CHAPTER 65 – ONE MISSION TO RULE THEM ALL
The weapon was ready, installed and waiting in the gate room at 0900 hours the next morning. A serious Sam and General O'Neill stood beside it. Jack had decided to stay on base until this was completed. It was a big mission and while he trusted his Colonel, make that Colonel's, implicitly, he felt that he should be here, to ensure that it all went to plan and there were no casualties. He felt a certain connection to young Gina, given the history between her and his older brother and the fact that she had been instrumental in getting him where he was. That was something he had managed to get his head around quite quickly and it came to the forefront of his mind whenever he looked at her. A debt of gratitude. And he'd try and repay it by keeping her safe on this mission, watching Sheppard's back and keeping this family unit intact.
Cam Mitchell had wanted in on this one too and it took a direct order from the General to get him to stand down. These connections, these threads that Gina Mitchell had woven with her presence in Atlantis, with John's going back to 1962 – they all had a debt of gratitude to her, in getting them where they were today. His Sam, also. If Jacob had not married Catherine... who would Sam had been today? Not the Sam that he had fought alongside, and eventually grown to love. The only player missing from this little round of the tournament was Rodney... and Jack had a sneaking suspicion they hadn't seen the last of him. Stranger things had happened.
In the gear room Major Lorne had taken over fussing around Gina's tactical vest. John was still with the rest of the security team, last minute instructions for those who were not already guarding the perimeter. Ronon and Teyla were with John. It seemed that everyone was going to be hands on for this mission and Atlantis would be left to the scientists and the medical staff.
Lorne tipped up Gina's chin to catch the expression in her eyes. "You've gotten us all this far – you ready to do the rest?" He smiled, his hands dropping back down to the fastenings on the vest, pulling everything as tight as he could make it, checking clips and passing her the Beretta that she had been training with. She reached down and slipped it into the thigh holster and did not see his eyes follow her movements then come up to rest on her bent head.
When her head came back up to answer him, he was close – too close and she inadvertantly took a step back. "Ready Major? Ready to attempt something that is still theoretical? Ready to abandon a little girl back to a life where she was treated as an experiment? Not so much..."
He brought his hand up to cup her cheek. "You're one of the bravest woman I have known. Your father would be proud of you – hell, Colonel Sheppard must be proud of you. The way you handle yourself is exemplary. If you served in the military, I would be proud to serve alongside you. I trust you to have my back out there."
"As do I..." This came from Ronon, who had stepped into the gear room to pick up his own weapon. His gaze flickered between Gina and Lorne and the Major was quick to drop his hand from Gina's cheek. "I'm honoured to work alongside you today, out there."
This succinct comment brought tears to her eyes and she quickly crossed the room and wrapped her arms around the big man. He awkwardly hugged her back, but couldn't hide the quick smile that came to his face. He had distrusted her from the beginning, and she had proven him wrong. She was loyal to his friend in the face of everything and Ronon had never seen such moments of peace in his friend's eyes. She put that there and for that alone, she had his respect. But in light of everything that she had gone through, and what she was about to lose – Lorne was right. She was one of the bravest women he had known also. A warrior.
"Take care of him Ronon. Don't let him do anything stupid. If anything happens to me today – if this doesn't go down the way it's supposed to. Be there for him and get him through. He means everything to me.. to us..." she held her stomach and watched as Ronon's eyebrows shot skyward and the slow smile move across his face. He reached out and gently touched her stomach also and bent closer to her and whispered.
"Congratulations. This is what he needs. Something to come home to... I've got your back out there today – nothing is going to happen to your or to your baby. I'll lay down my life for you if it comes down to it."
"If you've finished putting your hands all over my woman, time to go you two!" John had entered the gear room having passed Lorne on his way to the gate room so he knew where to find his two missing team members.
Ronon grinned and walked over and slapped him on the back. "That was fast work Sheppard!" and he waggled his eyebrows comically, so that John knew exactly what he was talking about.
"So the secrets out eh? Gina?"
"Can't leave the godfather out of the loop, can I..." and John's beaming smile was reward enough.
"What is this 'godfather'? I'm no god... don't give me some stupid title that doesn't make any sense. You earth people and your need to name everything..." Muttering now, Ronon gave them a wink and moved out of the room, leaving Gina and John alone for a few precious moments.
"Ok sweetheart? I need to you to be careful out there. You have your instructions. Stay away from the portal, stay near Teyla – Ronon will get Carlie through – then we seal it up."
