Chapter 2: Where is Atlantis?

They'd been in the jumper for almost two hours, and they still had two hours to go. By this time John had had enough. Rodney was constantly talking in a high-pitched complaining tone and Carson was trying the get the scientist to settle down. The fact that Rodney was saying 'we're screwed' over and over again was beginning to annoy him. As usual, Rodney was the eternal pessimist, which was the dead opposite of how he dealt with things most of the time.

Even though he had every reason to be negative right now, he chose not to be, because if there was one lesson that life had taught him it was that even in the darkest moments a person could always find a glimmer of hope.

In the end, John shut himself in the back of the jumper, so that he could try and get some peace.

The jumper was on autopilot, so he wasn't needed at the helm and if Carson or Rodney needed him, they would start to panic and contact him immediately.

After listening to his friends squabble through the door for another ten minutes things began to settle down, so he was more than happy to close his eyes and allow himself to fall asleep.

He awoke sometime later when the jumper came to an abrupt halt. Looking at his watch he realised that they should be approaching the planet that Rodney had detected from Atlantis. He was about to head up front when the doors opened to reveal Carson standing in the doorway wringing his hands.

"What's up doc?"

"We're approaching the planet and the city appears to be on the nightside. The only problem is that Rodney believes that night lasts fifteen to twenty hours and it has only just begun."

"Well, we're just going to have to either land and do a little camping or stay in orbit until daytime in the city.

"At last check, temperatures seemed to be below zero overnight, so perhaps we should remain in space for now. Oh, and Rodney wanted to let you know that's zero degrees Celsius."

"That sounds like a plan doc."

John looked at Carson and hoped that he would go back to the front of the jumper, so he could get back to his sleep. Unfortunately, he didn't move, and it was clear that the doctor wanted to talk about something.

"Is there anything else Carson?"

"How are you, General? And I'm fine is not an acceptable answer."

"You really want to do this now?" He asked with indignance.

"Yes, I do, Rodney is asleep, and it will be a while before we land, so I think it's time we discussed what has gone on over the last few months and how you're feeling about it. The only reason Jennifer and I haven't relieved you of duty and forced you to see Dr Robinson is that Atlantis can't afford to have you off duty."

He thought about telling Carson that he didn't want to talk to him now, or ever for that matter. He was used to handling things on his own and until this point he felt that he'd done a fairly good job of keeping his hurts and feelings locked in an overcrowded corner of his mind. Then he wasn't sure whether things in his life had ever been as bad as they had been over the last few months, so perhaps he could give Carson something – as long as the doctor didn't start talking about PTSD.

"Honestly, Carson, I'm more worried about Torren than myself right now. I'm a soldier and I'm trained to put my own feelings aside to protect others, but my son doesn't know how to handle what is happening to his family. What's worse is he is well aware of the fact that New Lantia was destroyed, and he seems worried that someone will destroy whatever new home we may find."

"Aren't you worried about those things as well General?"

"Of course, I am Carson, but right now we're talking about my son. As I stated before I can handle it Torren cannot!" He answered rather forcefully.

"So, you're worried about Torren then?" Carson asked and John was relieved that Carson had stopped talking about him.

"What parent wouldn't be and before you say anything else I will make an appointment for him to see Doc Robinson when we get back. Right now, I have work to do though, so if you don't mind, I think I'll get some sleep before we have to land and play nice with the locals."

"Do you need anything to stop the nightmares, General?"

"No thanks Carson I don't intend to be asleep for that long. And before you say anything else. I'll tell you what I've told you many times before recently. When this mission is over, and Atlantis is safely returned to its place in space and time I will take a vacation with my family."

Carson nodded at him and spoke softly before he went up front again, "we're close to a cure for Teyla and every spare chance Jennifer and I get, we will continue to work on the problem."

Of course, he knew that his friends were close, but he hadn't given it much thought in the last few hours. Teyla's condition was one of those things that he needed to shove to the back of his mind for the moment.

"I know you will Carson," he whispered, nodding his head. At the moment there were more pressing needs, "can you try and contact Atlantis when you go up the front, and let them know we'll contact them in forty-eight hours? We should have a better idea of what is going on by then."

Carson nodded and stepped through the doorway to the front of the jumper closing the door behind him.

Sighing he lay back down on one of the benches and tried to fall asleep again. He knew that if he only slept for a short amount of time he wouldn't have nightmares, but he also knew that he was becoming more and more sleep deprived and in the end, his health would suffer.

oOo

Ronon rushed onto the bridge of the hive ship and he wasn't happy about being awake.

Todd had contacted him on New Sateda – the latest version of the planet anyway – two days ago to tell him that Atlantis had been spotted in a nearby region of space. Todd and his wraith had surmised that Atlantis was adrift and heading for a nearby nebula.

