Life, with a little spice 6
Long chapter for once. Don't know if anyone is still reading this or taking any interest in it at all but if you do, please give me some constructive feedback. It would help greatly. Thanks a bunch. And as usual, all mistakes are mine. Sorry if there are.
"Louise, Louise, wake up." The tone is hurried and she sits in alarm.
"What? What's going on?" she groans, rubbing her eyes. She doesn't even remember falling asleep.
John is standing next to her bed. He looks worried sick. "The envoy has arrived," he simply says.
"What?! But we didn't expect him until tomorrow at the most," she protests. She rubs her fingers on her temples. "God, my head," she groans again.
He winces. "Sorry." He hands her some painkillers and the bottle of water she keeps on her bedside table.
She hurriedly gulps a couple of tablets and makes her way to the bathroom to change. "I got to go see McKay asap," she informs him, as she puts her shoes on.
"Louise, wait. I've just seen him. He said you need to join him in his lab but he never said why. Look, I need to know what you two are up to," he adds, forcing her to turn to him, his hands on her shoulders. His eyes lock with hers and she sees how worried he is.
"John, please. We need to act fast. We won't get a second chance," she scoffs. "Let me go."
He shakes his head. "You said let him work and I did, but now, you have to tell me."
She sighs. "Yeah, 'course we're going to tell you. Come with me. I'll explain on the way."
When they reach the lab, he looks murderous. "No way I'm letting you do that, Rodney," he tells the other man, as they enter the room.
Zelenka pouts and pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Told you," he tells McKay who ignores him.
"John, it's not for you to say," Louise counters. "You well know we need to solve this once and for all."
"It's too damn dangerous! I won't let you jeopardize your life in exchange for the flimsy hope we might get answers," he growls, stepping toe to toe with her.
She shakes her head and sighs in frustration. They've fought so many times over the years, it seems the tug of war will never end. And their bone of contention is still the same – her safety above all else. "Stop smothering me, Sheppard! I agreed to come on this expedition because you, in return, agreed to let me be your equal. Not a child you feel the need to always protect. I'm your damn partner! Can't you trust me?"
He sighs and rubs her arms. "Course I trust you. Try to understand. You were lost to me. We find you. And now you wanna leave?"
She bites her bottom lip. "John, if all goes well – and I trust Rodney has found a way – nothing that happened in these last three years will ever be. I solve the mystery, straighten things up, we go on with our lives as we should have in the first place."
John sighs in exasperation. "You're so bullheaded..."
"And you love me for that too or in spite of it, I don't know," she counters, with a smile.
He nods. "Yes, I do. Very much so," he whispers, drawing her in his arms.
McKay sniggers, looking embarrassed. "OK, lovebirds. Time to fast forward. We don't have all day. I guess the envoy is going to want to see her asap. So, let's get started." He claps his hands and turns to Zelenka. "Are we ready?"
The other man nods. "As ready as we'll ever be! Got the shielding device?"
McKay snaps his fingers impatiently. "Yes, yes, yes, you're right. She needs that too." He opens a box and hands Louise the same type of device he had once found and Lucius had used too. "You're gonna put this on before you leave. It will protect you from whoever attacked you out there."
Sheppard eyes him suspiciously. "Where did you get this? I didn't even think there were more."
Rodney looks away. "I might have retrieved a few from Janus's lab."
John lifts his eyebrows, leaning towards him, obviously pissed. "A few?"
Rodney rolls his eyes. "OK, I found four of these but two were already depleted and one will soon be. This one though seems brand new. I run diagnostics," he adds hurriedly, seeing John's look of concern. "It's good to go and perfectly safe."
John pouts. "It sure would give her an advantage."
"I hear the if there, John," she cuts him off. "Forget about it. I'm doing this."
"OK, then," McKay goes on. "Let's do it. All you have to do is fly the modified jumper I – we," he amends when he sees Zelenka's reproachful look, "fixed for you. We enter the address of the planet and boom, you're there!" he adds with a smug look.
John rolls his eyes. "You sure of that?"
Rodney huffs. "Damn, Sheppard! Do I feel the need to always get judgmental with your military decisions?" He dares him to counter him. "Well, don't judge my super intelligence, OK? I know what I'm doing."
John turns to Louise. He needs to try and make her change her mind – just one more time. "Louise?"