He watched her face darken a little. They had talked it through – over and over. Themselves, and then with Sam and the others. It was the only way. They did not see how she could remain in this dimension and not cause irreparable damage to either herself or them. She clutched at John's hand now, hating that she felt needy but knowing that when they got to the mainland, she would have to keep a respectable distance from him. He would not be there as her lover – there he would be a soldier, a leader and she needed to step back at that point and let him do his job. But just for now, she leaned in so that he could kiss her hard, pulling her up onto her toes and watching as her eyes went from dark to hot blue. Fire.
They entered the gate room and he left her then. Carlie was with Teyla. The little girl looked lost and confused. They had told her that she had to go back, could not simply just send her without some sort of explanation and both Gina and John had sat her down last night to explain why she could not stay. For all intents and purposes she was just a six year old and her brain did not comprehend what they had to do. She knew simply, that she would not be with them anymore.
Seeing Gina enter the gate room she broke away from Teyla and ran to her, hugging her around the legs. In spite of the bulky tactical vest, Gina bent down to pick her up and Carlie wound her arms around her neck and held on as though she would never let go. Gina's breath hitched and she couldn't help the tears that began to slide down her cheeks and Teyla was the only one who could move toward her and give her the physical support she herself needed. The others were all busy playing soldiers. The men were put away for now.
They took two jumpers to the mainland, John flying one and Major Lorne flying the other and Gina did not recall very much of the trip. Rushing water and blue sky, then landing and the journey thereafter became a blur. The soldiers loaded the weapon from the back of one of the jumpers and Sam and General O'Neill supervised it's transit from the jumper area to the where a perimeter had been cordoned off around the area they believed to house the rift. Mindful that it was likely also a time rift, John had given clear instructions that no one was to approach it for any reason. The soldiers who had been guarding it for the last few days offered salutes as the new recruits arrived, casting curious glances at the weapon that was rolled between them – big and cumbersome and now hooked up to a ZPM. Untested and about to be unleashed.
Gina stood back with Teyla and Carlie. Watching from the background as the activity around them became frenzied. She kept visual contact with John at all times, needing to know that he was safe and not taking unnecessary risks, unaware that he did the same with her. Sam and Jack rolled the weapon into position and two technicians were bent over the controls, Sam standing back slightly now letting them make their final adjustments.
The air in front of the perimeter began to shimmer and Gina clutched her stomach,bending over and retching as spasm after spasm shot through her. Alarmed, Teyla let got of Carlie's hand and dropped to her knees beside Gina, forcing her down and lowering her head, allowing her to get her equilibrium back. All eyes suddenly focused on them and Ronon, after flicking a glance at John, left the perimeter and strode over to the women.
"Teyla. I need to take the girl." Carlie had moved away, having watched the big man approach and sensing the shifting in the portal. She did not feel the pain herself. The device, now that it had been removed, was not able to activate inside her anymore, but she did feel something pulling her toward the portal. Something controlling her. She moved carefully, keeping a wary eye on Ronon as he neared. He did not yet have any clue as to what she intended to do, simply thought that she was afraid of him and needed to move away. She allowed him to close the gap a little, then turned and ran, just as the jagged edges of the portal split open and several men in combat gear pushed through, immediately fanning outward and aiming weapons at the waiting group.
Gina lay groaning on the ground, dimly aware that something was happening and that the pain in her stomach was escalating in proportion.
"Give us the woman. Let us have the child back and give us the woman. We'll leave quietly and no one will get hurt. Refuse our demands and we'll take appropriate action."
The large man at the apex of the slight V that fanned out around the portal, spoke. He did not resemble anyone from Atlantis that John could tell, however running his eye amongst the group, he saw Major Lorne's equivalent and two of his security team. The rest were strangers to him.
"You don't come into our world and issue demands. Not gonna happen. After what you did to that child, where we once might have shown you mercy, we now show you none." John raised his weapon and fired, hitting the spokesman cleanly through the heart, dropping him immediately.
"Colonel Sheppard!" General O'Neill had dropped to one knee and taken a firing stance and his voice could have stopped the devil in his tracks. John had reacted, had not given them time to state their position and now they were hopping on the left foot. Retaliation would follow.
The Atlantis security team kept their weapons trained on the other men, awaiting orders. From somebody. Colonel Sheppard had said nothing further. His finger tightened on the trigger of his P90 and Jack knew he was a hair breath away from firing on all the men that stood there. He had made his position clear. If he found out that these people were using children to further their ill gotten gains, then he would use whatever force necessary to stop them. He did not intend now, to back down on what he had clearly stated.
