A big thank you again for the reviews, they mean a lot.

So, now we know a little about Carson's past, but more important, the team have their first clue. But how is our favourite Lt Colonel?

THE TIES THAT BIND

CHAPTER 11

John was pissed. He was getting real tired of being shunted around like the prize in a freaking hot potato game, waking up in a different place from where he had went to sleep.

How Forant had managed to get him from the hospital to the jumper, he hadn't bothered asking. It was now depressingly clear, that 'good old' grandpa could do whatever the hell he wanted, whenever, and John had no say in the matter. In a weird way, he actually missed the hospital, as despite having been in pain, at least the people there were genuine, and had cared for his well being. Unlike Forant, who'd kidnapped him on the premise of wanting to get to know him better, but was actually holding him hostage in order to satisfy his - as yet unknown - hidden agenda.

The silver lining, he felt better and the scarring was gone. John wasn't a vain guy, and could have lived with the small indentation in his neck, but Brantum's face had contorted when he'd seen it, and had gravely assured him he would soon be back in possession of his good looks. Personally, he couldn't have given a shit, but was curious as to how Forant would manage it. As usual though, there didn't seem to be limit on Forant's dubious talents, as within days there was no trace he'd ever been cut, and the only remnant of the whole sorry episode was a lingering sore throat.

Stuck in the jumper John felt like a caged tiger. It had been bad enough when he didn't have the strength to do much, but now he was feeling better, he couldn't sit still. His cell, or room as Forant chose to call it, was the height of luxury containing every man toy a guy could want, except the most important thing – freedom. At least in Hawaii he'd been allowed to enjoy the beach, go swimming and even potter about the house on his own, but here, Janus was on his tail whenever he set foot out the door, so he hadn't, except to got the kitchen next door for eats. His case was back, which was a plus, although he wondered how the hell it got damaged. Another mystery he may never find the answer to, as despite his curiosity, John was determined not to give Forant the satisfaction of asking. He could tell his silence was really starting to bug the old man, and it gave him some satisfaction to know he'd regained at least some control of his situation, even if it was a very small victory.

There was a pile of brightly colored bags stacked high against the wall, which he hadn't touched. John knew bribery when he saw it, and wasn't interested in Forant's cheap ploy to buy his co-operation. Still, he conceded that perhaps cheap was the wrong word, as he recognised some of the designer brands. Another illustration of how little the man knew him, as he wasn't into trendy gear, and couldn't be bought. In any case, he was happier wearing his own clothes, as their familiar feel empowered him in a way he'd never thought possible. They reminded him of home, and good times spent with the people there, friends, who he knew would never stop looking for him.

It was a strange thing, but despite there being no blood shared between them, in some ways Forant and Patrick Sheppard were quite similar. From as far back as he could remember, John had always wanted to join the Air Force, but his father had refused to even discuss it. The old man had then started a campaign to try and tempt him away from his dreams, using every carrot in the book. A new car, flying lessons, even his own plane had all been dangled in front of him, his for the asking, provided he followed the path dad had chosen - but of course, he'd refused.

When he'd signed up, the fight that had followed was epic, his father unused to defiance on any level, and the fallout…well, neither of them had ever recovered. Hindsight was twenty/twenty, and in some ways John wished he could turn back the clock. He wouldn't have changed his mind, but would have at least tried to repair the rift between them. Then suddenly it dawned on him, and he realised that despite their disagreements, their different ways of looking at the world, deep down both men had cared about the other - that's why they'd fought. If you didn't care, it didn't matter what the other person did, and John realised that despite being a domineering SOB at times, his father in his own manipulative way, had loved him.

He immediately felt bad for comparing his dad with Brantum Forant. Patrick could be difficult, impossible even, but his dad would never have hurt him, Forant though was a different matter altogether. The Ancient was a dangerous man, a psychopath, someone who manipulated people at will, had killed thousands, and despite having been pleasant so far, John didn't doubt there was trouble waiting for him just around the corner when he didn't give grandpa what he wanted.

"Good evening, John, it's time for your medication." John saw Forant glance at the unopened packages as he handed over one of Carson's pills, but to give him credit, the older man's expression didn't change. "That's the last of your medication, so come with me as I want to check you over. However, on the way to the surgery, I thought you might like to have a proper tour of my ship."

