Chapter XII: What Kind of Choice is This? Part 2
A/N: This is the second part of the previous chapter. I hope you like it. IzzieStar has helped a lot. Thanks! Enjoy the story. She-Demon
"If you're..." John began, warningly.
"Do you think I'd joke about something like this?" Rodney snapped, impatiently.
Taken aback by Rodney's tone, John looked hesitantly to O'Neill, knowing what this meant for both them and the children; an almost impossible battle to return them home. Mostly though, he was exhausted and confused. Exhausted, because the first glimmer of hope they'd had saw the horizon blurred with further darkness, and confused because he simply didn't understand why. What did the replicators have to achieve in the kidnap of two innocent six-year old children?
"We need to get out of here." O'Neill said firmly.
"My children could be inside that building." John said in a low tone.
"I can't let you risk going in there yet." Jack said, placing a hand on John's shoulder.
John turned to look at the dimly lit window and sighed, before nodding and turning to follow Rodney and Jack back to the car. For the duration of the journey back to the house, not a single person in the car uttered a word, too focused on their own patterns of thought on their discovery. Occasionally, Rodney opened his mouth, ready to stress his fear and annoyance that these replicators had survived, but he immediately closed it again as various possibilities for defeating these replicators occurred to him.
When they pulled into the drive, John immediately saw Elizabeth watching with both anxiety and hope in her face and his heart sunk, knowing that the only news he could bring was bad. Perhaps it was easier that the news, to an extent, was broken to Elizabeth when they exited the car and Elizabeth realized that the children weren't with them, but it didn't ease the mingled sense of fear and guilt that John felt as he entered the living room.
"They weren't there." Elizabeth said, hollowly, unable to meet his eye.
From his seated position, Carson rose and quietly slipped out of the room, closing the door behind him to allow them the privacy which he suspected they needed. With the click of the door closing, John stepped towards Elizabeth so he was facing her.
"We don't know." John admitted.
For the first time since he had returned, Elizabeth looked up at John, "I don't understand."
"We followed the woman to a building inhabited by replicators."
"How...how is that even possible?" Elizabeth said, frowning in sheer perplexity.
"I'm sure Rodney has probably come up with a dozen explanations already." John said.
"What if they found them through me?"
Both John and Elizabeth's eyes met as she vocalized the thought that had crossed both of their minds, and sensing their mutual pain, John placed a hand on Elizabeth's cheek.
"If they wanted the children bad enough, they would always have found them. What matters now is that we bring them home." John said, gently.
"We should come up with some sort of plan." Elizabeth said.
"No, firstly, we should get some rest. We're going to need Rodney and he tends to work better when he's had his full eight hours." John said, smiling slightly.
"Come to bed with me. I can't face being alone." Elizabeth requested, gently.
When the other men had taken themselves off to bed under John's firm orders, he tiptoed up the stairs and gently opened the door to Elizabeth's bedroom, closing it behind him. His eyes not leaving Elizabeth's, he slipped into bed beside her, and pulled her body into his arms, resting his chin against her forehead. Both fell asleep in that position. The intimacy of their touch was not borne out of romance or even lust, but of a deeper longing to ease the pain and fear they both felt.
Downstairs, Jack looked across the, empty, adjacent sofa and sighed, knowing exactly where John was, and more importantly, whose bed he was sharing. Somehow, it reminded him of Sam, and the look of disappointment, mingled with understanding, in her eyes as he had left. Still, this wasn't the time to reflect on that, and Jack flicked the switch of the lamp, filling the room with darkness.
When they awoke the next morning, neither John, Jack, or Elizabeth made reference to the previous night's sleeping arrangements; in the reality of daylight it didn't seem important or relevant. Instead, their attention was taken by Rodney, surrounded by various plates and mugs, tapping away at his laptop in his pyjamas. As John opened his mouth to question what exactly was going on, Rodney, without taking his eyes off the screen, lifted a finger and continued tapping at the keyboard with his other hand. John looked to Elizabeth who raised her eyebrows, but didn't say a word. After another minute or so of frantic tapping, Rodney looked up to his expectant audience and smiled, leaning back in his chair.