"General, sir – with all due respect. We will not take prisoners. Our position has been made clear. Destroy the enemy by whatever force necessary and close the portal."
"Colonel Sheppard. I am in command here and you will stand down. We will give them the chance to surrender peacefully and go back to where they came from so that we can seal the portal. Terminal force as necessary Colonel."
Jack spoke quietly but there was an edge of authority to his voice that had John lightening his finger on the trigger and lowering his weapon slightly. Jack stepped forward, his own weapon still trained on the group.
"You heard me. We'll give you one chance to turn around and walk away. One chance. Consider that death there, retaliation for what you did to the child."
"We'll only walk away when we have the woman." Another had stepped forward now, casting only a glance at the man who lay dead at his feet. His gaze was on the woman who still lay in pain on the ground, Teyla beside her. "Her pain will go away if she comes with us."
"Her pain will go away if we close the damn portal." Sam spoke now and she looked up from the adjustments she was performing on the weapon. "The portal being open is what is causing the pain. Shut it, and all of her is here in this dimension. You have hooked something into her, when Carlie came through that first time... she is being torn apart by the two dimensions being open to each other."
The man who had spoken looked at Sam. "Your other is here. She is not hard like you, but soft." He smiled now, his face changing from soldier to the man. "She is my wife. Interesting, don't you think – how one thing can change from world to world. What affected her in my world to be who she is? Love, perhaps..."
"Don't speak to me about love. Don't speak to me at all. What you have done is adhorrent and will not be condoned in this world. Go. This is your last chance. Otherwise I'm sealing off the portal and you'll be stuck here forever. And I doubt you'll survive for long."
A small measure of fear crept into the man's eyes as he now took in the weapon that she stood in front of and understood it's implication. "You do not have the means to close the portal. Once torn, it cannot be mended."
"Wanna bet on that..." murmured John, his weapon now risen to firing position again. He had taken his attention from the others in the group and was now fully focused on the spokesman as he moved nearer, and he gripped his weapon to indicate that he was not to move any closer.
At that moment, attention briefly off the other men, they began firing and two of the marines next to John went down, fortunately protected somewhat by their tactical vests, but still sending them out of commission, giving the other men time to push through and overpower both John and General O'Neill, using them as hostages to back away from the rest of the security team who had immediately all turned weapons on them.
"Drop your weapons, or these men will be shot. And they would appear to be your military leaders, so I imagine that is not a viable option for you."
The man who spoke now advanced toward Gina – unprotected by the security team who had lost control of the portal, and unprotected by Ronon who had gone after the little girl. Teyla stood and took a defensive position beside Gina, but was overpowered quickly by the other man and thrown to the ground. He stood over Gina now and bent down to pick her up effortlessly. Looking down into her face, his own expression softened.
"We need you Gina – to bring hope to our people. I am sorry that it has come to this. We did not wish to resort to these tactics in order to get your help, but it appeared obvious that you would not come here of your own accord. We need your child. After you have had the child, you may return to your dimension to carry on with your life here. We only want the child."
She struggled to get down and could see John, a large arm thrown around his neck with a weapon pressed into his side. His face was like thunder and a part of her pitied the man when John eventually got away from him. For now, she had to fight for herself.
"You won't have my child. She belongs here, in this dimension. I'll die rather than let you take her."
Things happened in slow motion after that. Sam had managed to get her knee into a sensitive area of the man who had been holding her, and rolling immediately to the ground to secure her weapon that lay a little way off, she had come up firing, hitting three men before she was even on her feet. The man holding John ended up with a bullet in his leg and he let go of John suddenly and the man reacted quickly. He needed to free up his own soldiers, so he took aim and in the speed it took them to even register what he was doing, both he and Sam had managed to free all their men and had them secured on the ground. The larger man stood near the portal, holding Gina and John stood his ground, keeping his weapon trained on him.
"Fire at me Colonel Sheppard, and you'll hit the woman here. I know what she means to you. You'd rather she died?"
"I never miss..." Those were the last words he heard. John's P90 clattered and the man went down, eyes quickly shuttering as life left him and Gina fell from his arms her head hitting the base of a tree where she lay crumpled. John's weapon dropped immediately and he was down beside Gina, moving her head to check for injury. Blood came from a wound at the side, essentially reopening the one that had barely healed from her trip through the portal. Her eyes were shut, and he reached down taking her pulse, finding it thready and weak.
