CHAPTER 74 CAUSE AND EFFECT
John went with Gina to have a quiet word to Sam about what Gina had remembered. He had learnt the hard way to trust her. Mindful of the fact that the smallest innocuous things that had happened in this last month generally had been of epic proportions once full implications were realised, he had encouraged her to tell Sam as soon as possible. They watched Sam's face as she digested the news, saw the implications spiral around in her head and Gina tossed a quick look at John. The more she thought about it, the more she could see the coin twisting and turning in the man's hand. Winking at her. Daring her to make the connection.
"I will send a message through to Jack. See if he can track down anything, a picture or one of the actual coins. I trust you Gina. You've been the connection all along. If for some reason your mind has interpreted this as being important, then likely it is."
"Honey, I'm home..." Exuding his usual wit, General Jack O'Neill stepped through the stargate 24 hours later, a smile on his face and one hand clutching papers and folders, the second hand holding a small overnight bag. It looked as though the General was intending to stay for a few days, and it was a smiling Sam who came down the stairs from the control room and hugged him. Although no longer directly in his chain of command, they did try to keep their relationship discreet. More or less. But she missed him during the times when they were apart, and lately - those times had been longer and longer.
"That was quick Jack. I take that as a sign you were successful? And looking at the pile of paperwork you hold there, you've given up on your battle with the reports and are effectively passing the buck... hmmm"
"You are so much more succinct than I, Sam. So the short answer - yes! I'm bequeathing these to you."
"Bequeathing Jack? Generally implies that a person is dead..."
"Ok, so wrong word..." He aimed a smile at John Sheppard as he strolled into the gate room, alerted to the General's arrival. The Colonel gave a smile in return, wondering what new information the General had brought through the gate with him.
"Sheppard! That lady of yours is causing all sorts of political fallout back on earth. You have no idea... I'm bouncing back and forward between galaxies faster than a damn ping pong ball and gate lag? It's very real Sheppard, I can assure you!"
"The political fallout is not just being felt on earth General... we're getting our share of it here. It seems we just close one portal so to speak and another one opens. Only this time, we don't know where or when."
"Or when? That's the part that scares me Sheppard. But I suspect we do know the 'when'. Give me time to have a cup of coffee with the lovely Colonel here... the female one... and we'll meet at 01000 hours? Conference room. Sheppard - you'll let Gina and our IOA visitors know?" John nodded at the General and left to get his own cup of coffee and tear Gina away from the infirmary where she and Carson had been comparing notes on Carson one and Carson two.
He walked into the infirmary to find her upset. She was leaning against one of the beds and Carson was standing near her, a worried look on his face.
"Gina? Carson? Mind telling me what's going on?" He went immediately to her, resting a hand along the back of her neck, pulling slightly to tug her back against him.
"She's just remembered something else Colonel. Something she didn't understand as she has not been exposed to them. Tell him lass." He smiled encouragingly at her.
"John. I didn't know, didn't think. The sedative they gave me - I just drifted for a while, not really awake and not really asleep, but sometimes aware. I told you I watched the two men in the room? There was another that came in and spoke to them, only for a short while and he kept looking at me. I found it hard to focus, everything was blurry so I don't want to trust what I saw. But when I told Carson - I wasn't withholding it from you, it just came to mind when we were talking, and when I described the person... or thing... he got upset. John?"
"It's ok sweetheart - we'll deal with it. General O'Neill's here now, we can deal with it. Just tell me what you saw and no one's going to be angry with you. I promise."
"The man had long white hair, and his skin was a funny colour, sort of blue/green with markings, like scars... his eyes John. They were yellow. I had to have imagined it."
"Jesus Gina - wraith! You just described a wraith!" and he saw from Carson's startled expression that he had thought along the same lines. "Wraith? In their Alantis. Oh boy... that opens one big bad ass can of worms. You're sure Gina?"
"No John... damn it... I'm not sure. But I've never seen a wraith, remember? So how can my mind make up something it's never seen? You've told me about them, given me their history and your battle here with them - but I've never seen a picture, a visual - only had a description. Could my mind have created this from a description? Carson?"
"I don't know lass... not my field I'm sorry. Dr Heitmeyer would be of assistance with that one. Hypnosis Colonel? To try and bring out whether it is a real memory or an imagined one?"
John had placed his hands lightly on her shoulders, careful not to let her think there was any anger in the movement. "Gina, please love.. think carefully. Did they appear to be on friendly terms?"
"He was only in the room for a short time. Bosom buddies maybe not... but not enemies either. And the way he looked at me. I think that is what stuck in my mind the most."
"Ahh hell Carson. This meeting in... oh, 30 minutes... is going to be fun. Lot's of fun. A wraith worshipping alternate dimension. Just keeps getting better and better. That coffee I need? Better get a double shot."
And it was after his double shot of coffee that John now faced the people in the conference room and shared what Gina had just told himself and Carson. The General simply sank his head into his hands and looked despondently down the table at Gina. "So... Gina. I love you like a... well, whatever we are relative wise.."
"Ahh... that would be nothing General... nearly, if I'd married Terrence." Gina gently interupted him.
