Hello, Stargate Lovers!
Happy New Year!
Hope you had a lovely and peaceful entrance into 2025 and I hope this year is filled with good stories, good moments, and good energy!
Enjoy this new chapter!
Chapter 64: Original Chapter 0.21
One Month
It had been a month since she had come back and her memories were still awol. Nothing to be done, with no clues whatsoever, no Adria in sight, Alexandra had turned to the work that Woolsey and Rodney kept saying she was good at, visiting sites she had been once, and answering to the questions the leader scientist asked. And to keep her safe on off world missions, not trusting in anyone else, Woolsey had been placed her in Lt. Colonel's Sheppard's team.
She had lunch and dinner with her friends. She played with Torren. Sparred with Ronon. And bickering with Rodney was starting to be a daily ocurrence, which according to Teyla was something they had done before.
The only person she wasn't able to figure out was John Sheppard. He was friendly, but since her training exercises it seemed like he avoided her. Or at least as much as he was able to.
"Do you think is because I don't remember?" Walking through Atlantis halls, Alexandra asked Teyla.
"It can be. It's..." The athosian had a thoughtful look for a moment. "He feels... frustrated."
"Why?"
"He should be the one to tell you." Teyla was not sure how to approach the subject, chastising her team leader for not being truthful with Alexandra. However, she had noticed a distance coming from John regarding the scientist, not to mention the quieteness that followed him around whenever she was near.
"Was it because he had feelings for me?" Alexandra interrupted the athosian thoughts.
Confused and surprised, the warrior turned to the scientist, making her stop in the middle of the corridor.
"He told you?"
"Not exactly. Is more like the way he acts and looks at me at times." Alexandra had a thoughtful look on her face.
"Perhaps, you both should talk about it. It could spark some memories."
Slowly nodding, Alexandra went quiet.
"So, the Ancient returned." A female voice interrupted her thoughts as both women turned towards it, seeing John with a tall, curvy and light browned hair woman next to him. At those words, though, the colonel bumped his shoulder onto hers that only made the stranger to smile.
"Uh?" Alexandra's eyes went from the woman to John that had a somewhat guilty look.
"Good morning, ladies." John started, interrupting the silence. "Alex, this is Larrin. You've met her before..."
The woman crossed her arms, her eyes assessing the scientist for a moment which, in turn, made her frown.
"So, it is true. She doesn't remember."
"Larrin." There was a tone of warning in the pilot's voice.
"What are you doing here, Larrin?" Teyla interrupted, taking a step towards the leader of the Travelers, placing herself slightly in front of her friend, trying to offer some king of protection, given their last interaction. However, by the looks of it Alexandra had no recolection of it. Nonetheless, she sent a questioning look towards her team leader.
"Larrin is here to ask us for help. Woolsey is waiting for us in the conference room." John said, surpassing them with Larrin by his side as Teyla and Alexandra followed suit.
Knowing that her whisper would be heard, whether she wanted to or not, the scientist kept quiet, entering the conference room, where Rodney and Ronon were already waiting for them.
"We should sit." Woolsey said as he entered seconds later.
At that, John sat next to Alexandra, placing himself between her and Larrin that suddenly had a smirk on her lips, her eyes following the pilot's movements.
However, there was something that he had noticed. Alexandra's shoulders, for the first time since waking up, were tense.
Hours later
"So, you and her, uh?" Alexandra watched John gear up as she did after the okay from Woolsey to help Larrin with the Ancient ship she had found was given.
"Me and Larrin? No."
"She's gorgeous. Why not?"
"She's not my type."
"Really? I would wonder so. Given the way Rodney speaks about you."
"Well, don't believe everything Rodney says."
Alexandra nodded, already used to his short responses to her questions as she checked her gun and John's hazel eyes finally landed on her as he zipped up his vest.
"Why the sudden interest?"
Brown eyes found his.
"Just making small talk. Isn't that how it's done?"
"Sure. It's just that..." He was watching her, now standing still after placing her weapons in the right holsters, trying to see if there was changes. "You know… I noticed that you weren't too... friendly with her."