"Would you care to enlighten us?" Elizabeth said.
"I've been up since four – oh that reminds me Elizabeth, you're out of coffee – anyway, I've been working on a program that will, all going well, wipe every code in the nanites."
"And how exactly do you plan to upload this?" Jack asked.
"He plans to use me." Elizabeth said knowingly.
"Isn't that a little risky?" John said, give Rodney a pointed look.
"Quite the opposite actually. Given that I was the person that programmed Elizabeth's nanites in the first place, I have made some amendments that, as well as being able to access and neutralize the replicators, should prevent anybody from tampering with Elizabeth's nanites again. Namely the IOA, but it should also stop the replicators from taking preventative measures against the program." Rodney said smugly.
"That's bloody brilliant." Carson said.
"Yes it is." Rodney confirmed.
"How long?" John asked.
"With more coffee, I should have it done within forty-eight hours."
"Forty-eight hours?" Jack asked.
"Would you like to try writing this program in a shorter time? No? I didn't think so." Rodney snapped.
"I'll leave you to it." Jack said.
"I think I'm going to head to the store, get a few things in. Anybody want to come along for the ride?" John asked.
"I'll come." Carson offered.
With John and Carson out of the house, Elizabeth decided to get on with some housework, but ultimately gave up on the idea after struggling with the tangled wire on the Hoover and set down across from Jack at the kitchen table, listening to the monotonous tap of Rodney's work from the dining room. Although it had crossed him mind, more than once, Jack privately decided not to question Elizabeth about the sleeping arrangements from the previous night. Elizabeth was not so reserved about discussing the more private matters that existed in their lives.
"You've been quiet since you got here." Elizabeth observed.
"It's been tough on all of us."
"Yes, it has," Elizabeth said quietly, "but I can't help but wonder that there's something more going on with you."
Jack looked as Elizabeth hesitantly, knowing how much pressure she was under already, observing the warm concern in her eyes. He couldn't overstate how much he admired her strength; whatever happened to her, she was always able to pick herself up and keep fighting.
"It's Sam," Jack said, reluctantly, "I don't think she was too happy about me coming back here. I think she thinks I'm having some sort of mid-life crisis."
"Are you?" Elizabeth asked.
"Well, firstly, I'm a little past mid-life, and secondly, of course not. You know, this is what we do." Jack said.
"You're here out of choice." Elizabeth said pointedly.
"I happen to care a lot for those kids. Not to mention, you and John are both so pig-headed that I had to step into the role of go-between." Jack said, grinning.
"I forgot to thank you. For bringing him. Again." Elizabeth said.
"Yeah, I'm kinda hoping that one day he'll be able to visit without me holding his hand. It's getting embarrassing." Jack teased.
Despite herself, Elizabeth laughed, prompting an annoyed tirade from Rodney about the conditions he was working under and how they might spare a moment to think of the 'genius' as he, so succinctly, put it. Guiltily, but silently amused, Jack and Elizabeth exchanged a glance and both made the decision to busy themselves with something that was silent. For Elizabeth, this meant entering the twins' room for the first time. Facing the reminder of their absence, as she sat on Olivia's crumpled bed; Elizabeth felt the trace of silent tears down her face. In some ways, she found it helped to relinquish her control and give into her pain, but in others, she found she was taunting herself with her failure to keep her children safe. Through her tears though, Elizabeth was here for a reason; hope. The chance that the children were coming home meant that they needed a bedroom which wasn't an exhibition of the sheer pain and terror of their mother, so she smoothed their bedding and replaced the clothes on their hangers in the closet, as she had done so many times before and would, she vowed, do so many times again.
By the time that John and Carson returned, Elizabeth had washed her face and dabbed her face with powder, hoping to cover the pale tone of her face; anything to stop the pitying looks.
"Blondie followed us." John said, as Elizabeth came into the kitchen.
"She did?" Elizabeth asked.