Ronon and the Satedan council had been worried when they had lost contact with Atlantis over six months ago and according to Todd, he hadn't laid eyes on Atlantis since New Lantia had been destroyed. Ronon was angry with himself for not keeping more regular contact with Sheppard and Teyla, but the Satedans were trying to build a new society and he was a big part of it. In the midst of all the business, he kept telling himself that there just wasn't time, and he would contact Sheppard when things were quieter – which they never were.

After Todd had picked him up along with Amelia, they had set course for the nebula. The last time Todd had seen the unknown enemy ship that had been ripping planets apart it had been pursuing Atlantis towards the nebula. No one on New Sateda had seen the enemy since their home planet had been destroyed.

The Athosians had come through the gate to new Sateda the day before Todd had picked them up and Halling had informed him that all the Athosians were safe and well, but they needed a place to stay as their new home world had been destroyed and they were having difficulty finding another suitable planet. For now, they were staying with the Satedans and the Satedan council was happy to let them stay for as long as they wanted.

"What the hell's going on Todd? I've only just managed to get to sleep and that is a rare feat these days."

"Where is your lovely wife, I thought that she'd be with you?"

"She's asleep at the moment and since she isn't feeling that well, I thought I'd leave her to it."

Todd nodded at him before continuing, "I have found the nebula that Atlantis was heading for, and they are nowhere in sight."

"And what about the enemy ship have you detected them nearby?"

"I haven't detected them, so either Atlantis has destroyed them, or the enemy has achieved their goal and destroyed Atlantis. But if the ship or Atlantis had been destroyed, I would detect a debris field and all I can detect are the gasses from the nebula.

Ronon nodded, "I'm positive that Atlantis is safe and well, we just have to figure out where they are."

"I believe you are right Ronon, what do you propose we do?"

"Well then, Todd, can we take your hive in to go and find them?"

"I do not think I want to take my hive in there, but my scientists have been working on a small ship with shields that could withstand the pressures of that nebula."

"Great I'll go and wake Amelia. When can we leave?"

"I will not be going with you Ronon as I feel that I am needed on my hive."

Ronon just glared at the big wraith. He had so much to say to him, but he didn't know where to start, or maybe he did and he wasn't happy, "you coward, Sheppard and all of Atlantis is in trouble and all you can say is, you need to stay with your hive? Sheppard has saved your life more times than I can count, and this is how you repay him?!"

He really felt like hitting the wraith, but he decided against it since he was positive that fighting wouldn't help anyone right now. And despite being at peak fitness, he knew that Todd would probably win in a fight.

"Ronon, you don't understand. I feel as if I can help more by staying here. My alliance with other wraith hives is growing each day and I hope that eventually there will be enough of us to destroy the menacing ship that is destroying planets."

Todd certainly had a point, but did he trust him enough to leave him to carry out that mission?

"You're probably right, but I'm taking Amelia into the nebula with me and when we find Atlantis, we can destroy the enemy together. Atlantis and your hives working side by side." He took a pause and smiled at what he'd said, "There's something I never thought I'd hear myself say," he muttered to himself.

"The ship is quite simple to fly, as it is probably closer to earth or Lantean design. You do not need wraith or ancient DNA to operate it."

"That's great Todd, I'm going to get Amelia and I'll meet you in your dart bay in ten minutes."

"I will see you then Ronon."

Without another word he ran off to get Amelia and for the first time in months, he had hope that he would see Sheppard and Atlantis again. He knew that Teyla had been sick the last time he'd spoken to Atlantis, but he hoped that when he saw her again, she would be alive and well – along with everyone else on Atlantis.

Twenty minutes later he was sitting with Amelia in a small wraith ship heading for the nebula he had no idea if Atlantis was in there, as Todd's hive hadn't picked them up on sensors.

He turned to look at Amelia and she looked exhausted, which was common for her these days, "how are you doing Melia?"

"Don't worry about me, I just seem to be tired these days, but that's not surprising since I haven't slept well since the destruction of New Sateda."

"Yeah, I know what you mean."

He turned to look at the ship's view screen and he was surprised by the beauty of the nebula. It was made up of red and blue gas in formations that he'd never seen before. But if there was one thing, he'd learnt in life it was that even if something were beautiful it could still be dangerous, so it always paid to be cautious.

"Are you sure you want to go ahead with this mission?" He asked his wife before they reached the nebula.

"General Sheppard, Teyla, Carson, Jennifer, Lorne and all the other inhabitants of Atlantis were my friends too, so yes, I'm sure I want to go ahead with this mission. In fact, I think we need to go ahead with it."

By this time, they'd reached the edge of the nebula and Ronon had brought the ship to a halt. All he could do was stare out of the front window and he couldn't shake the feeling that something was about to go wrong. But that was the feeling he got whenever Sheppard or Atlantis was in trouble, so there was no stopping now.