"Really? I… didn't mean it. Do you think I should apologize?"
"I… No. She probably didn't noticed. I just…" John was not expecting that answer from her. "You two weren't... friends before."
"Really? Why not?" There was a frown in Alexandra's brow, but also curiosity in her eyes.
For a moment, John stared at her.
"Is not important."
"Are you sure?" She took a step towards him. "It seems important to you."
"No. No. It's fine. We should go." John flinched from her approach and walked ahead, feeling her follow him to the gate room, where the rest of the team waited for them.
"You know, she looks the same as ever. Not that we talked much the only time we met..." Larrin spoke, her eyes staring at the scientist that was helping Rodney in the engines room.
Since she had no answer, the Travelers leader turned to the SGA-1 leader that had his eyes on the controls of the Ancient chair he was currently sitting at after Rodney started doing his check-ups on the starship mainframe.
"And you're too quiet, Sheppard." There was a tone of perplexity in her voice.
"Just trying to do my job, Larrin." And, on his part, a tone of annoyance was sensed.
"I thought that was their job." The woman pointed at the pair. "And your job would be..."
"Well, since they are trying to fix this ancient ship, so you can control it, I have to be here." John interrupted. "You know? Because of my gene?"
"Right. The famous ATA gene. Doesn't she have it? That way we could..." Now Larrin smirked, stepping closer, leaning over the chair, trying to get his attention. "Have a moment to ourselves? You know, after this we could celebrate. With a little party, unwind..."
Amused, the pilot glanced his eyes towards the woman.
"Unwind?"
"Yes. I remember that last time..." She bit her lip, placing her hand on top of his arm.
Then, a somber look descended on John's face as he turned back to the controls.
"We agreed not to talk about it."
Larrin raised a brow, before stading up straight and crossing her arms.
"Why not? Because she's back?"
"Because it was only one night. And it was mistake. And I was drunk."
"We both were, really." She leaned down with a shrug. "And you don't believe that, John."
"Larrin..." His jaw ticked at her words.
"Something's wrong?"
Both got startled and turned towards the voice. Alexandra was looking back at them, with a curious look in her eyes as she saw a pink hue turn up on the pilot's cheeks and the raised brow on the Traveler's leader.
"No." He immediately said, sitting up straight. "Do you need something?"
"Rodney said to give it a try, but you weren't listening."
"Right." John made the chair lean back down and thought about turning the engines on.
They barely roared to life as Rodney shouted to turn it off and going back to his tablet.
It had been hours since the first attempt. There had been two more and on the fourth, the engines started working smoothly but still with no way of anyone else, except someone with the Ancient or ATA gene, to make it fly.
Not being able to help Rodney as he was starting to be his unbearable self, Alexandra decided to walk around the ship, leading up to the exit.
The night was cool and the stars shone bright. Her eyes followed a movement as she stepped down onto the ground and followed the figure.
"John?" Alexandra found him a few miles away from the ship. She hadn't seen him in the last hour, since Rodney had told them to leave him alone.
"What are you doing here?" Startled from his thoughts, he turned to her.
"I wanted to walk a bit. For as much spacious as it is, a ship can be confining." The scientist tried to make a joke, but the pilot still had a somber look in his eyes. "Something's wrong, isn't it?"
"No. Why?"
"Did I interrupted something important, earlier, between you and Larrin?"
"No. Of course not. Why would you think that?"
"I don't know." Alexandra shrugged, not sure of what to answer. "It... made me worry, somehow. You didn't look pleased."
"Worried?" Taking a step closer to her, John stared at her. He knew what Alexandra thought she might have seen. They had talked about Larrin in their days together and he had been amused by the tone of irritation, more than jealousy, in the scientist tone.
"Well, isn't that what friends do?"
"Alex..." Hazel eyes searched something in brown ones and, suddenly, he leaned down, not sure if he wanted to kiss her or have her react in some form to his advances. Her hand came in contact with his chest, stopping him, before he could press his lips onto hers and brown eyes met his own.
