The Return of Katie Brown
Part X - Forgiveness
After hearing Petra's admission to Rodney and Jennifer, Sheppard ordered her held under house arrest instead of in the brig. Under guard, she was permitted to go from her quarters to the Mess Hall and back but nowhere else. If she had any medical needs a doctor would be dispatched to her quarters and a guard would be present. That is all he was willing to concede. The couple smiled their thanks and went to their respective work areas.
*****
The next afternoon Rodney and Jennifer saw Peter Kavanagh and Katie Brown sitting together in the Mess Hall and asked to join them. Now that he thought about it, he'd seen them together quite a bit. He filed the information in the back of his mind not at all certain it meant anything. At least not to him.
At first the conversation was strained and awkward but eventually they all relaxed and even began to laugh. While they were alone, Jennifer brought forth an idea she and Rodney had discussed the night before. After a bit of persuasive nudging Katie and Kavanagh agreed to go along with their plan. A few minutes later they were joined by Sam Carter and John Sheppard.
"John, what's going to happen to Petra?" Jennifer asked him.
"Well, her medical career is over, of course. She'll spend more than a few years in prison, but after that, who knows? One thing I do know for sure. She'll never be able to come back to Atlantis."
"But she'll never see her brother again." Jennifer's sadness caused Rodney to squeeze her hand in comfort. She was an only child and the thought of never being able to see a sibling you were close to as Petra and Peter had once been distressed her.
Sheppard lowered his voice. "Jennifer, she tried to kill you by pushing you down a flight of stairs."
"It was late, I was tired and the corridor was dark. I…fell."
"Ex-cuse me?" He waved a hand in the air. "Okay. Granted that is a possibility but what about Rodney? You can't tell me that was an accident."
"I-I-it was my own fault, really. I, uh, f-f-forgot to throw out the ones with the, uh, citrus in them. And the first EpiPen must have been the one they give you to practice with. I just, uh, forgot…to…throw…it…out." Rodney finished lamely.
Sheppard made an exasperated sound. "Well, what about what happened on the balcony?"
Katie, eyes wide, said, "Well, uh, we were, uh…"
"Charades." Jennifer said. "We were playing Charades and, I, uh, got too close to the rail. I'm a bit competitive and get carried away sometimes." She gave him a sheepish smile and a shrug.
"Yes. And she was winning. If she hadn't, uh, well, then…" Kavanagh added and Katie nodded vigorously in agreement.
"What about Fischer? How do you explain that?"
Rodney spoke up for the first time, "You've never had anyone fall asleep on duty?"
"Only you, McKay!"
"And me." Added Jennifer. "Doctors fall asleep all the time on long shifts where not much is happening."
Sam understood what they were doing and added her voice. "It could fall under the category of a mitigating factor of 'diminished capacity', the lack of substantial capacity to control her behavior. Now she is able to distinguish between right and wrong but was incapable of it at the time. She would have to agree to a psychiatric evaluation, perhaps even an extended stay in a mental health facility. Eventually, she might be able to practice medicine again."
Sheppard was dumfounded. "I do not believe this!" He looked from one to the other as if evaluating their mental health. They all stared back with equal looks of defiance. Except Sam who had her head down over her plate like it was a particularly vital piece of alien tech that needed her full attention. Seeing he would get no support from that quarter, Sheppard gave in less than gracefully. "Okay. Okay. I'll speak to Woolsey and convince him to intervene with the IOA on her behalf. Geez, I hate being ganged up on."
Two Weeks Later
Jennifer was at Rodney's side as they made their way to the Gate Room. They'd come to say one last good-bye to Katie, Peter Kavanagh and Petra. Apologies had been made previously for the misunderstandings and suspicions. Petra would be met by a detail that would take her to an IOA sanctioned mental health facility for evaluation. Carter would be staying at least another week.
Rodney entered the Gate Room with a small amount of nervousness. He, Katie and Peter Kavanagh had not become friends but had managed to come to terms with their past…associations. They'd tried to at least be pleasant to one another and it worked, for the most part.
