AN: SORRY EVERYONE! So sorry, for reposting Chapter 2! I guess that's what happens when I try to post and I'm half asleep. LOL
SO here's the REAL Chapter 10. :)
Chapter 10:
At 9am the next morning everyone was ready to go and on the Jumper. Lorne had assigned Sgt. Stackhouse as the Pilot as he didn't want to fly it himself. Lorne liked flying the Jumper but it wasn't his first choice. He preferred to be the one fighting, defending and protecting to being the one flying in for a pick up, he left that to others.
Lorne actually didn't mind helping Ford, despite what Colonel Sheppard thought. He understood his CO's desire to help the former LT. and he agreed with him. If there was one thing he and Sheppard agreed on it was "Leave No Man Behind" and as far as Sheppard was concerned the Lt. had been left behind, even if it was the Lt.'s choice.
So here he sat in the chair behind the Pilot's seat. Dr. Weir was in the Co Pilot's seat looking pensive he suspected it was because she wasn't happy about leaving Colonel Sheppard in charge. Dr. Beckett was in the seat behind Dr. Weir's. The bruise on the doctor's face had faded slightly, turning deep yellow and light green, but his wrist was still bound in what looked to Lorne like a wrist brace. Every once in awhile he'd notice the doctor wince when he used it and guessed that it still bothered him but didn't say anything to the doctor about it. Beckett knew his limits. Dr. Z and Ronon were in the back sitting on the benches with the other marines. Lorne knew it was always good to have a scientist with them and Ronon was amazingly adept at security and tracking but he hoped that they didn't need either one. He liked them both though and therefore didn't object to them coming along.
They lifted off the ground and into the gate room. Just before they left they heard Sheppard's voice come over the radio, "Be careful all of you." He said seriously.
"Will do sir." Lorne replied smiling. He knew that Sheppard always worried whenever a team went through the gate without him but he was always surprised to learn that everyone worried about him when he went through the gate as well.
"You be careful as well John. Let Rodney, Chuck and Teyla help you if you need it." Dr. Weir told him. She had left the Colonel in charge while she was gone. She hadn't wanted to but with her AND Lorne gone, he was the most qualified to handle any situation even if he was injured. Dr. Beckett had all but demanded to give the Colonel an exam before he was allowed to play leader for the day. Lorne had been there while he was being given the examination getting a "You'd all better come back safe" lecture from Sheppard. He always got that lecture when he took Drs. Weir, Beckett and Zelenka and/or any of his team through the gate without the Colonel.
The doctor had once again been pleasantly surprised to see that Sheppard had healed faster than expected. His shoulder had been well enough to use again and his migraines were gone completely. Though they were still bruised, his ribs were healed well enough for him to get up and move around the city without too much discomfort and the Colonel's ankle was well enough to use with a cane. The only injury that hadn't really healed was the burn on his hand, making using the cane tricky to use but not impossible. Dr. Beckett had said that it was probably due to the fact that the burn was caused by the ancient device that Sheppard had held in it. This all meant that the Colonel was able and allowed to move about the city, and command it if necessary, with strict orders to take it easy and let other help even if there wasn't an emergency.
"I'll be fine, don't worry about me Elizabeth. Just keep yourselves safe." Sheppard replied still serious. "Oh and Major?"
"Yes sir?" Lorne responded already knowing what the Colonel was going to say.
"I'm holding you responsible if anyone, including yourself, comes back injured." He said.
Lorne could hear the smile in the Colonel's voice and therefore smiled back before replying, "Yes sir." and with that they went through the gate, leaving Atlantis behind.
They parked closer to the village this time, cutting down the time it took to get there and after taking their time getting down the hill they arrived with relative ease. They found Aiden in the courtyard of the center of the village, seemingly to walk between buildings. He stopped upon seeing them and came over to greet them.
"Good Morning," he said smiling. "I had thought that you'd return today, figured it'd take a couple of days to get the results and then another day or two to come back." He said while he led them to the same meeting hall that they originally had met in.