No recognition. No pleasure. No fire.
"John... what do you think you're doing?" Her voice came out softly.
"I... I'm not sure." He straightened, staring at her. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have..."
"I know that you and I... we have some kind of history. I hear things and... And I wish you would be forward with me, but you're not..."
"Alex..."
"But I'm not the person I once was And you have to accept it." Brown eyes were hard and emotionless staring back at him.
There was a moment of silence.
"No. You're not. You're right." John could see that, but his heart didn't accept it.
"I'm going back to the ship."
He just nodded, seeing her walk away as he turned in the opposite direction. His heart beating frantically.
Suddenly, a sound went through the air as three unknown small and fast ships went by them.
And it was like the scene was playing in slow motion as the ships started to fire at the two bodies they glimpsed on the ground, placing themselves in the path to the Ancient ship.
As soon as John heard the ships, his radio went off, barking orders at the same time he felt a body slam against his.
"What…? Alex?!"
"C'mon!" She grabbed his wrist, pulling him up, running towards the cover of trees.
Gunfire was the night soundtrack for a couple of minutes as they stopped by a dense grove that barely let any light in.
"Those were not darts." John took a deep breath, looking around. "Didn't recognized the shape."
"There were no settlements... on the planet as far what... Larrin told us..." Alexandra's breathing was coming out ragged.
Turning to her, John saw her lean against a tree, clutching her side.
"You're hurt." His eyes catching the red in her hand and he frowned. "You're bleeding."
"I'm fine."
"You're not fine. You're pale and…. Great. My radio is gone." He held his smashed radio up.
"Sorry about that." She almost whined, apologetically. "I shouldn't have…"
"You saved my life." John placed his arm around her back carefully, making her stand upright. "We just need to find a better place to patch you up and go back to the ship. I was able to warn them before... And the ship's controls may have picked up on it."
"But you're not there to manouver it."
"Rodney will find a way." He tried to reassure her. "Besides, if we don't check-in, Atlantis will come for us."
Gunfire was heard in a distance.
Walking slowly through the woods, they found a cave.
"Okay. Let me see." John said after helping her sit against the rock wall.
"Really, John. I'm fine. It was just a graze."
"You're. Bleeding." The pilot gave her a look as he took the medical kit from his backpack. "Let me see." He used his commanding tone now.
Alexandra raised her brow as she opened her vest, untucked her uniform jacket and shirt underneath.
The pilot looked over the wound. It was more than a graze.
As he took care of it, Alexandra watched him, his hands sure and steady, but his eyes were angry and thoughtful.
"What's in your mind?" She eventually asked, curious. But got no answer as he kept cleaning the wound and made a bandage. "I can see something's brewing." Her voice came out tired and she flinched when he pressed the gaze onto her skin, even if gently.
His hazel eyes found inquisitive ones.
"You're not the same. You know why?" John saw her frown. "Whenever you got hurt, it was rare for you to bleed. Because of your ancient shield." His jaw ticked.
There was a moment of quieteness between the two as the words sink in. And she was the first to look away, letting him finish patching her up as best he could.
"Why did you put yourself in the line of fire?" His hands stopped moving, waiting.
"I just reacted." Alexandra shrugged. Then, her hand met his, still on her side. "I'm fine, John. Just beed to rest for a bit."
"You are my responsibility."
"I'm no one responsibility." She stood her ground, her lips turning into a thin line. "I've been to missions before. Dangerous ones. That I almost died ones. My team was SG1, after all. They attracted problems wherever they went."
"You remembered."
"Mostly. And I've read a few reports to see if my memory was intact."
John smiled but it faded quickly. For a moment, her tone, her words, it seemed like his old Alexandra. His hazel eyes locked onto hers as he leaned away.
"Get some rest while I try to find out what happened and get us out of here."
"Yes, sir." She gave him a salute and John rolled his eyes as he stood.
Trying to get comfortable, her eyes kept gliding towards him as he eventually exited the cave.
