Hello, Stargate Lovers!

The story is picking up the pace and I promise it's coming to an end. Not sure how many chapters I have left, though, because it goes with the flow of the writing and the narrative itself. But I must say that I know how it's going to end!

And, Adela, thank you for your words on the last chapter. It means a lot!

Hope you enjoy this one!

Chapter 71: Original Chapter 0.28

"You need to talk with her, John." Teyla followed him after he had exited the conference room where he had been busy with reports from the teams about the Wraith hiveship that had been attacking human worlds.

"She doesn't want to talk, Teyla."

"It's been three days since you came back. And she's been cooped up in that room."

"She's doing what she thinks is the best."

"John..."

The pilot sighed and turned back to his friend.

"Listen, Teyla, I tried. She just… Stops me. And I don't want to… force her. Not after everything we've been through. Not after she lied to me. To us. Again!"

Teyla looked at John. She had never seen him so at odds and cold towards Alexandra. John Sheppard was not a man to measure words. He would say what he needed to say or do what he needed to do. And right now she saw that he was fighting against his own instincts.

"I know you don't want to force her. But I know you have your ways of making her talk."

He snorted in a half groan.

"Right now, my way of making her talk is pull her over my shoulder, lock her in my quarters until..." He just let the words out without thinking until he saw Teyla cross her arms. He was frustrated. "I'm sorry, Teyla. I... I don't want to argue, to fight with her. It gets me nowhere these days."

"You told me that she said she's trying to protect you. Have you thought in what that implies?" The athosian continued. "On her end?"

John took a moment, looking down the hall to see if there was someone listening.

"She's afraid of losing me. I get it. I know she loves me... Even when she didn't remember, I could see that. That's why her powers came to her so much faster than before. I'm not an idiot. But..."

"Have you thought on how conflicted she feels? The betrayal of the Ancients, losing of Col. Mitchell's heart, then losing her powers to save him. Then, she comes to Atlantis, and you two get closer and closer and her powers evolve. But, then she loses you, John, by ascending to save you. Right when she begins to accepts them and her own feelings towards you." Teyla placed her hand on his arm, feeling it tense as his hazel eyes look out the window. "Have you tried to understand the rules she's bound to by the Ancients?"

"Teyla, she's back!" He was irritated. "She can have me. I don't care about rules. I don't care that we die tomorrow fighting another war. I just want her to open herself to me, to us."

"We had this conversation before..." The athosian looked at him like she often now looked at little Torren when he was being stubborn. That amused John slightly, making him smile which, in turn, made Teyla role her eyes. "And you should know by now, that even feeling the way she does, Alex still abides by their rules, in some odd way. Hence the reason she ascended." Then, she sighed, thinking on another aspect of the situation. "What about Adria?"

"She's afraid of her. And I never saw Alex afraid of..."

The look his friend sent his way spoke volumes.

"Maybe... Maybe she hid the fact she remembered you not only to protect you, but herself as well."

John knew. Of course he knew that. He was afraid of losing her too. So, why couldn't they just enjoy their time together before the battle that was coming their way?

"I'm gonna be the one to say it. She's crazy." Rodney sighed, worried, his eyes glued to the window.

"No way she's not exhausted." Ronon added, with an equal tone of concern.

As Teyla entered the observation room, she figured what her friends had been discussing.

Stepping in between the two men, the athosian looked inside the chamber as Alexandra stared at the boxes with a pensieve expression.

After getting back to Atlantis, Alexandra had chosen one of the farthest labs from the main tower discovered on the ancient city to work on the boxes. She had an idea of what they could do. But, for that, she needed to protect the people she was trying to save.

"What about Sheppard?" Rodney eventually spoke as the satedan turned to Teyla.

"She remembers him. She remembers everything." She offered. "He's being stubborn, saying he doesn't know how to make her open up. This is not good. If what we know of her powers is true, she needs him. She can't just push her feelings away."

Then, a movement inside the lab caught their attention.

At last, Alexandra moved and a white light enveloped her and the boxes.

The energy released shook the city.

Her breath came out ragged as she supported herself on the table, her eyes closed. She wanted to sleep. Lay her head down on her pillow and rest. But all she had achieved was tossing and turning.

And she knew why. Her energy was revolving inside of her, furious, the power coursing in her veins, prickling underneath her skin. She needed an outlet. Soon.

Her brown eyes opened when the door to the lab slid open.

"Rodney, I told you to leave." She breathed the words, feeling her heart thumping wildly.