When they were all settled Aiden looked around for the first time and upon noticing John's absence asked, "Where's Colonel Sheppard?"
"Colonel Sheppard was not able to make it this trip." Elizabeth replied.
"Oh, is he alright?" Aiden asked knowing that John would've been there if he could. The man hated being kept in Atlantis when those he cared about were going off world.
"He was in an accident a couple of days ago while activating an ancient device for Rodney but he'll be fine." Elizabeth told him noting the Lt.'s concern.
"That's too bad," Aiden replied. "maybe he'll be able to join you next time." He said sounding hopeful.
"Actually we cam here to talk to you and see if maybe you would come back to Atlantis with us." Elizabeth said figuring now was a good time to bring up the reason they came.
"Back to Atlantis, why?" he asked a little suspicious.
"I'll let Dr. Beckett answer that." she answered letting Carson take over.
"I've studied your results and your blood tests came back negative for the Enzyme." Carson began. "Unfortunately your body is slowly shutting down without the drug." He said simply. He had already noticed the former Lt.'s sickly pallor and the thin sheen of sweat on his skin. "I'd like to get you back to Atlantis and run some more extensive tests. I believe we can come up with a serum of sorts to help counter and prevent the damage. I must warn you though, I think it very likely that it will need to include the Enzyme." Carson finished waiting for the information to sink in.
Aiden sat quietly for a moment before replying. "I could tell something wasn't right. I've been feeling sick since I kicked the drug and the medicines the healers had been giving me helped until a couple of weeks ago." He explained still sifting through the information he was given. "I'll go back with you for the tests doc but if you can't find a way to keep me alive without the Enzyme or in a stasis pod then leave me be." He said.
Carson's heart dropped at the Lt.'s words but he had expected them. "Aye, I understand lad." He said. "How long do you need to get ready to leave? I believe the quicker we act the better." He explained when Aiden gave him an inquisitive look.
Aiden nodded whole heartedly agreeing. "We have a system set up should the leader go missing or need to leave." He said. "I will let Mikhail know what's going on and that I must leave for a few days." He told them as he began getting up to leave. "I'll be ready to leave by lunchtime. Please make yourselves comfortable until then, it will take a couple of hours." He explained before swiftly exiting the room leaving the group to chat amongst themselves.
John stood on the balcony over looking the gate room watching the team head to Adora cursing the fact that he couldn't go himself. He was grateful that he had healed quickly again but he was starting to get curious as to how or why. He walked in to Elizabeth's office to get some work done annoyed at having to use a cane in order to get around but even he had to admit that his ankle wouldn't be able to hold all of his weight yet, it needed to get stronger first. He sat down and started catching up on emails thankful that Lorne had taken care of all the paperwork before he left.
It had seemed like only five minutes later when Teyla slowly walked in with Torren holding her hand. "Hey guys!" he greeted happy to get a break from answering emails and writing passed due mission reports. His head had started pounding from staring at the screen and it was getting harder to ignore.
"Good afternoon John, I thought I'd invite you to join Torren and I for lunch." Teyla greeted sitting down and placing her son in her lap.
"Lunch, what time is it?" he asked.
"It is 12:00." She informed him.
"Wow, really? I guess time flies when you're stuck in front of a computer." He quipped slowly standing up, letting his stiff muscles get used to the movement.
Teyla laughed at the small joke, "Yes, I guess it does." She said.
Just then the gate started receiving an address and then swooshed to life, the alarm blaring.
"Unscheduled off world activation." Chuck's voice called out as John, Teyla and Torren walked out to see who it was. "It's Major Lorne's IDC" Chuck told him answering the question John was just about to ask.
"Lower the shield." John said right away. They hadn't been expecting Major Lorne's team to come back for another 2 hours which either meant that things went bad or things went good. Please let them have gone well. John thought just before Lorne's voice came over the radio.