Only Katie and Kavanagh were there standing next to a cart filled with duffle bags, equipment and several potted plants. Petra had not yet arrived.
He thought about hugging Katie good-bye but didn't know if she would permit it or if it would even be wise. Instead he asked, "So, Katie, what are your plans now that your research has been completed?"
"Didn't I tell you? I'll be teaching botany at a university in Texas. I'm really looking forward to it."
"That's great. I'm, uh, sure you'll be everyone's favorite professor." She smiled her thanks.
"And I'll be teaching at the same university. Physics." Kavanagh put in as he pushed his glasses back into place from where they'd slid down his nose.
Rodney was surprised but tried not to show it. He also refrained from making a snide remark about Kavanagh's intelligence or lack thereof and settled for wishing him well.
"Oh, and there's one more thing you should know." She reached over and took Kavanagh by the hand pulling him close to her side. "Peter and I are getting married."
The shock on Rodney's face was nothing compared to Kavanagh's. Their expressions almost made Jennifer laugh but she managed to hold it in.
Kavanagh's eyes were wide behind his wire frame glasses and he just barely managed a response, "We, uh, we are?"
Katie smiled up at him affectionately. "Well, that is, if you'll have me."
His arms lifted her off the ground and spun her in circles. He was smiling so wide it almost split his face. "I thought you'd never ask. And yes, I'd love to marry you!" They kissed for so long that Jennifer finally tapped Kavanagh on the shoulder. "Oh, sorry." Jennifer and Rodney murmured congratulations again and they shook hands all around.
Petra arrived at that moment, accompanied by her guard detail, silently adding her belongings to those already on the cart. There was nothing left to be said. Rodney and Jennifer wished her well then signaled for Chuck to dial the 'gate. The whoosh of the wormhole filled the room then Katie and Kavanagh pushing the cart stepped through the event horizon followed by Petra. She gave Rodney and Jennifer one last look of apology before disappearing into the blue light.
A compressed data burst was transmitted to and from the SGC and, a few seconds later, the wormhole shut down. Once again, all was quiet in the Gate Room.
*****
The man once known as Dr. Peter Grodin tossed and turned on the padded cot that had been his bed for almost three years. His sleep had not been restful as long as he could remember. It had started getting worse a day or two after the visit of Teyla's friend from the floating city. But tonight, weeks later, the dreams were the worst ever. Images flashed through his mind so fast he was unable to get a firm grasp on any one:
Football, sailing, rock climbing, cycling, swimming, skydiving, hiking, skiing, snowboarding, martial arts, kickboxing.
The wind in his face as he rode through a field beside a laughing girl with long dark hair.
Working in a frozen wasteland and performing tests on a missile-like object called a drone.
Organized chaos. People and equipment everywhere. Walking through a puddle of blue light to arrive in a beautiful underwater city. His stomach flipping over as that same city ascended to the surface.
Talking to a tall woman with dark hair and an American accent. Though how he knew she was American and he was not he didn't know.
The scowling face of a man who uses his arrogance to hide the fact that he's a kind, caring and extremely loyal individual. Why the man does this he never knew.
Searching for a boy lost in the floating city.
A creature made of energy.
Taking a swing at that same scowling face during an experiment designed to test a personal shield and injuring his hand.
Floating weightless.
Stranded alone on a malfunctioning weapons platform with the enemy closing in.
The momentary disorientation of transport.
Hatred for the men with white hair and pale skin living on a strange ship that looked grown instead of manufactured. Even more hatred for the woman with fuchsia-colored hair who seemed to be in charge of the ship.
Pain inflicted over and over while questions were asked that he refused to answer.
Surgery without anesthetic.
Being given an energy weapon and turned loose on an unknown planet. Forced to run, hide, fight and kill only to 'gate to another planet and do it all over again. Injuries that don't heal properly because he dared not stay in one place long enough to get medical care. Unable to form relationships for fear of bringing the culling.
A doctor who was able to disable the subspace transponder in his tracking device without the need for high risk surgery.
Stealing a Dart and sneaking on board one of the ships, killing the queen and the hive, freeing their captors.