"Ronon?" He called, looking around for the Satedan who had gone after Carlie. "Did you get her?"
There was a crashing through the undergrowth and Ronon strode through carrying the small girl in his arms, keeping her head turned away from the carnage on the ground near the portal. He caught John's eye, saw Gina on the ground and raised his eyebrows at the mess that surrounded them.
"Missed the action big guy. She ok?"
"Scared, but yeah. Gina? What the hell happened here?"
"They decided to play heroes, caught us unawares and grabbed Gina. Lucky shot took the bastard down, but she's banged herself up on this tree. Crap. Sam?"
Sam was busy calibrating the machine and did not answer him. He pushed himself up, leaving Gina lying on the ground near the tree. He had to make sure that Ronon got Carlie through and that Sam got the device operational.
"Sam? We good to go? There'll be more coming through soon. We need to get that damn thing closed. Ronon? It's time man, get her through..."
"Sheppard..." Ronon had hesitated. "You sure this is the right thing to do? 'Cause it doesn't feel right to me."
John saw the indecision in Ronon's eyes and couldn't give him the assurance he needed. Because it didn't feel right to him either.
"Sam. I don't know if we can do this. It's murder. She's blameless in all this. We're sending her to her death. I can't do it – I'm sorry..."
Teyla had retrieved her weapon from the ground and joined John. "I agree with you John. It does not feel right to me either."
The General straightened from what he was doing and looked at John. "What other choice do we have Sheppard?"
"This one General O'Neill..." The voice came from behind them and as one, they all turned. They saw a being bathed in a glowing light and it was Sam who smiled at her.
"Grandma... or should I call you Callandra?"
"Hello child – you grow more beautiful each day. I see you have yourself in a little dilemma here?"
John stalked towards Callandra, who had seen Gina on the ground and immediately moved towards her, walking softly over the ground, glowing aura around her signifying the presence of an ascended being.
"This little dilemma is another one of your ripples Callandra. Can you fix it or not?" John's hand had curled into a fist and he stopped near Callandra, furious at the meddling that had culminated in this.
"Colonel Sheppard! You were supposed to take care of my daughter. What the hell is going on here?"
John closed his eyes in consternation as he registered the second voice. A second ascended being moved into the clearing. General Nathanel Mitchell. And he was pissed.
"Oh nothing... sir. Just trying to get ourselves out of the little crap storm that ancient meddling caused." General or not, he was not about to bow down to these two, ascended beings from a race of people who had essentially forced them into this situation.
Jack O'Neill was staring in fascination at the newcomers. "Great!" He rubbed his hands in glee. "Looks like a family reunion. Just what we need. Tell me.. General is it? Can you do anything about this mess. Like sort out somewhere where we can take this little girl so that we don't have to send her back to where she came from. And perhaps help your daughter over there... who has had to endure more than she should have?"
Major Lorne was the one who had dropped to the ground and was cradling Gina's head on his lap. He barely controlled his anger. While these arrogant beings and his supposed superiors fought over whose fault it was, Gina lay still and unresponsive on the ground. He placed his hands under her to pick her up, cradling her against him all the while glaring at anyone who dared to look his way. I'll take a damn court martial if I have to. Orders or not, you can take a leap from somewhere tall and dark. Get your priorties clear here people. I'll look after Gina while you go engage in a pissing contest.
John saw the look that Lorne passed his way and was torn. He needed to finish this. He'd leave Lorne to deal with Gina, get her somewhere safe... then he'd have it out with the Major. Once and for all.
"John. I have a solution for you. I can take her back with us to 1962. Terrence is her father in her timeline, her dimension. If we take her through to 1962, there will be enough time and distance to support both of them, once your baby is born. When she arrives, both her and Terrence will only know that they are father and daughter. There is another woman. He met her when he was released from jail. They will take in Jack when the father is killed in the accident along with Gina."
Jack had moved closer to Callandra as she spoke, watching her in fascination. "I remember her. I remember Carlie – my niece. She is younger than me – we grew up as sister and brother really – why do I only just remember her now?"
"Because she is only just coming into being in 1962. When she arrives there, it will be as if she has always been there. Fragments Jack."
Jack nodded. "I understand what you want to do Callandra, and I remember growing up with her. It is the right thing to do." He reached Ronon and held out his arms for the little girl to be transferred into. "Carlie sweetheart. You and I are going to become great friends. You'll see. Go with this lady now. She'll take you to a safe place, where no one will hurt you anymore. John?"