"Ok, well... you get the picture. Anyway, as I was saying? You seem to be the bearer of bad news on a regular basis. Not your fault I'm sure, but I can't help feeling that Colonel Sheppard here had the right idea the first time. Bury his head in the sand and hope to hell it all goes away. But, I guess that's not gonna happen... Sam?"
"Yes Jack."
"Whatcha wanna do?"
He looked like a small boy whose toys had been stolen by the schoolyard bully, and John had to fight back a smile. Even in light of the seriousness that her news had brought, General O'Neill, well... he just knew how to diffuse a situation. And John was pretty sure he did it deliberately. The man had seen how nervous Gina was when she walked in and had carefully watched the expression on her face as John had told the story. So, he was a good guy. Trying to put her at ease and let her know at the start that no one would be looking to her for blame of any sort.
"You're not gonna pull rank on this one Jack?"
"Advisory role Sam... but, I do have something for you all. Especially you Gina." He opened the top button of his shirt pocket and pulled out something shiny and round. "This was what you saw Gina?"
Fascinated, Gina reached towards him and took the commemorative coin, turning it over and over in her hands the way she had seen the man in the other dimension do. "This is it General - where did you find it?"
"Close to home.. had it on my desk at the SGC. When Sam mentioned it, immediately alarm bells started ringing. We came to Hawaii to visit Terrence in December 1961, when he was in jail - but he refused to see us. We stayed in Hawaii for a week and it coincided with the 20th anniversary - whole island had a memorial service more or less. My father bought me one of these. I kept it with me always... sort of one of my last good memories...I had it on me when he was killed the following year. In 1962."
John's eyes were watching Gina as she transerred the coin back and forward and he had to drag his gaze away from her movements to look at the General. "Meaning what Sir? Why did this man have that particular coin. A coin that was minted in December 1961 and is now held on your desk in the SGC in 2012? Who was that man? Did he simply have the coin for the same reasons as you do? A souviner from that time? Or are there more sinister reasons, say ... he or someone from there, has been back to 1962. Gina - what do we know about them - what are their differences, that you could see?"
Gina continued her movement with the coin, as though the simple activity calmed her. "Absence of the ancient gene - this would mean that they would have no help, no interference with ascended beings and ancient busybodies."
"No, that is true - but how do they operate the equipment in their Atlantis? With no ancient gene? We know that the equipment has to be initially activated by someone with the gene, and once activated it can be used by anyone. So initially, someone from their dimension had to activate the equipment - therefore had to have the gene. Who?"
"General O'Neill..." It was Gina who spoke.
"Me...?" The General looked at her curiously. "What led you to that conclusion?"
"You're the only one who would have been strong enough to activate it.. and it had to have been someone that came from another time line." Gina could not have told them how she knew this. How she had come to any of the conclusions that she had managed to reach without appearing to actually connect the dots. She had felt a warmth inside her earlier, a tingling – familiar and had simply thought the baby was beginning to make it's presence felt. Perhaps Callandra or her father were attempting to guide her thoughts in the right direction.
"But they have no one left with the gene?" John threw his question into the mix, struggling to follow the reasoning.
Gina knew she would have to attempt to answer as best as she could. "No one left now... no... but how long ago was the gene bred out? Carson Two mentioned that it had been absent in their lineage for years, so in order to activate the city, assuming it was activated during the same time frame as your Atlantis was, someone from their past, who still had the gene - would have to come through."
"Me?" The general was fascinated. "If you're thinking that 1962 is still the magic number, and I can see by the slightly insane shine to your eyes that it is - then I was only 10 years old... I was precocious, or so they tell me - but 10? Not a lot I could have done."
"You would have only needed to enter the city... the city would have recognised the presence of the gene immediately, as it did here when the people from earth arrived." It was Teyla who spoke now. "The ancient gene in you is strong. I think perhaps, you were the last carrier of the gene in their dimension."
Gina felt that warmth swirl inside her again and a small smile came unbidden to her face. Not Callandra – her father. She felt his presence now and it calmed her, gave her the courage she had been digging deep to find and felt John's keen gaze on her and the brush of his hand on her thigh in support.
She took a breath. "When they brought you forward in time, it was done incorrectly and you died in your future and this effectively killed out the last of the gene. If they had successfully gotten you back to your timeline, then you would likely had children and continued the gene."
"Ok, so that goes with all the children I have successfully fathered in this dimension." His reply was ironic. "And if I no longer exist in that dimension... what is the point in this whole conversation?"
Sam's eyes started to sharpened as the picture became clearer for her. "The coin Jack. It all comes back to the coin. Think with your 10 year old self. If someone appeared from the future to take you back, kidnap you really - would you take the coin? If it was a talisman of sorts, something you held dear?"
"Would I take the coin? How the hell do I know? It's been a long time since I was ten years old... memories are a little vague that long ago. More to the point - who took me back.?"
"Find that answer and the picture will be complete. But whoever it was - it went wrong, you died, which means you also died in the future. No longer existed." Sam had steepled her hands and now rested her chin on them, eyes flicking around the room, taking in their reactions to what was being pieced together.