John did, and his unguarded surprise made Forant smile, but John just nodded and followed him out the door. The craft was awesome, but despite Rodney's description, John wasn't prepared for the sheer size of the interior. Quite simply the jumper defied the laws of physics, and as Forant led him from room to room, he was struggling to take in what his eyes told him. There was even a hot tub and pool table, but despite all the toys what he wanted to see most was the flight controls, because that would be his ticket home. Forant though had missed out that part of the tour, and John knew it wasn't accidental. Then he realised if he wanted to get back to Atlantis, he would have to swallow his pride, play nice, and try to make Forant trust him.

At the small, but well equipped surgery Forant patted the examination table. "Well, hop up, and let's see how you're doing." John recognised the scanner as it passed over his body, but noticed the low tech instruments, like the blood pressure cuff, were only slightly modified from the Earth version. Neither man spoke as the tests were carried out, but a short while later, Forant came to his side. "I'm pleased to say you have nearly completely recovered from that unfortunate incident on Hawaii, and even your energy levels are coming back to normal." He announced. "Of course, your recovery would have been much quicker if you had only told me about the tablets lying in your luggage," Forant rebuked, his irritation evident in his strained features, "nevertheless, I realise now it was a mistake to treat you without checking your medical records first. That was carelessness on my part for which I apologise, but I believe you're now well enough for us to begin the next part of our journey…"

ooooOoooo

Richard didn't like the heat much, and was inclined to stay indoors once the temperature hit seventy. However, even he conceded Hawaii was beautiful, especially when viewed from the inside of an air-conditioned limo. His unexpected sojourn necessary, as Doctor Beckett had asked to see him on an urgent matter, but was unable to return to Atlantis as he was still laid up in hospital. Normally it would have been a simple matter for either the Daedalus or the Apollo to beam him out. On this occasion though, it wasn't an option as both ships were out of orbit, besides, Beckett had informed him he was being cared for by a friend there, and didn't want to arouse the suspicion a beam out would inevitably cause.

When he walked into the room, it was clear from his ghostly pallor that the Scot wasn't well, but Carson's face lit up with relief at his arrival. "Thank you for coming, Mr Woolsey, but where's Rodney?" He watched as Beckett bobbed his head up to peer over his shoulder to see if anyone was behind him, and Richard was upset to see Carson grimace at the slight movement.

"Doctor McKay sends his apologies, and his regards, but regrets he couldn't make it. He said you would understand when I told you how close he was to cracking the Trojan." Richard explained, then sat down on the opposite side of the bed from Ronon. "How are you feeling, Carson?"

Beckett shuffled in bed clearly agitated. "I'm fine. I keep telling Stella…sorry, Doctor Morgan that, but she refuses to discharge me until the nausea stops." Carson looked over at the partly opened door, and Ronon following his gaze, went over to close it. "I'm sorry for bringing you all this way, and it might be for nothing, but I need to tell you something which could be important." Carson said, sounding grave.

Richard sat back on the seat and clasped his hands. "Well…what is it, Carson? No offense, but what couldn't wait until you returned to Atlantis?"

"I have reason to believe that Colonel Sheppard has been treated in this hospital…"

"When? There was no record of anyone matching his description when we checked." Richard interrupted, but he immediately sat bolt upright, and leaned forward.

Carson smiled as he folded his arms across his chest. "Yes, I know. But we were looking at the wrong decade. My friend was a resident here in 1975 and clearly remembers treating a Colonel John Sheppard. From what she's told me, his description matches John to a tee."

Richard liked Carson, respected him even, so resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "That's a very long time ago, Carson, and no offence to your friend, but how could she remember this patient so clearly?" Richard asked, curious.

The Scot gave a wry smile. "I asked Stella the exact same thing, and the reason she recalled it so well, was despite the seriousness of his condition, the patient was found missing from his room the next day, along with his medical records."

Richard was struggling not to be dismissive of what he'd just learned, and was trying to think of a reasonable explanation for it. "That is certainly a strange coincidence, but surely you must see how outrageous the hypothesis is. If this man was indeed our Colonel Sheppard, how did he go back in time?"

"Forant." Beckett and Ronon called out in unison.