Trying to kill a man with unkempt hair dressed all in black and carrying a P-90.
Halling. Jinto. Teyla. Kanaan. Wex. Others in the settlement. Laboring in the tava fields of Athos.
Being given an injection only to awaken days later on a different planet far from Athos.
Walking with a dark haired woman who seemed familiar as he spoke of the growing of tava beans and living on a verdant and unspoiled planet.
Fear! Dread! Terror! Fight or flight? They're coming! They're here! Nowhere to run! Nowhere to hide! Dial the 'gate! For God's sake please dial the 'gate!
He shot up in bed gasping for air and clutching his head, the sweat-soaked bedclothes twisted around him.
Staggering to his feet he stumbled over to the wash basin and splashed water on his face. He looked into the mirror after drying his face with a towel. As it had for the past three years, the face that looked back was at once familiar and strange.
He'd accepted that his name was Peter because he knew no other but it meant nothing to him. Sometimes, when the frustration of not being able to remember got to be too much, he would look into the mirror and say the name out loud hoping that it would remind him of who he used to be. He would repeat the name over and over waiting for the memories to return…but they never did.
"Peter. My name is Peter."
Closing his eyes, he took some calming breaths and faces floated out of the darkness. An older man and woman, two young women and a young man sitting around the dinner table with him, eating, talking and laughing. The dark haired woman with the American accent, sometimes smiling and sometimes not. The man with the unkempt hair. The scowling man. A small yet surprisingly strong pretty woman he knows as Teyla. A young dark skinned man in uniform. Other people, places and things that should be familiar but aren't…or are they?
"My name is...Peter. My name is…" His eyes snapped open wide and suddenly there it was! Everything. All that he was, all that he used to be. "My name is…Dr. Peter Grodin. I-I am a-a-a…civilian scientist working in the lost city of Atlantis in the Pegasus galaxy. Dr. Elizabeth Weir is the expedition commander and Major John Sheppard is the military commander. My mother is…deceased, my father is-is…retired, I have a brother, Prescott and a sister, no, two sisters, Penelope a-a-and…Petra!"
Yes! He remembered! His sister Petra was here in Pegasus. But how? Why? More than likely looking for answers regarding his death. He knew that everyone thought he'd died when the Ancients' satellite was destroyed. The Wraith queen had told him so and he'd believed her. He'd seen the satellite explode on the Wraith view screen as they dragged him to a cell.
He dressed hurriedly and went to see Halling. Without giving too much away, he was able to convince his friend to hand over the transmitter used for contacting Atlantis in emergencies then returned to the shack that was his home. He laid the device on his bed and sat there staring at it.
He'd been with the Athosians for nearly three years, toiling in the fields and living a simple existence, devoid of any true identity. Some memories were still missing but most of what he'd lost had come back.
Should I stay here on New Athos? Return to Atlantis? Earth? What would my family say if I suddenly returned from the dead?
He turned all the possible scenarios over and over in his mind trying to decide which outcome would be the best for all concerned. After a few minutes of deliberation he reached for the transmitter.
*****
Chuck touched his headset and listened to a voice only he could hear. He looked at his computer screen for the IDC authentication and his eyes went wide in shock. "Yes, sir. Please hold on while I get…the commander for you." He switched to the PA, "Mr. Woolsey, Colonel Sheppard and Dr. McKay to the Control Room immediately! Mr. Woolsey, Colonel Sheppard and Dr. McKay to the Control Room!"
"What's going on, Chuck?" Amelia Banks asked. Her co-worker and friend looked as if he were in shock.
Woolsey, Sheppard and McKay arrived before he could form an answer. "What's the emergency?" Sheppard asked.
Chuck's eyes flicked from one man to the other. "We just received a transmission from the Athosian settlement. It was authenticated by an inactive IDC. This…person asked for Dr. Weir, Major Sheppard and Dr. McKay."
"Whose IDC was it?"
When Chuck didn't immediately respond, Woolsey said, "Skip the dramatic pauses, please."
"Sir, he claims to be Peter Grodin. But the records show that Dr. Grodin has been dead for four years."
TBC