"Yeah, she kept a reasonable distance away, but I had a feeling she'd follow us." John shrugged.
"While this gossiping is simply delightful, did you get the coffee?" Rodney barked, marching into the kitchen.
"Rodney, maybe you should take an hour; have a shower, get some rest..." Carson suggested.
"Of course, I'll just kick back and rest while you all work out how to neutralize the complexities of nanite coding." Rodney said sarcastically.
"Point taken." John said.
"Thank you. I'll have a sandwich with my coffee." Rodney said, turning to leave.
"Rodney, I just wanted to say how much it means to me that you are doing this. Thank you." Elizabeth said.
Turning back slightly, Rodney smiled and nodded understandingly at Elizabeth before returning to dining room, where the constant tapping of keys started again. Letting John and Carson unpack the groceries, Elizabeth put her efforts into making Rodney various sandwiches which she hoped would sustain him for the afternoon.
Forty-eight hours later, as Elizabeth was using up the last of a substantial amount of turkey in putting together another sandwich for an increasingly touchy Rodney, it occurred to her that Rodney's self-proclaimed deadline had come and passed. When she placed the sandwich on the table, Rodney's reply was slight grunt, and she chose not to query how things were going. Jack wasn't quite so respectful when it came to Rodney's feelings though and, after another altercation with Webb, decided to probe Rodney as to what exactly was going on.
"Like I said, this is very complicated Math. Not the sort of thing you would understand." Rodney replied to Jack's questioning.
"This might have bypassed you, but I happen to be living with a pretty fine physicist." Jack snapped.
"Of course you are." Rodney muttered.
"And what exactly is that supposed to mean?"
"It's the oldest cliché in the book; pretty blonde lady falls for the emotionally stunted flyboy." Rodney sneered.
"You're calling me emotionally stunted? I mean have you once taken your head out of your ass for long enough to ask how Elizabeth is? Or John, your so-called best friend?" Jack snapped.
"I'm sorry; I've been too busy putting my efforts in saving the children." Rodney said, scornfully.
"Really? I'm not seeing any evidence." Jack replied.
Opening his mouth to word another reply, Rodney was stopped in his tracks by another knock at the door. Looking for an excuse to leave, John quickly dived into the hallway and opened the door, expecting Webb for the third time that day. Instead, he was faced with Blondie.
"Hello John. I think it is time that we have a conversation." Blondie stated.
"Where are they?" John growled.
"All in good time. May I enter your home?"
"Do I have a choice?"
"You always have a choice." She said, with a small smile.
He wasn't sure what it was about the woman...replicator, but something about her unnerved him. Perhaps it was the fact that he now knew for certain that she was behind the kidnap of his children, or perhaps it was the sweet way in which she had addressed him, so unlike his memories of arrogance synonymous with the replicators; he didn't know. All he did know was that he found himself feeling incredibly awkward and anxious and he guided Blondie into the dining room to join the group of people, amongst who, the tension was clear. Looking up, fury flashed across Elizabeth's eyes.
"You." Elizabeth said.
"I do not wish to fight with you Elizabeth." Blondie said, serenely.
"What is your name?" Carson asked, trying to break in before Elizabeth could respond.
"I am Ardala." She stated.
'Are you going to return my children?' Elizabeth demanded.
"Since it had become evident that you know of our existence, my leader believes that it is time that you should meet with him." Ardala said, ignoring Elizabeth.
"Answer her question." John growled.
"All would become much clearer if you were to meet with my leader."
"I won't agree to anything until you tell us how they are." Elizabeth said, firmly.
"Young John and Olivia are well. They are safe and have slept and fed well." Ardala said, smiling.
Hearing this Elizabeth smiled slightly, relief flooding her, "I will meet with your leader."
"Err; could you just give us a minute? I think we need to talk about this." John said, staring at Elizabeth.
Submitting to John's request Elizabeth left Ardala under the watchful eyes of Carson, Rodney and Jack in the dining room, already knowing what John was going to say and what her answer would be.
"We should both be there." John insisted.