"Atlantis we have Lt. Ford and are coming home." He said simply.
John released a sigh of relief. Thank God! "The shield is down Major, you're clear to come through." He told him.
Without responding the Jumper came through the gate and then proceeded to the Jumper Bay. John waited for the gate to shut down then he slowly made his way to join them, walking as fast as he could so that they wouldn't be gone before he got there. Luckily his plan (and a little help from the trasnporters) worked and he and Teyla arrived just in time to see the hatch being lowered.
The two marines came out first followed by Lt. Ford. John noticed how sick Ford looked and winced in sympathy for him. "Lieutenant" he said, saluting Ford with his bandaged right hand, wincing slightly when it moved his stiff shoulder.
Ford saluted back, "Sir." He said before Carson came out and carried him to the infirmary.
The rest of the group departed the Jumper. The marines and Lorne saluted him as well before departing and Radek left to go find Rodney, leaving Elizabeth, Teyla, Torren and John in the Jumper Bay.
"How'd it go?" He asked.
"Let's go to my office." Elizabeth suggested leading the way. She knew John wasn't going to like Aiden's response and dreaded telling him but she didn't see any other way around it.
They walked slowly to her office, dropping Teyla and Torren off by the mess hall to grab some lunch. When they got there, John lowered himself slowly into the chair across from her desk, stretching his legs out in front of him. "So, what happened?" he asked, his tone clearly saying Get on with it.
Elizabeth took a deep breath, "Carson has explained the situation to Lt. Ford and he has agreed to come back for further testing but he has asked to be allowed to die if the key to his survival uses the Enzyme." She said plainly but gently. She watched him, for any indication that he'd understood and the only one she got was the stony look that he gave her when he answered.
"I see." He said, his voice practically a growl and his eyes stone cold but his face neutral. "Well I think I'll go down and talk to him." He said swiftly getting up, grimacing when he got up too fast.
"No John, you won't." she quickly told him, stopping him before he left. "Carson has asked that we leave Ford be until he has cleared visitors. The Lt. will be undergoing a good amount of testing and he's already tired and not feeling well." She said sympathetically.
"But this is a stupid decision, he can't be allowed to throw his life away." John argued.
"I think that of all the people allowed to throw his life away it would be him." She said sternly. "He went through hell going off the Enzyme and he hated who he had become while on it. He refuses to do that again." She said practically pleading for him to see it through Lt. Ford's eyes. Some of the team had had the same exact reaction that John was having now and had tried to have the Lt. see reason but he had explained his reasons for his decision and they had left it alone after that.
John began to pace, slightly limping while doing it. The anger pulsated off him, pounding into her with sickening speed. She knew he was angry but she also knew that pacing helped him think when he was angry and unable to do anything about it. After a good 10 minutes he finally stopped. She saw understanding and hurt in his eyes and she hated it.
"You're right." He conceded sadly, "Ford has a right to make this decision and giving his reasoning I don't blame him for it." He told her. "How long did Beckett say it would be before he would allow visitors?" John asked looking up at her.
"He didn't give us a time, merely said that he'd tell us when Ford was ready." She said softly.
"Alright." He responded while nodding. "Let me know when Beckett calls you." He said, standing up and, leaning heavily on the cane, left.
She let him go knowing he needed time to process and accept what he'd just been told. Once he was out of earshot and sight she went over to Chuck and asked for a secure channel. When she had it, she radioed Teyla asking her to look after John explaining what Ford had said. Teyla quickly agreed and signed off.
Elizabeth knew John would need someone to be there for him and she could think of no one better than Teyla, the woman he was in love with.
His head pounded, his ankle throbbed and his chest hurt, all with a vengeance but still he couldn't bring himself to stop. John couldn't believe that Ford could throw his own life away like that when there was easily a cure. Ok, not easily and the side effects for this cure were way worse than potential nausea or headaches. Still, it doesn't mean that Ford should just give up! At the same moment though, John could understand Ford's hesitance and didn't blame him for not wanting to go through what he went through all over again. It was just a hard pill to swallow and it hurt the entire way going down.