She smiles at him and wraps her arms around his neck, drawing him to her. She kisses him tenderly. "I'm doing this. Don't make this harder, please," she whispers in his ear, before stepping out of his embrace.
He pouts but offers her his hand. "OK. Let's, then."
"John, please report to your office immediately. And bring Ms Léger with you," he hears Nancy's curt voice in his headset. He cringes. He's not had time to talk to her yet though by that time, she must have surmised something was up, given he's not returned to their quarters all night.
"Will be there shortly. Sheppard out," he replies. He turns to McKay. "We need to hurry. You take her to the jumper. I'll open the doors and dial the gate."
McKay pouts. "Do you think they're gonna stop us?"
John shrugs. "No need to worry about it. We'll adapt. I say we move fast." He turns to Louise. "Sweetie..."
She gives him a quick hug. "We've got no time for this, John. Go!"
They all leave at a run in different directions. She would have liked to talk to Teyla and Ronon before she went and see Shep too but it's obviously not gonna happen now so she saves the thought for a rainy day. If all goes as planned, she stands a fair chance of seeing them all again. If not, well, she tells herself, she won't have to worry about anything anymore.
She sits in the pilot's chair. McKay shows her a few adjustments he's made. He's talking two hundred miles an hour. She focuses on him and nothing else, trying to burn the instructions in her memory – the jumper, the shielding device, the gate – and it seems everything goes in fast forward and she's already on the other side of the gate.
She lands the jumper in a clearing farther along the path they'd already taken to reach the village from the gate and makes a silent prayer that this time Murphy won't be against her and she's arrived right on time. For it to work, she needs to join the team before they see she's missing.
She prays this won't take too long. She's only had time to have her shots before she left and a power bar that she gulped down with a long sip of water. It would be a bummer if she passed out from hypoglycemia and could not be revived because of the shield.
She locks the jumper and makes her way cautiously towards the path. Not a minute too early, she reflects. Teldy and the two other members of the team – a newly appointed scientist called Wicker and another marine, Kerry Jameson, that she's only met for this mission – walk past her hiding place. She tiptoes from behind the trees and runs after them. "Hey, guys," she calls out, "wait for me!" She joins them, seemingly breathless and puts her hands on her knees, bending over as if needing to catch her breath. "Wow, you need to slow down. I can't walk as fast as you do."
Teldy snorts. "Can't take a little walk through the forest, Ma'am?" she teases her.
Louise bites her bottom lip. Apparently, they had not noticed her disappearance. She looks at her watch. It's about the time when she got separated from the team. She looks around but sees nothing suspicious. She giggles. "I guess not. I should have stayed in my kitchen."
"But then, you would have missed the sights," Jameson points out with a grin.
Louise rolls her eyes. "Trees, trees and more trees!" she sniggers. "Who had the splendid idea of mentioning this could be a potential ally for us?" she adds wickedly. She looks around and sees them exchanging looks.
She realizes she'd not asked the first time. Teldy had just mentioned it to her at breakfast the previous day and that they might find trading partners for food here. "We've already been there once and it's safe. Colonel Sheppard can't come but maybe you could," she had offered. Louise realizes she's never questioned the fact it was her first time off-world without any of the members of her usual gang – John or any one of her friends at the very least. But of course, she's always been eager to gate off-world and see new places and make new friends. Her undoing, as she can now see. Whoever wanted to make her disappear only needed to be prepared for this one time when she would be on her own.
Wicker raises his hand. "That would be me," he pouts. "And I like trees," he adds. She gives him a tense smile. She's not taken a good look at him the first time but now, she has to say she doesn't like him. She doesn't even know why. Something in his casual ways. Scientists are often reserved, shy even, and very scared of going off-world. He's not.
"What do you study, again?" she asks tentatively.
He looks away. "Ah, well, you know. Too complicated to explain," he answers. She sees him fidget with his backpack and take a few chocolate bars out of the side pocket. He offers her one. She declines and sees his look of displease.
"Give me the Cliff Notes, then," she offers. "I'm not as stupid as I look," she points out and narrows her eyes at him.
He snorts but doesn't answer that. He hands the other bars to Teldy and Jameson. Louise growls. "Don't eat that, girls," she cautions them. They lift their eyebrows in surprise. She makes a face. "That young man here is trying to tempt you with candy, like Hansel and Gretel," she chuckles and glances towards him. She sees him fidget some more. There's clearly something fishy here. Teldy snorts. Louise sobers up. "But, I mean, really. Girls. You shouldn't eat between meals," she banters. Jameson rolls her eyes at her. Louise is known for her love of dark chocolate. Surely, she cannot be seriously chiding them.