"No, I need to know that if anything happens, our children will still have somebody fighting for them." Elizabeth said.
"Okay then, I'll go."
Elizabeth smiled and shook her head, "They can't hurt me, but they can hurt you. I need to do this; I can't stay on the sidelines, hiding behind the IOA forever."
John knew that Elizabeth was right. Also she was probably getting a little stir crazy; she obviously wanted to do something to help get their children back home safe and sound. And this was her area of expertise: negotiating. Except this would be different than any other negotiation she'd ever done before. Elizabeth would be negotiating for the twin's lives.
After a few more moments of talking with their eyes, John nodded.
Once they got back into the living room, Ardala smiled at them and asked,
"Did you reach a decision?"
Elizabeth answered,
"I will be the one to go and talk with your leader."
Ardala then said back,
"You can bring someone along if you want protection."
Elizabeth and John again had one of their eye conversations. Elizabeth tilted her head to the left, towards Jack. John nodded his acceptance.
"Jack do you feel up to coming along for the ride?"
"I'd love to." Which he said while glaring at Ardala.
"It's settled then. Please follow me in your car."
Once they got to the building where the replicators were, Ardala said,
"Please come in. The room straight down the hall is where our leader will see you."
Feeling Jack's hand squeeze her shoulder gently, Elizabeth looked up to see a male enter the small room. Watching him, warily, she was both surprised and relieved to witness that this person before her was not Oberoth. No, this was an altogether different prospect; with watery blue eyes and short, curly blonde hair, he reminded her of Niam, and the path upon which he had forced her life to take. It was a path which had brought her here today. Watching her with equal intrigue, the man bowed his head slightly.
"Welcome Elizabeth Weir. I am Kaleel of the Asurans. There is much for us to discuss." He stated, calmly.
"I'd like to see my children." Elizabeth said, bypassing the false pleasantries.
"Now is not the time," a smile came to Kaleel's eyes, "they are quite wonderful children Elizabeth, you should be very proud."
Elizabeth narrowed her eyes at Kaleel, both confused and angry that he should choose to address her in such a way under the present circumstances. He didn't have a right compliment her on her parenting skills when he was actively preventing her from fulfilling that duty. Years of experience had taught Elizabeth that negotiation was not dictated by emotion though, and she simply continued to stare into his eyes.
"I need to understand why." Elizabeth said.
Nodding, Kaleel slowly began pacing a small area of the floor, "It was never supposed to be this way. It was a vow among my people that the children of Elizabeth Weir and John Sheppard should be allowed to live a human life until late into their lives, but circumstances have such an unfortunate way of upsetting the plans we lay so very carefully, don't you agree?"
"How so?" Elizabeth asked.
"John Sheppard." Kaleel stated, simply.
"How about you cut the dramatic crap and get on with it?" Jack snapped.
Kaleel eyed Jack momentarily before resuming his pacing, "He is an impulsive man. I suppose you realize that he defied your request and persisted in his effort to relocate to Arizona?" Kaleel said.
A momentary feeling of anger gripped Elizabeth as she realized that not only had John defied her, but in doing so he had only proved her warning correct. Quickly though, Elizabeth's anger switched to Kaleel as she rationalized that what John had done had been for his family, while Kaleel had only acted to tear this family apart.
"You didn't?" Kaleel observed, "That is fascinating. However, that is not important. What is important is the realization of my people that our dream should never be fulfilled with the impulsive John Sheppard around; soon enough you would be gone. I am sorry Elizabeth. I am so very sorry."
Elizabeth narrowed her eyes at him, "Dream?"
"Ascension. You more than anybody must understand the deepest longing of my people."
"I don't understand how the twins..."
"Really? I suspect that somehow you do." Kaleel asked.
Elizabeth considered what was so special about the children that they could have any unique value to a highly advanced race, and suddenly she realized.
"They are both you and your fathers."
Kaleel beamed and nodded, "They have both the physiological qualities of nanite technology and the gene, which I believe you call, 'Ancient'."