"You need to stop. And to sleep."

His voice ranged in her ears.

"I can't." Her tone came out annoyed.

"Alex, you want to get Adria. I get it. Everyone wants the same. But you need to rest." His tone came out soft, a whisper going over her skin making it hot. "And if you are going to fight her, you need to rest." Brown eyes found hazel and he realized why she couldn't sleep. He gulped, remembering another time, another day, on the pier, where he saw what she needed. And he was willing to give it to her, if she just stopped pushing him away.

"You're offering, Colonel?" A small smirk appeared on her lips as her voice came out sultry and the tension thickened in the room.

"Wow, haven't heard that one in ages."

Brown eyes found blue ones that stepped onto John's side.

"Cam! What are you doing here?" As if a bucket of cold water had splashed onto her, her body straightened and the room became cold as she smiled warmly at the other pilot.

"Thought Atlantis needed my help." Cameron Mitchell shrugged, a comforting smile on his lips.

"How did you...?"

"The Sun Tzu. With Adria's threat, the I.O.A thought two ships were better than one now that we have Sam's new shields."

"Where is the rest of the team?"

"What? I'm not enough?" He raised his brow, feigning hurt, but a smile graced his lips.

"Of course you are." She had this big grin on her lips now as she approached the other man and got envoloped by his arms and scent, enjoying the comfort it gave her. And missing the way John's jaw clenched as he stepped away from the room, giving the two a moment.

The table was quiet as Ronon stared at the two friends talking by the open balcony, enjoying the evening meal and feeling the tension coming out of John as his back was to them, so he wouldn't do the same thing the satedan was currently doing.

"Stop that, Ronon." The tone of the pilot came out annoyed as he stared at his food, barely touching it.

The taller man's dark eyes slid back to his friend with a raised brow.

"Is doesn't bother you?"

"No. They're friends. And, at the very least, he took her out of that lab."

The answer was concise enough for Ronon to change the subject as he took a bite of his food.

"Why are you not speaking with her?"

"Is this the 'annoying the Colonel with the same question' day?" Hazel eyes found his friend's questioning ones.

"Just saying." Ronon shrugged, keeping eating his meal.

"Ronon. There's not much I can do. I'm not going to force her to open up to me. She knows I'm here for her." John sighed, letting go of his fork and staring at his food. "And I'm not going to prevent her to be with her friend, okay? Not gonna act like I'm..."

"Jealous? Sheppard, they were together. And you're here, letting your girl be with another man."

"She's not with another man. She's... reminiscing, or something." Or so he hoped as he glanced towards the former couple, seeing her smile, noticing the way her shoulders were relaxed for the first time in days as she talked and listening to the other man.

"Are you sure? I can get another room. I'm sure Sheppard can find something for me."

Alexandra rolled her eyes as they walked towards her private quarters.

"No, no. You can stay in my room. I won't be sleeping anyway."

Immediately, she heard Cameron sigh as they stopped by her door.

"Alex, you need to rest. I heard what Sheppard said. And I'm not an idiot." The pilot placed his hand on her arm, making her turn to him as the door slid open. "I can see the way you keep fidgeting and looking around, as if waiting for something."

"Cam, stop. Yes, I need to rest. But..." She shrugged.

"The powers giving you any trouble?" The pilot frowned, worried.

"You know how it is."

"Yeah, I do know how it is." Cameron raised his brow, a little smirk on his lips. "And I also know that you have someone that could help you with that."

"Cam..." Alexandra sighed as she entered her quarters. "I might not remember everything from the Ancients plane, but I know how to handle my powers now. It's just..."

"You're on the hedge, Alex." He interrupted her, following her inside. "You need to do something. Or else..."

"I'm not going to explode. Why is it the first thing on someone's mind?" The scientist unzipped her uniform jacket and placed it on top of the table.

"Are you seriously pushing him away?" Cameron pressed on the subject, knowing she was trying to change it.

"Adria is back, Cameron." Her tone showed exhaustion as she turned and looked at the other man that had a soft expression on his face. "I couldn't protect you back then..."

"Sheppard is not me. I was manipulated. He wasn't. Isn't."

"Why are you taking his side? You should be on mine after everything that we've been through." She half joked, sitting on the bed and hearing him snort.

"Because I know what it is to handle you. And I pity the man."

"For crying out loud..." Alexandra chuckled as Cameron sat next to her. "I'm starting to wish it would be my uncle here, not you."