Louise sees she cannot stall anymore. John has told her just before she left to assess the situation but fall back if she felt any danger. "You don't know who's out there, sweetie," he's told her on her communicator as she was powering the engines of the jumper. "And from what we were able to determine, you won't have much time. Assess the situation as best as you can but fall back if need be and let the younger me deal with this." She'd said she'd do her best but she's not cut out to make that kind of decision.
Jameson is already raising her hand to her mouth and if she lets her, she has a sense of foreboding something is gonna happen. She realizes she's slightly altered her time line and is left with only wild guesses. The last time around, she had lagged a little behind and doesn't even remember Wicker offering them candy. She was about a hundred yards away when the fog had surrounded her. She doesn't even know if the scientist has anything to do with all this.
She slaps the bar out of the other woman's hand, making her yelp, and trains her P90 on Wicker. Teldy reacts immediately, aiming her own gun at Louise. "Ma'am, what are you doing?" she demands.
"Drop your weapon, Major. I know what I'm doing," she orders her.
"Not your call, Ma'am. You're not military. I'm in charge here so drop the damn weapon," Teldy barks at her.
Louise glances towards her. "Are you on my side?" she asks the other woman.
She sees Jameson is now training her gun on her too.
"Depends which side you're on, Ma'am," Teldy replies, tilting her head and aiming at her heart.
"Colonel Sheppard's and the City's," she says cockily.
Teldy slowly shifts her position and trains her gun on the scientist who's not said a single word during the whole exchange. He should be screaming I'm insane instead of remaining so silent, Louise reflects. He doesn't even look scared or in shock. Those geek always do.
"Anything to share with us, Dr Wicker?" Teldy asks him coolly. "Jameson," she orders the other woman, "lower your gun." Jameson huffs but relents. Louise lets out a breath she didn't even know she was holding.
Wicker sneers. "It could have been so simple, Ms Léger. In and out. You disappear and no one gets hurt. But of course, it's never that simple with you and Colonel Sheppard."
Louise's eyes widen with fear. She thought if she exposed him, she could change the course of time. She sees his hand behind his back and grabs it, forcing him to show what he's hiding. It looks like a beacon device and it's been activated. "What have you done?" she demands, shaking him.
He shrugs. "Called for reinforcements. If you'd complied and eaten the candy, everything would be over. Teldy and Jameson would be safe and you would be alive. I think we might have to resort to more drastic measures," he adds ominously.
They hear rapid footsteps approaching their position. "Fall back," Teldy orders. She grabs Louise's arm and tries to make her run back towards the village.
Louise sets her feet firmly on the ground. "That's a stupid idea, Major. We've fallen into a trap. The only escape we have is with the jumper," she counters.
"We don't have a jumper," Jameson reminds her.
"Actually we do and I don't have the time to explain so you'll have to trust me," she replies. She looks around but Wicker has disappeared. She growls. "Damn little weasel!" She shakes her head. "Come on," she tells the others. "We need to gate back before it's too late."
"Ma'am," Teldy tells her as they run to where she's hidden the jumper. "I don't think they'll let us pass."
Louise groans. "I know. We're gonna have to fight our way through it."
She gets in the pilot's seat and ponders her options. The sensors tell her there's a ship in orbit. She's never seen one like these before, though she remembers Jack O'Neill describing it to her. "It's a Tel'tak. What is that thing doing here?" she wonders.
She turns to Teldy. "OK. Here are the options. We surmised all this might have something to do with that gang of NID little traitors who called themselves the Trust. So, either we try to reach Atlantis or..." she hesitates and bites her bottom lip.
Teldy looks nonplussed. "Nothing you're saying makes sense. Who is "we" to start with?"
Louise rolls her eyes. "Long story short. I went to the future, three years from now. "We" is Colonel Sheppard and Dr McKay. At least those who were there. Won't exist if I change things here, OK?" she adds hurriedly.
"OK," Teldy says slowly, trying to process the information. "So, you were saying. Or?"
"Or we try to take them down. And if we're lucky, we'll know who's on board," Louise replies, pouting. It's a long shot and if she were honest with herself, all she wants is return home, but home may be in danger and she'll be damned if she doesn't do something about it. Knowing what they're up against could prove invaluable in the near future. "So, what do you think, you girls?"