Ronon took a deep breath before moving the ship forward, "well here we go then."

He was amazed by the swirling patterns as the tiny ship moved through the nebula, but it was even more amazing that the shields in the tiny wraith craft were protecting the hull. The journey was smooth, and he was able to enjoy the view. When he looked over at Amelia, he was happy that she seemed to be enjoying the view as much as he was.

All of a sudden, the ship came to an abrupt halt, and he turned to look at his wife, "what happened?"

"Look at that strange patch of black space ahead of us. The ship seems to be drawn towards it."

"Can you back it up?"

I'm trying Ronon, but I don't seem to be having much luck."

All he could do was watch as the ship got closer to the strange anomaly. He knew that Amelia was trying to do everything she could, but he had a bad feeling that there was no way out and they were going in.

Suddenly the ship seemed to pick up speed right before it started to shake, "brace yourself?" He yelled, "we're going in!"

The pressure around the ship increased tenfold and he was afraid that the ship was going to be crushed like a tin can. By this time, he had a headache and he felt as if his head was in a vice. He managed to look at Amelia and she looked worse than he felt. He only hoped that they'd survive this and if they did, perhaps they'd find Atlantis.

Within a minute or two it was over, and they exited the anomaly. Looking at the view screen, he soon realised they were no longer in the nebula and had stopped in normal space.

"Amelia, do you have any idea where we are?" He asked staring at the space in front of him.

"The bad news is I have no idea where we are, but the good news is that I have detected Atlantis nearby. They seem to be moving towards the anomaly that we just came through."

"How close are they? Can you contact them?"

"I should be able to contact them in a few minutes."

"That's great Melia, then maybe we can get some answers."

She nodded her head at him and then turned back to the controls. The more he looked at her the more he was convinced that she was sick and needed to see a doctor. Perhaps when they arrived on Atlantis, he would insist that she see Jennifer and Carson. Maybe he would get the doctors to keep her in the infirmary for a long rest. He had watched her over the last six or seven months and she had pushed herself to the point of exhaustion on more than one occasion. The healers on New Sateda were not as good as Carson and Jennifer, so it was a good bet that the Lantean doctors would pick up something that the Satedan healers couldn't.

His thoughts were interrupted a few minutes later when he heard Amelia sending out a message.

"Amelia Dex to Atlantis, come in please?"

They was no reply, so she tried again, "Atlantis this is Amelia Dex, do you read me?"

This time there was a reply, "This is Lt Col Lorne, is Ronon with you Amelia?"

"Yes, he's here and you have no idea how long we've been looking for you?"

"Amelia, why are you guys in a ship that has clearly been designed by the wraith?"

"It's a long story Col. Can we please come on board and then we'll let you know what is going on?"

"By all means, the roof to the jumper bay is open and welcome home, Lorne out."

He smiled at Amelia as she flew the craft towards Atlantis, soon they would be home. Although he and Amelia had enjoyed their time on New Sateda, Atlantis was still his home and when things were over, and the galaxy was safe he was going to live there again.

It was another fifteen minutes until they walked into the control room, and he was surprised to see that Sheppard wasn't anywhere to be seen. Perhaps he was in his quarters sleeping – he did have a family after all.

"Ronon it's good to see you," Lorne said in greeting – although he sensed that something was bothering the man.

He spied Amelia looking around the control room and Ronon was grateful when she asked, "Where's General Sheppard?"

Lorne furrowed his brow as he answered, "he has gone down to a nearby planet with an advanced civilization with McKay and Beckett, to try and find out when and where we are?"

Amelia's mouth dropped open, "excuse me did you say where and when we are?"

"Yes," Lorne answered, "that anomaly we went through had a temporal signature to it, so we have travelled not only in space but time as well."

Sheppard was busy, so for now he may as well find some accommodations for himself and his wife. But first, he may as well check up on Teyla and the kids and then perhaps he'd escort Amelia to the infirmary.

"So how long have they been gone, Lorne?"

"They've been gone about four hours and I've just heard from Dr Beckett. Apparently, the main city is on the night side of the planet at this time, so they have decided that they won't land until its daytime in the city. General Sheppard told us not to contact them and he'd be in touch in forty-eight hours."

"Couldn't they have worked out the length of the days and nights before Atlantis?" Amelia asked interrupting the conversation.

Suddenly Lorne looked embarrassed, but luckily, he didn't have to answer because Radek came up to join them.

"Hello, Ronon, Amelia, "Radek began, "it is not Col Lorne's fault. Ever since we arrived in the region of space the sensors have been not working properly."

Well, now that he knew what was going on he knew that it was time to leave the control room and let people get on with their jobs. He knew that if there were any problems Lorne would contact him, but for now, he wanted to visit with Teyla and the kids and then maybe he'd go to bed, "come on Melia, let's go and visit Teyla and the kids before going to bed."