Ronon pushed away from the table, silent up until now. "This is the thing you should be worrying about. Wraith. In the other Atlantis. You should be thinking about this little alliance you seem to think is happening over there - right now! Not about a damn coin."
Ronon's face and voice registered anger and he paced around the room, making eye contact with anyone that dared, with his usual hooded expression. "Wraith. If there are wraith worshippers, then this plan that Gina wants to come up with to help them get their ancient gene back - should be stopped. Who really wants the gene? The people you met? Or the wraith? Who is working for who? Or are the wraith looking for a way to your world - earth. If they haven't already found it. That is the real issue here - not a coin!"
Mostly people just stared at him. It was rare that he spoke so much at once. He was a man of action and few words. When his weapon sufficed, that was his voice. Teyla rose and placed a hand on his arm and looked also at the earth people gathered around, and John got a sinking feeling in his stomach. He suspected an 'us against them' speech was about to happen. She stood now with her team mate - the wraith their first enemy and could not understand why this news alone did not have the earth people immediately planning an offensive.
"Ronon is right. You are looking at a coin. You should be looking at the enemy and planning how to destroy them. You have allowed yourselves to be led beyond what is important. History, ripples, time... you cannot change what has been done, unless you go back. You have to deal with the here and now. And that means destroying the wraith that inhabit the other Atlantis and finding a way to ensure that such an alliance can never happen again. Destroy the weapon they have that creates the holes that allow people from one dimension to cross to another. Shut the portals. Those are the solutions. There can be no other."
Gina had pushed to her feet, ignoring a warning glance from Sam and John. "Teyla, I would not have thought you would be this simplistic and this unsympathetic. The reason these people are in the situation they are in, is because they lack the gene to complete what needs to be done. Running their city efficiently amongst other we address this issue, then we can address other issues. Such as your wraith."
John sat unmoving at the table, his face now dark and brooding. "You've just given everyone the answer Gina."
All eyes turned to him now.
"We need to go back to 1962 - again. Make sure Jack in both dimensions is protected. The coin? It was a sign, the only way that Callandra of that dimension could step in and help. A clue. She left you a clue Gina. She left you the coin. 1962. You need to go back - before your accident, just before young Jack gets to Hawaii in October of that year. Protect him. In this dimension. Ripples...? More like tidal waves. Fix it in this dimension, in the past, and it will flow through to the other dimension."
Gina had tears in her eyes now and she struggled with what he had just asked her to do. "Protect him how John? I don't know what to do!"
Jack O'Neill spread out the papers that he had piled around him, and heaved a sigh. "I should have brought these out at the beginning. Would have saved all the damn argument..."
He spread out a series of newsclipping, typewritten reports and polaroid photos, and John's sinking feeling became a rock lodged in his stomach. The General was about to throw the proverbial crap at the fan and they had better duck now. Because it was going to splatter big time.
Gina reached out with a shaking hand as one photo caught her eye immediately. It was of a woman, a man and a little girl. Playing in a park. The woman was laughing and pushing the little girl on a swing and Gina could see by the trees in the background that they were somewhere in Hawaii – at least that is what it looked like to her. The man rested against the supports of the swing, smiling as he watched the woman push the child. She felt John lean over her shoulder to look at the photo and heard his sharp intake of breath.
The woman in the photo was her and the girl was Carlie. The man who stood near watching with love in his eyes, was John Sheppard.
"Jesus..." John breathed the word and reached out a hand to take the picture from Gina and turn it over. Written in neat writing on the back was the date. December 1962.
Gina's eyes flew to John's. "I wasn't there – I died. In October 1962. This is the Carlie we sent back – how can I be with her? How can you be there? You left for earth again in July 1962." She started to breathe fast and John was quick to toss the photo down and pick up her hand, tucking it against his body to try and calm her.
"Is that me John? Or the other Gina? From the other dimension. And you? The other John? Did she go back to find her daughter? She was sent back to be with Terrence, her father – he had met another woman and Carlie was to be a part of their family."
That warmth again as thoughts began to swirl in her head and she shut her eyes, suddenly dizzy. Jack had gotten up from the table and moved quickly around behind her, giving John a hard look. Gina put her hands out to stop Jack from coming any closer and to keep a small distance between John and herself. To give her a moment to put her thoughts into order.
"We went back John – you and I. To make sure that Carlie was the union of the two of us, not Terrence. Carlie holds the gene. Just as this baby holds the gene. They went back to change it. So that Jack didn't die, didn't have to be the one to come through to activate the city. That Gina and that John? They chose to stay, rather than go back They never knew that it was actually Carlie who activated the city – they thought it was Jack who had done it. No one in that dimension knew that Carlie did carry the gene – that it had all been changed!"
"God Gina – do you have any idea what you are saying?" Sam's face was pale.
"Yes Sam – John and I from that dimension are not dead – we are in 1962. I never left. She and John crossed over and took my place, waiting for Carlie to arrive. Knew that she would arrive. And by coming, it changed who the father was. John became the father. I never spent that night with Terrence. God, tidal waves... it's staggering. How could Callandra not know this?"
"I think she did Gina. I think she knew, and chose not to tell you."