"Secrets and Challenges"

Ch. 42

(Atlantis, Nemesia's Secret Lab)

Stacey held baby Adam in a sling that was slung over her stomach. Daniel and John walked in. She plunged in the Ancient mini-computer to one of the computers in the lab.

"Hey," she greeted the men.

"Hey," John kissed Adam on the cheek and Stacey on the lips.

"Are you ready?" Daniel asked Stacey.

"Ready for what?" John asked.

"You'll see," she turned to the computer and turned it on.

The screen flickered on.

"Here, have a look," she said, gesturing to John.

He looked at the screen and his eyes shot up.

"What is this?" he asked.

"It's our descendents. The entire expeditions children," Stacey told him.

"How did you get your hands on this?" he asked next.

Stacey became very serious now. This concerned John.

"John, you cannot tell Elizabeth about this," she told him.

"Okay, I won't," John said. "So tell me already."

"On our way to the Alpha site, months ago, we unintentionally, took a side trip. Courtesy of a solar flare," Stacey told him.

"We went into the future, Major. Thirty years into the future," Daniel told him.

John looked over at his wife. She nodded.

"We saw Allison and Adam. I even got to hold our grand kids, John," she told him. "But, you can't tell anyone. Not even Dr. Weir." she added firmly.

"Alright! Alright!" he said. "The secrets safe with us. Right?"

"Right," Stacey said. "Now, if you'll excuse us," she said, indicating baby Adam's fussiness. "Someone needs to eat and a change of clothes."

(Stacey's quarter's)

Stacey rocked Adam as he fed. As he ate, she was deep in thought. If the information in the mini-computer was so important that only she, John, and Daniel could see. Then why is it full of the future inhabitants of Atlantis.

Why couldn't she let Liz know. The future is never certain. The future she and Daniel landed in could have been just one of the many outcomes. Instead of having only a few years left to live, she could live until she's 100.

Stacey switched breasts and continued to rock the chair back and forth. She stopped her thinking. It was giving her a headache. And she was sick of worrying. Stacey had to concentrate on taking care of baby Adam.

Once Adam was done eating, Stacey burped him, changed him, and put him to bed. She grabbed her book, took a chair and went outside on the balcony. Stacey let the late morning breeze ruffle her hair.

Apparently, Stacey had fell asleep. Stacey woke up slowly and looked around. She stifled a yawn. She had woke up to John and Adam's laughter. Stacey stepped inside and found John was tickling the boy and making fart noises on Adam's belly.

"Good afternoon sleepy head," John greeted her as she sat beside him. "Feel better now?"

"Very," she said groggily. "When did you get back?"

"A while ago," John told her,

He blew once more on the baby's stomach. Adam laughed heartily.

"And you didn't wake me because . . . ?"

"You've been cranky since Adam was born," he told her truthfully.

"I have not been cranky!"

"For the past week, you have been. Even Ask General Hammond," he told her.

"I will, after the Prometheus gets back from earth.," Stacey said, knowingly.

"Oh, I don't know, Stace, by the time they reach Atlantis again it would be a month and a half. I doubt the good General would remember," John told her teasingly.

Stacey replied only with a glare.

To be continued . . .