"Umm…" Lorne started and Ronon saw sadness in his eyes.

A sudden feeling of dread overcame him, "What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry guys but Teyla's in stasis. She never recovered from the poison of the Jazella plant. Jennifer and Carson are close to a cure, but she was close to death. In the end, Sheppard and the doctors decided that the best course of action was to put her in stasis until they could complete their work."

The look on Amelia's face was one of pure worry, "and where are the children?"

"I think they're with Jennifer in the infirmary at the moment."

Rather than waiting for Lorne to say anything else, he rushed out of the control room and ran towards the infirmary, his only thought was that he needed to get to Sheppard's children. Once he knew that they were alright, he'd go and see Teyla.

He owed Sheppard and Teyla so much, if they hadn't invited him back to Atlantis and if Sheppard hadn't given him a place on his team, he would never have met his wife, or had a home on Atlantis for so many years. That was why he made up his mind that he would look after Sheppard's children until he returned, and he hoped that Amelia felt the same way.

It didn't take long for him to near the infirmary and when he stopped to look behind him, he was relieved to see that Amelia was following him. Although she seemed quite a way behind him, and it had him more than a little worried.

"Are you alright Melia?"

"For some reason, I have a stitch. I guess perhaps I could get Jennifer to check me out."

He waited for her to catch up and then they walked to the infirmary together. When they arrived Charin, and Torren were both asleep. Charin was in a crib by one of the infirmary beds that Torren was sleeping on. Jennifer was nearby looking into a microscope.

Standing back, he allowed Amelia to approach the doctor since they had both been good friends before Amelia had left Atlantis.

"Hello Jennifer," she asked tapping her friend gently on the shoulder.

The shock on the doctor's face when she turned around was evident, "Amelia, Ronon, how?"

"It's a long story, "Amelia answered, "but we came to see how Charin and Torren are and since we don't seem to have much to do at the moment, we thought we might look after them for a while. But we'd like to visit Teyla first."

Ronon didn't miss Jennifer's sigh of relief, "that would be great thanks since I still have a lot of work to do. Dr James was supposed to be on duty tonight, but she is sick and with Carson off world. I have no one to take her shift."

A tiny voice interrupted their conversation from the bed, "Uncle Ronon, Aunt Amelia, are you really here?"

Amelia went and sat next to Torren on the bed, "we sure are Torren and we are going to spend some time with you until your Daddy gets back from his mission."

"Can we stay in our apartment?" Torren asked with the puppy dog look that he'd learned from Sheppard.

Ronon went up and put his hand on the boy's shoulder, "sure can buddy, but first Aunty Amelia and I are going to visit your mom."

The boy nodded, "I saw her earlier. She can't talk to us you know."

"We know Torren," Amelia answered, "but we can talk to her."

"Okay, I'll stay here and wait for you. I can keep an eye on Charin then."

Ronon was surprised at how much the boy had grown up in the last six months but given what had happened over that time it wasn't surprising.

Nodding he turned around, walked out of the infirmary and he assumed that Amelia was following him. The stasis room was not far – it was closer than the one that they had found the old Elizabeth in when they'd first come to Atlantis. It was also the one that they had put Carson in when his organs were degrading, and Jennifer was working on a cure for him.

It took them five minutes to reach the stasis room and when they did, he felt apprehensive about walking in. Teyla was like a sister to him, and he wasn't sure that he wanted to see her like this.

A gentle hand on his shoulder gave him the strength he needed and at that moment he was grateful that his wife was there with him.

"You go ahead Ronon, I'll come and see her in a few minutes."

He turned around and kissed her on the cheek before heading through the doors of the stasis room.

Amelia had been his rock since they'd left Atlantis. She was the love of his life, so he could not begin to comprehend what Sheppard was going through. He'd be devastated if anything happened to Amelia.

Taking a deep breath, he approached the stasis pod, and he was shocked by what he saw. Teyla's once beautiful skin was covered in large red spots and scabs. She was pale and her eyes were enormous in her gaunt face. Whatever muscle tone she had once had was long gone and the skin was sagging on her tiny frame.

"Oh Teyla, I'm sorry that I wasn't here for you and Sheppard, but I'm here now and so is Amelia. Sheppard's on a mission at the moment, but Amelia and I have decided that we will look after your children for you. Up until now Jennifer and Carson have been taking good care of them. Anyway, from what I hear the docs are close to a cure, so I should be seeing you soon."

He felt a hand in his and was happy to see that Amelia had entered the room and was standing next to him.

"I'll leave you alone with her for a few minutes Melia."

Taking one last look at Teyla, he let go of Amelia's hand and left the room, knowing that he would do whatever it took to protect Teyla's, husband, and children.

TBC…