She turns to them and sees Jameson's gun trained on her head. "I say you stop acting like a fucking Colonel Sheppard and get away from this console. Can't you just for once in your life act like the stupid little teacher you once were?" Jameson growls, royally pissed. "We had you there. All you needed was to eat the goddamn chocolate bar. But, no! You had to get suspicious!"
Louise stands slowly and turns to her. Jameson steps backward cautiously. Louise sees Teldy's hand slowly slide downwards to her sidearm. Jameson sees it too and trains her gun on her. "I don't think so!" she sneers. "You stay put, Major, and let the little lady here come with me."
Louise closes her eyes for a brief moment, trying to decide what best to do. She needs the intel but she doesn't want Teldy hurt. She trains her eyes on Jameson. "I'll come with you, Kerry. No need to hurt her. You let her leave and I'll come with you," she offers, her hands raised in surrender.
Jameson sneers and hands the chocolate bar to Teldy. "You eat that, Ma'am, and I promise no harm will be done to you."
Teldy narrows her eyes at her. "You really think I'm going to let you poison me?" she snaps.
Louise shakes her head. "It's not poison. It's just something to make you forget. I met Teldy three years from now. She couldn't remember a thing. She was not the one we should have interrogated in the first place."
Jameson sneers. "Obviously not!"
"So Wicker tampered with the wormhole drive. I mean he was going to," she corrects herself.
"Yeah," Jameson drawls cockily. "And with a few other things. And we'll still do. I'm going to take you to this Tel'tak and we'll keep you under wraps until we need you again."
Louise sees she's almost there. The girl is obviously too arrogant for her own good. You get cocky, you get sloppy, John had yelled at her once when he was training her. He was so right, once again. She tries hard not to smirk at the memory. "What would you possibly need me for? You said it yourself. I'm just a stupid little teacher turned cook," she points out.
Jameson snorts. "That, you are! But see, you're of great value to our leader. And since you're so intent on knowing the truth, I'm going to do you a favor and tell you who that is. You won't remember a thing anyway," she sniggers. "You were right. The Trust is behind all this. We need you to disappear so Atlantis remains put for the time being."
Teldy rolls her eyes. "Preposterous!"
Louise pouts at her. "Not so far-fetched, I'm afraid. They're just triggering a chain of events that will lead to Atlantis' standstill. But why go to such lengths? You could just kill me. Why keep me alive?" she prods.
Jameson slowly trains her gun on her again. "Because by the time you reappear, we'll have someone ready to replace Colonel Sheppard at the helm. Someone who will be widely approved of. We're not there yet but we will and what better moment to do so than when you conveniently reappear and wreak havoc on his heart again. He'll side with you – without the trace of a doubt, knowing how he dotes on you. And when he does, he'll be accused of treason and removed, as will all your friends," she sneers smugly.
Louise shakes her head. "So the envoy who was coming for me today..." she whispers to herself. Her eyes suddenly light up. "Hey, wait! You did not mention Nancy," she prods.
"Who's Nancy?" Teldy asks. "You lost me there." She has no idea what all this is about but she does know one thing. She needs Louise away from that gun.
Jameson ignores her and sniggers. "I see we'd succeeded. Well, don't worry. We will again. Nancy will lose her husband in a few days or weeks and then she'll conveniently appear at her ex-husband's side to put some sense in him. She's expendable, of course, and has no clue what we have in store for her. She's not one of our agents. Just a convenient decoy."
Louise sighs in relief. As much as she hated seeing Nancy by John's side, she's happy to learn she was a victim, just like them. Once she's gotten out of this whole mess, they'll need to reach her husband before the Go'auld's henchmen get to him. But first things first.
"OK, time to go," Jameson says and looks pointedly at Teldy who's still holding the chocolate bar. "You eat that and I won't hurt her."
"I don't think so," Teldy says, throwing the bar at her and lunging forward. Louise watches in horror as both women tumble to the floor. She's not been fast enough, she berates herself. No matter how many hours she put in her training, nothing had prepared her for making decisions on her own. She always follows Ronon's or John's lead and everything goes well.
She grabs Jameson from behind who's kneeling over Teldy and is regaining control of her gun. Louise pushes her aside and stands between her and Teldy. The Major scrambles to her feet and tries to push Louise aside. "Don't you dare, Ma'am," she yells. "You die and he'll never forgive me."