John's body had finally had enough and collapsed onto a bench on a balcony. He looked around and then realized that this was the balcony he had spent the day with Teyla and Torren. Why did I come here? He wondered before he quickly realized that it held good memories for him. It held a feeling of comfort and happiness and right now that's what he wanted.
He sat there for God only knows how long when he heard the doors swish open and looked up to see Teyla standing there, concern and sympathy in her eyes. "Hey Teyla. I assume 'Lizabeth filled you in?" he said wanting to just get the topic over and done with.
Teyla walked smoothly over to him, her heart aching at the pain in his eyes. She sat down next to him, on his left side, and grabbed his hand, giving it a tight squeeze. "Yes, she did. Are you alright John?" she asked not really knowing what else to say.
John let out a bitter laugh, "Of course, I'm fine. I'm not the guy willing to die because it would mean becoming a drug addict again, maybe you should go ask Ford how he's doing!" he replied, his anger and pain coming out in his voice. God, why couldn't he just snap out of it! It's not like Ford's dead yet.
Teyla nodded, "Yes, I know but I have found that dying is just as hard on those that we love as it is for us." She responded, using her hand to rub gentle, small circles on his back.
"That's true," He said. "but Ford isn't dead yet. So why am I acting like he is?" John asked, growing even more mad at himself.
Teyla sat quietly for awhile before answering. "From what I understand from Dr. Beckett, there is little chance of coming up with a solution without the Enzyme being involved is there not?"
John just hung his head, "Yep."
"Then unless that changes, Lt. Ford will die. You are merely trying to accept it, it is not a bad thing and it is better to get it out now before you go and see Lt. Ford." She explained logically.
"Has Beckett said when that would be?" he asked her guessing that she talked to Carson before coming to see him.
"Lt. Ford is resting right now. Dr. Beckett said he'd call when he woke up." She responded, sitting quietly still rubbing his back.
His chest and throat felt tight and his heart ached but he refused to let any tears spill. Tears are a form of weakness and we do not show weakness his father's voice rang in his hears. Aiden Ford was like a brother to him and he couldn't go through that again. He couldn't lose another family member, first his mom and then his dad and now this? NO! He couldn't do it. John took a few slow, deep, cleansing breaths and pushed those feelings away. He couldn't dwell on them now, not while Ford was still alive.
He took a deep, shuddering breath and then turned to Teyla. "You know what? I'm hungry, would you like to accompany me to the mess hall?" he asked her, the smile on his face never reaching his eyes.
She smiled back at him. "I would love to." She responded just as they started heading to get something to eat.
Jocelynne felt the mood in the mess hall change from general happiness to anger and pain in a heartbeat and looked around for the source. She spotted Teyla and Colonel Sheppard walking in and could automatically tell that it was coming from the Colonel but she did not know why and judging by the coldness in his eyes, she was not to ask. She quickly began to tidy up the food tables while Teyla headed over, leaving Colonel Sheppard at a table.
"Good afternoon Jocelynne, how are you?" Teyla greeted when she came up to the table that Jocelynne was at.
"I am well Teyla, how are you?" she asked concerned at seeing such sadness in her friend's eyes.
"I am well also." She responded smiling a sad smile.
"How is Colonel Sheppard? I see that he is feeling better." She said, hoping to be able to ask what was wrong without actually prying.
"He is feeling much better, physically." She said, sparing a glance back and the Colonel who sat staring blankly at the walls.
"And otherwise?" Jocelynne pressed, noting the way Teyla phrased her answer.
"He is not doing so well. We have just found out that a close friend may die and Colonel Sheppard is not taking it so well." She answered.
Teyla didn't have to say who it was as Jocelynne already knew. She saw Lt. Ford with Dr. Beckett while he was heading down to the infirmary and she read him easily and quickly. She didn't know that the Colonel was so close with the Lt. though. "I am so sorry to hear that." she said "Is there anything that I can do?" she asked.