Jack paused now to look into the pale face of the Colonel. Felt sorry for the younger man, knowing what must be going through his head right now. Questions with no answers. Mysteries with no real hope of solving them.
John walked over to where Carlie was being held in Jack's arms and reached out a shaky hand to run over her long brown hair. "The General is right sweetheart. You need to go with this lady and man over here. They'll make sure you have a good life..." His words broke near the end and Jack reached out a hand to clamp down firmly on the Colonel's shoulder.
Nate had moved over to where Lorne stood uncertainly with Gina in his arms. He looked down at his daughter and stroked a hand down her face. Her eyes opened at his touch and widened when they looked and saw his face looking down at her.
"Daddy? Why are you here? What happened... where's John? And Carlie?"
"Shhh sweetheart. You've had another knock on that tough head of yours and are probably a little confused. Carlie is going to come back with us, to 1962. Terrence is her father, and she will fit smoothly into his life – you have our word on that. It's the least we can do... considering... And you Gina – are you happy?" He laid a hand on her stomach and smiled. Of course he would know. Didn't they know everything?
There was a loud humming noise and the portal began to shimmer again and Sam and Jack looked to John. "We need to get this thing closed people. Looks like we've got more company coming through."
"It's okay General O'Neill. Not coming through.. going. We've activated the time portal to take Carlie through." Callandra walked over to where the General stood, looking somewhat indecisive. "Samantha, sweetheart. It's time for us to go. We will be back – perhaps when the two of you decide to give me some great grand children... hmmm?"
Jack looked embarassed and Sam laughed. She had missed her grandmother dearly. They had shared a very strong bond growing up, particularly when her father spent so much time on the base and her mother had been immersed in the stargate programme. She walked up to Callandra and wrapped her arms around her, laughing at the sensation. There was no substance to her, just glowing light – and Sam's arms passed right through.
"I promise if we ever have a daughter, she'll be named Callandra – Callie for short."
"I'd like that Sam. General Jack O'Neill – you take care of my grand daugher. She is special..."
Jack chuckled. "That she is m'am – and I'll do my best. But Sam pretty much takes care of herself.
Major Lorne had gently put Gina down, but she was dizzy and felt sick, so he held her against him, supporting her weight as best as he could. Nate ran another hand down her face and she smiled at him, closing her eyes and hanging on to Major Lorne. "Go Daddy, I'll be fine. I've got plenty of people to watch out for me here."
"I know that sweetheart." He gave Major Lorne a salute and waited until Callandra had joined him, holding Carlie's hand. The little girl pulled away and ran to grab Gina around the legs, her little face looking up.
"Will I see you again?"
"I hope so sweetheart." She touched her stomach, wondering how the two would exist together in the same dimension, but decided that the ancients who stood in front of her must have worked it out and chose not to think too hard about it. Not at the moment anyway. Her head hurt and while the stomach cramping had stopped, she still felt dizzy and nauseous and desperately wanted to lie down and be held by John. In a cool dark room where she didn't have to think about anything.
They watched as the ascended beings, holding the hand of the little girl whose mother and father were from 1962 and whose place in the world up until this time, had been another dimension and another time. One of life's mysteries. She would return to the timeline she should have had, to one of the parents and her life would continue along on a new path. Gina wondered briefly, if she were to go back to earth now and visit Terrence, and his wife – where would Carlie be? An adult of course – in her fifties and amused suddenly, she smiled. Her child, but not her child. Oh what a tangled web we weave.
Still supported by Lorne, she dropped her head onto his shoulder, now unimaginably weary, and watched as they stepped through the portal, gone in a flash of purple then felt the portal close within her own body, felt the pull as family members were winked out of this existence and into another one. Gone. She watched, eyes barely open now, as Sam and Jack fired up the weapon and it sent a massive electromagnetic blast at the portal, and Gina felt, rather than saw – the rift solder itself closed , merging together as a seamless blanket of time and dimension. And sighed. It was done. In the blink of an eye, the beat of a heartbeat – lives were changed and an entire family changed. In the blink of an eye.
Gina closed her eyes, head still resting on Lorne's shoulders, felt his hands touch her gently to rouse her, but she was so tired. Endlessly tired. Felt another pair of hands, strong and familiar – lift her into a strong pair of arms, also familiar and smiled. She knew his scent, knew the feel of his muscles as they carried her away from the area and struggled to open her eyes so that she could look up into his hazel ones.
"Hey..." He smiled, feeling the familiar weight of the woman he carried. His woman. His life. His child.
And she smiled back.
Her man. Her world. Their child...