Suddenly, Richard realised if it was the Ancient who had been responsible for Sheppard's abduction, then it could be possible, but then he remembered a very salient point. "Well he certainly is capable of it, but why? The last time they met he tried to kill the Colonel."

"Well that's true." Beckett agreed, "but I've had a lot of time to consider that during the last few days, and I'm guessing if a man like Forant had wanted to kill you…well let's just say the Colonel would've been pushing up daisies by now."

"Even so, Carson, with no concrete evidence, we cannot automatically assume it was our John Sheppard." Richard responded, but his head was buzzing trying to think what to do next. Then it came to him. "Tell you what, I have a contact in Washington who can check the archived military personnel records. There may well have been another Lt Colonel John Sheppard serving at that time, but if there wasn't, then the information your friend provided may just have given us our first lead."

He saw Ronon's expression go sour then grunt, but Beckett just nodded. "Fair enough, and thank you, Mr Woolsey, for not dismissing my theory out of hand."

Richard eased himself out the chair and shook Carson's extended hand. "I value your opinion too much for that, Doctor. Yours too, Ronon. But let's just say I want to make sure of my facts, before I would send that particular report to the IOA…"

ooooOoooo

"Please stay where you are, John." Forant asked politely. There was a trace of a smile flitting on the wrinkled face, but his eyes were as hard as ice, and John didn't doubt by Janus' stern expression what would happen if he chose to refuse his grandfathers request.

John watched as Forant touched a familiar looking bracelet around his wrist, then suddenly the wall of the sports room melted away to reveal the back of the jumper. It looked identical to every one he'd ever been in, except for a couple of significant differences. A flux capacitor that was tucked neatly beside the pilot's consol and some wild looking visual displays he'd never seen before.

On instinct he went to move forward, but Janus thrust an arm across his chest. "That's far enough – for now." Forant told him. "Once we have reached a better understanding I'll be more than happy to share some of my secrets with you, John, but for the moment, you shall ride in the back. Be sure to buckle up." Then Forant smirked, before turning round and walking to the front of the craft.

When Janus removed his arm, he hung around until John plopped down on the bench and secured his belt, before moving away to join Forant at the front. John was seething. He felt humiliated and was frustrated as hell, especially as he was accustomed to the driver's seat, but concealed his anger, as he knew getting mad would get him nowhere. Forant couldn't stop him watching though, so John tried to appear unconcerned while he paid attention as the older man touched the bracelet again, this time to deactivate a force field just long enough to allow the two men to take their seats.

John tried to follow what Forant was doing, and although he got a handle on some of the controls, he was thwarted by his position at the back of the craft. The entire left hand side of the console was out of sight, and despite his natural ability as a pilot, he was painfully aware any chance of escape would have to wait until he had more than a rough guess how to fly this bird.

With no option but to give up for the moment, John looked out the window instead - it was amazing. He'd experienced hyper drive before and thought that was pretty cool, but this was something completely different. Psychedelic colors seemed to dance around a whirlpool in space as they whizzed past, it felt kind of hypnotic and was like nothing he'd ever seen before. John could hear the low hum of the capacitor, and fell his body tingle with the rhythmic vibrations. He'd always gotten a buzz from flying one of these babies, but this was like the best trip ever. Not that he'd ever used drugs, except as a patient, but who would need to when you could get a high like he was getting now?

Forant turned around, caught his eye, and from his expression John guessed the bastard knew just how he was feeling. It was exhilarating and tortuous at the same time, knowing he was so close, but wasn't allowed near the controls. John decided right then and there, regardless of the consequences, he must fly this awesome craft, he simply had to.

Just then, almost as quickly as the wild ride had begun, the ship began to slow and soon the sparkly lights gave way to the inky blackness of space. As the invigoration gave way to a mixture of anger and trepidation, John wondered where the hell Forant was taking him now. A vague shape appeared in the distance, but it wasn't Earth as he recognised that particular orb only too well, besides why would Forant return so soon? At that moment, John watched as the scene outside disappeared into the whirlpool once more, but this time when it cleared, he saw a place he knew only too well, it was Atlantis…his home.

ooooOoooo

TBC

I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and yet another piece of the puzzle - but you know I haven't finished with the whump - not by a long way!

And please review, as I love to know what you think.