Teyla shook her head, "No, I do not believe so but thank you." She said as she grabbed a bottle of water and headed back to the table.
Jocelynne watched as Teyla coaxed Colonel Sheppard into eating even though he didn't really look like he wanted to. She watched as he tried to act like he was fine when he noticed Teyla approach. She wanted to help him but knew that he needed to do this for himself this time. She could help someone heal physically but emotionally there was little she could do beyond provide comfort and she knew that Teyla was more adept at doing that than she would be.
Her watch beeped at her letting her know it was time for another sparring session with Ronon and wondered if he was going to take it easy on her again today.
"Colonel Sheppard, this is Dr. Beckett." Carson's voice rang over the radio, waking him from his mental nap.
"Go ahead doc." He responded immediately.
"Lt. Ford is awake and would like to see you. He has asked that no one else be allowed in right not but you." Carson informed him.
John was there within minutes, he had already started heading down there when Beckett had hailed him. He walked in to the infirmary and on spotting the doctor headed over to talk to him before he saw Ford.
"How is he?" John asked, his body language showing tension and professionalism but his voice relaying the concern he felt.
"He's a wee bit tired right now but so far he's doing alright. He tires easily so don't keep him up for too long." Carson replied softly.
"Thanks doc." John replied, clapping the doctor on the shoulder before he headed over to see Ford.
Ford lay in a bed, looking exhausted but still managing to exude that boyish energy. "Hey sir." He said when he noticed John approach.
"Hey Lt., how are you feeling?" John asked sitting down beside Ford's bed.
"I'm alright, a little tired but I suppose that's to be expected." He said almost cheerfully. "Are you alright?" he asked, noticing John's stiff and painful movement and the cane.
"I'm fine." John said.
"Heard you were caught in an accident testing ancient tech." Ford said, "What happened."
John inhaled deeply, "We aren't totally sure yet, McKay's still working on the problem." He replied. "All I know is the device eventually caused the pressure to drop right before it surged and exploded." He finished with a shrug.
"Dang." Ford responded. "Was everyone ok?" he asked.
"A scientist by the name of Gustav Schroder died and I was a little beat up but otherwise yes." He responded, still seething from the information.
"I'm sorry to hear that sir." Ford replied, clearly picking up on John's anger at the situation.
John looked back at the Lt. "So, how long til they spring you?" he asked cheerfully.
"Doc says I'll be here a couple of days but then I can go home." Ford chuckled, "Weird how Adora is now home." He said still smiling.
John just smiled back, not knowing what to say in return.
"Will you be allowed to fly us back?" Ford asked him. "There are some things that I want to show you and finalize, as I'm sure does Dr. Weir." He said, sounding more adult than John had ever heard.
"I don't know, that'll be up to Beckett." He said. "What do you want to show me?" John asked curiously.
"Our military, our escape plans if they Wraith come. Things like that." Ford said off-handedly.
"Oh really?" John asked intrigued and suspicious. Even if this was Ford he was talking about, it couldn't hurt to be cautious.
"Yeah. Like I said, I think our military can take yours on and I think you'll find our escape plan interesting." Ford replied, his eyes drooping a little.
"Well, I'll have to make sure that Beckett will let me fly you." John quipped. "Maybe I'll let Ronon test out your military before I take them on. You know, start them easy." He joked.
"Funny sir." Ford replied, sleepily laughing.
"Why don't you get some rest Lt? I'll come back later." John said while he stood up. He noticed that Ford was already asleep so he turned around and left, wondering why Ford wanted to show him their escape plan so badly. Must be important he guessed before he headed to his own quarters for a nap before dinner. His afternoon activities had left him exhausted but he didn't want to sleep until after he'd seen Ford.
He got there quickly and practically collapsed on his bed where he promptly fell asleep still wondering what part the escape plan could take in an alliance with Atlantis.