John's eyes went over the area. Trees and bushes. They had to wait until morning as he heard more gunfire.
Hours later
"Did you sleep?"
Her voice made him turn his gaze towards her spot, seeing her sitting up with a wince.
"Barely."
"You should have woken me up. I could have taken a shift. You needed to rest too."
"You are wounded."
"I'm fine." They stared at each other and a thin line appeared on her lips, letting it go. She didn't want argue. "I hope the others are okay." He heard her say when he turned his eyes away from her.
"They'll find us if we don't do it first. The ships passed by a few times over the trees during the night."
"Hm... we have to go. The others..."
"I know. Are you okay to walk?"
"I think so."
"C'mon, then." John stood and helped her up. She wobbled a little so he held her against his side. He could feel how weak she was for a moment, but they couldn't stay there any longer. He was sure there were troops on the ground now.
"You think Rodney put the ship to work?"
"Well, he had all night, if they were not attacked..."
And suddenly they were transported into the Daedalus.
"Col. Sheppard. Dr. O'Neill. Glad you could join us."
"Col. Caldwell, happy to see you as usual."
"Oh, my God. You guys are alive. We didn't know anything. You disappeared." Rodney started babbling as he approached them.
"We need a medical team." John said, his arm still around Alexandra's middle as she leant completely against him.
"I can take her. It's faster." Easily, Ronon picked the scientist up onto his arms and started to walk away.
"Yes. They are still dealing with casualties from the battle against an unknown race that attacked us last night..."
As she offered a smile at the satedan, that was the last thing Alexandra heard Teyla say as he walked away from the bridge. However, it was not fast enough since as she saw Larrin approach John and say a few words, before placing her arms around the pilot.
Atlantis
Looking up at the wincing sound, John sat up straighter in his chair, feeling his back stiff and his eyes dry from watching her sleep. It had been an odd couple of days. Difficult as he came to the conclusion that he would never have her back. Not like he hoped, but he couldn't just step away from what he felt. At the very least, he could have his best friend back.
"What are you doing here?" Alexandra's voice came out rough as her eyes opened and fell on him.
"Had nothing else better to do." He shrugged, offering a playful smile.
"Oh, please... We're back in Atlantis. Go do whatever you do on your free time."
"Are you ordering me?" John stood with a smirk.
"No... Maybe. Just go. The drugs are still working. I'll just fall back to sleep again." Alexandra rolled her eyes as he leaned slightly over the bed.
"I have nothing better to do."
"Don't you have a date or something?"
"Or something." Then, he turned serious spite the playfulness he could see in her eyes. But he could also see the way she had looked back at him when Larrin placed her arms around him on the Daedalus bridge. "You're my responsability."
"Oh, please... Not that again." She half chuckled, her hand going to her side.
"I just…" John stopped himself.
"It was just a graze, Sheppard. Maybe a little more than that, but it will barely scar as far as what Dr. Keller said." She stared at him closely. "Why are you... worried?" There was a softness in her tone.
"I just can't lose you, Alex." Hard hazel eyes stared at her. "Not again."
She felt like her heart would burst out of her chest at the way he was looking at her.
"John..."
"You were bleeding. I... Alex... I just need to know that... are we… better? I mean…" He started, in a way trying to apologize for trying to kiss her, for wanting her to be the same as she was before, for things she's seen.
"I know what you mean. Whatever you think you're apologizing for, you don't need to. We are friends. I may not have all of my memories, but if there is one thing that I know is that we are friends." Alexandra said, not sure of her own words, strange feelings filling her heart as she looked at him, wanting to touch him, to hold his hand and comfort him. But it didn't felt right.
John nodded, with a slight smile.
"I'll let you rest, then, doc." It was difficult, but he would give her time as he turned to walk away, leaving Alexandra to stare at him as walked away.
I know! It's not my best chapter, but didn't want a full scale battle and just wanted to put this out there. For you to see there are changes. But we'll get there. Don't be angry at me! *pouty face* Things will get better. Promise!
Ps: Thoughts?