"I hate to break it to you, but the few nanites they do have are completely inert." Elizabeth said, cuttingly.
"They could never have survived without our own technology. They are our brothers." Kaleel stated.
"They are not your brothers. They will never be your brothers. They are my children. Did you honestly expect me to listen to your story and let them go?" Elizabeth said, raising her voice slightly.
"No, and that is why I have invited you here today. It is of no benefit to either of us to continue to be locked in battle, running and hiding. Hurting even. I do not want for you to hurt Elizabeth. I want for you to be a Mother."
"They can come home?" Elizabeth asked, hopefully.
"Not quite. One of your children can return home. We will keep the other."
The offer hit Elizabeth like a punch to her gut. How was she supposed to choose between her children? Kaleel continued,
"Of course, this is a difficult choice for a mother to make, so we will give you 24 hours to decide."
It was all Elizabeth could do to walk in a straight line back to the car after they left the warehouse. For the sake of the watching eyes from the warehouse though, Elizabeth held her head high and maintained her composure for the short journey. The illusion was broken as she sat beside Jack in the car and she held her head in her hands, gently tracing a path down to her wrist.
As he took the steering wheel and drove back to the house, Jack frequently turned his head to look at her, occasionally opening his mouth to say something, but there was nothing. There was nothing that he could possibly say that could make this better; he knew that more than anybody. Her pain and devastation was a heartbreaking reminder of his own suffering all those years ago as he heard the sound of a single bullet. No, there was nothing that he or anybody could say. Instead, he reached across the car and squeezed her knee, hoping that in the midst of her pain, she knew that she was not alone. Elizabeth took her hands away from her eyes, and wiped them, realizing they were nearing home, and allowed her hand to reach for Jack's and the small sense of comfort that it gave to her.
She couldn't even consider the possibility of choosing between her children, but what hurt her most was the realization that she may never see one of them again. She knew that she would never make the decision to subject one of her beloved children to a life amongst replicators; spending eternity believing that they had been abandoned by their parents; but she dreaded the possibility that the decision could be taken out of her hands if she couldn't come to one.
"Do you want me to tell them?" Jack asked gently, as they pulled into the drive.
"I want to tell John." Elizabeth said quietly.
Jack nodded and they both looked to the house, sighing before they opened the doors of the car and began their procession to the house, when John was anxiously pacing the hallway as Elizabeth opened the door. Without saying a word, Elizabeth walked into the living room with John quickly following behind her. Instinctively, he reached out to Elizabeth and pulled her into him.
"Are they okay?" John asked, in a strained voice.
"I don't know. They said they are," Elizabeth looked up at John, "they want to keep one our children.
"Keep? What use is a kid to a replicator?" John asked, anger creeping into his tone.
"A lot of use it turns out. They think that...studying them will help them discover how to ascend." Elizabeth said.
"I hope you told them where to go." John said, angrily.
"Of course I told them where to go."
"I need to talk to Jack." John said, releasing Elizabeth and marching out of the room as she watched him helplessly.
When he entered the dining room, where Jack had communed with Rodney and Carson, he avoided the uncomfortable and sympathetic looks, completely focused on the task at hand. This had gone beyond negotiation, as much as Elizabeth would prefer using diplomacy to bring the children home; it was time for action.
"Can you give us a moment?" John said to Carson and Rodney.
Both left the room without taking their eyes off John, and as soon as they were out of the room, John could hear hurried whispers exchanged between them, shortly followed by them both entering the living room.
"Rodney needs to get that program finished." John said.
"I had the same thought myself." Jack said staring back at John.
"Maybe it's time to get him some...help." John said pointedly.
Realizing the meaning of John's words, Jack nodded and pulled his cell phone out of his jacket. John nodded back at him and left the room, closing the door behind him. Cycling through his contacts, Jack stopped at Sam's name and looked at the screen uneasily, before turning it over in his hands...Hell, it was worth a shot.
"I need some help." Jack said, as the ringing tone stopped and the call connected.
A/N 2: Who has Jack called? Will the twins be rescued in time? What will happen after that?