenly, as if a veil was lifted, John looked around properly for the first time, and a horrible thought struck him as the pieces began to fall into place. "What have you done? Where's Dave…where's my brother?"

Forant smiled at him, as he folded his arms across his chest. "Right now, I would think he'll be in school. This is 1975, John, and in this time line you are only eight years old."

ooooOoooo

TBC

Well, I hope you enjoyed the surprise, and please review.