Louise chuckles humorlessly. "Yeah, right. Don't worry. She won't kill me."
Jameson sneers. "Don't be so sure of that. This whole thing is getting old. I'm sick of having you stand in the way." She trains her gun at her head. "Move," she barks.
Louise shakes her head. "Uh, uh. Over my dead body," she says more cockily than she feels. If McKay's device fails her, she's indeed as good as dead.
The other woman sniggers. "Be my guest!"
Louise hears the click of the trigger and lunges at her as the bullets bounce off her shield. They tumble on the floor and suddenly, everything is eerily silent. She gets to her feet and looks at the now dead woman lying in front of her. One of the bullets has torn its path through her chest.
Louise turns to Teldy. "It's the first time I kill a human being," she stammers, in shock, then her eyes widen in fear. Teldy is holding her hand to her side and trying to regain her balance. "Oh my God. You're hurt!"
"Help me into a seat," Teldy says weakly, "and get us out of here before it's too late," she adds, pointing at the scout ship descending rapidly upon them.
Louise gasps and powers the engines then turns to the DHD. The device is broken, probably beyond repair. "What the hell?" she starts saying then realizes Jameson must have fired her whole magazine at her and stray bullets have ricocheted everywhere. It's a miracle the ship can still fly.
"God, we're as good as dead," Teldy grunts, clutching her side.
Louise pouts. "Look, I have never done this before so bear with me, OK? The moment we arrive on Atlantis, I might not be able to fly the jumper up safely through the hangar doors. You're gonna have to help me," she tells the other woman.
"What are you gonna do?" Teldy asks her.
"If I concentrate, I can dial the gate from a short distance – a hundred yards, tops. We're gonna take incoming fire from that ship and it will probably be a bumpy ride. Provided John lets us in in the first place," she adds, wincing. "You're ready for this?" She sees the other woman is in pain and won't last long. She looks like she's ready to pass out but she nods briefly. "You like roller coasters?" she asks Teldy.
"Yeah, normally," she replies, wincing at the pain that shoots through her side.
"Sheppard likes Ferris wheels. I hate those. Those damn things go too slow," she sniggers, focusing on the gate that they are fast approaching. She tries to keep in a straight line as she starts dialing the gate.
"You're reckless, you know that?" the other woman groans as she sees the gate growing bigger in the porthole. It's still dialing.
Louise snorts but doesn't reply. The gate whooshes open as they get hit for the first time. Louise sends their IDC. "Permission to return earlier. We're taking incoming fire."
"Ms Léger?" she hears Chuck's surprised voice.
"Yeah, that would be us. We got ourselves a jumper. Please let us in," she says as she stabilizes the ship just before they reach the event horizon.
"Permission granted. Lowering the shield," she hears John's worried voice.
She doesn't really know how, but between her and Teldy, they manage to park the jumper in the bay without damaging anything except one of the doors to the hangar. Boy, is she gonna get a talking to!
She slumps on the console, feeling weak and dizzy. She switches off her device, then lifts her head and taps a key to open the hatch. A medical team rushes inside and helps Teldy onto a stretcher. Jen busies herself assessing the damages to both of them. She takes a look at Jameson. "She's dead, Jen," Louise mumbles. "Take care of Teldy. I think she's gonna need surgery." She pushes away one of the nurses who's trying to examine her. "I'm fine," she growls. "I'm not the one injured."
"And you're not in very good shape either, as it appears, sweetie," she hears John's voice behind her, chiding her. "Let them take care of you."
She turns towards him and tries to stand but her knees buckle under her. He grabs her before she reaches the floor. "I got you," he says, before lifting her in his arms. He motions for the medics to go ahead and follows them towards the infirmary. She wraps her arms around his neck and cuddles against him. "John, I'm so, so very glad to see you," she whispers, choking on her tears. Now the ordeal is over, she can finally allow herself to let go.
He kisses the top of her head. "You're going to be OK," he whispers. She sighs in content and starts trailing kisses up his neck to his jaw. "Louise," he chides her gently, "we're not alone. You don't want everyone here to see me as a softy, do you?"
"I don't care," she mumbles. "Besides, you should stop deluding yourself, John. They know it already."
He rolls his eyes but kisses her all the same, seeing how scared she now looks. "What happened back there, Louise?"
She sighs. "It's a long story and one you're not gonna like."
TBC