"Hey!" The pilot bumped her shoulder. "I'll have you know that Jack O'Neill is actually taking Sheppard's side too. Everyone is, actually."

"I can't believe it..." She rolled her eyes, hiding her face in her hands, before facing him again. "You do know that I'm gonna protect you too. If she sees you..."

"She will know we mean business." He bumped her shoulder again, a conspirational smile on his lips at her chuckle. "What about the boxes?"

"I have some idea of what they can do. I just need to understand how to do it."

Cameron nodded, hearing her talk about her ideas.

Next morning

John was running. Tossing and turning in his bed all night and no sleep came to him.

So, he ended up put on track pants, a t-shirt, sneakers and went for an early run.

However, as he turn up a corner, he saw Alexandra's quarters door open and Cameron Mitchell come out of there.

Hours later

"I need to inspect a site." Alexandra entered the conference room where she knew she would find John. She was dreading it, but she knew it would have to be him she would have to ask.

"What for?" He barely looked at her, looking at more reports on his tablet.

"It might contain some information about the boxes."

His eyes went up to meet hers.

"About what?"

"How they can work. Maybe figure out how I can you use them to energize my own powers."

Hazel eyes scanned her, even if not straying away from her own brown eyes.

"Did you sleep?"

"No."

John's lips turned into a thin line as he leaned back on the chair.

"How can I trust you on the field, if you're not sleeping?"

"Don't start with that, John. I've done plenty of missions without sleeping."

"You're a time bomb, Alex. What if you lose control?" The pilot was trying to remain calm, not show how worried and frustrated he felt.

"Am I so different from a year ago, that you stopped trusting me?" The words came out without thinking, but that's how she felt.

"You lied. Again." Even if he sensed the hurt in her tone, John was trying to be rational.

The scientist sighed, giving herself a moment as she walked towards him, seeing him look up as she stepped closer.

"I need this information, John. If we are going to fight Adria, I need the boxes. I need all the information that we can get. And right now is what I... we will find on this planet." She passed her tablet onto his hands and he looked down, reading the report she had written about the information she had gathered. "I'm not going to ask you again. I could have gone to Woolsey. Get another team to help me." She thought about Cameron's words on the night before. She couldn't just push John away. "But I'm asking you."

How could he deny her anything if she was the one that came to find him?

"We can be ready in an hour. Does that work for you?" Hazel eyes looked up at her.

"Yeah. Thank you." She offered a small smile, before taking the tablet from him and stepping away.

"Is Mitchell coming?" John asked right before she exited the conference room, not being able to restrain himself.

"I wasn't planning on asking him. It would be just your team."

"It's your team too." The words came out without thinking.

Alexandra stared at him for a moment, before nodding and leaving.

One hour later

"Okay. Teyla, Rodney, search anything that could be of value. Ronon, stay by the gate. We might need a quick escape if something goes wrong. Alex?"

"Coordinates make us go north."

"Take the lead, then." The colonel placed his sunglasses on and followed her, like so many times before.

Minutes passed by and, even if his senses were on high alert, his eyes kept staring at her back.

"You seem much more... calmer." John commented at some point.

"You think?" She kept her eyes ahead.

"Yeah." His single, crisp and immediate response made her stop and turn back to him, sensing what he might be thinking.

"Are you..." Alexandra's eyes were reading him and he felt like he often did when she did that. He had missed it as his heart started beating fast. "Are you jealous, Sheppard?" Seeing him like that made her want to tease him.

"No." The question had taken him off guard and he moved from one leg to the other, feeling uncomfortable.

"For crying out loud..." She huffed as she turned away from him and started walking again. "That's why you partnered me with you."

"No. It's not. I just..." He heard her chuckle. "You're teasing me." And he smiled, also having missed that side of her.

Glacing at him, her heart thumped at his smile, taking a moment. Then, she straightened her shoulders and continued walking ahead, some kind of entrance carved into the side of a mountain came right ahead.

"Nothing happened." Alexandra felt him stop right behind her as her eyes scanned the screen in the lock mechanism.

"I didn't ask."

"He has a girl back on Earth. And even if he didn't..." She let the words linger between them. With or without her memories, she knew she would never do that to John. "I told you to move on. If you didn't, that's not on me." Now, she was pushing him.

The silence that surrounded them became void.

When she turned to him, Alexandra saw his eyes watching her, intensely. And she knew.

"Something happened with Larrin." It wasn't a question. "I'm glad."

"Don't say that." His jaw ticked.

"I could feel it when we were all together on that Ancient ship. I just didn't understand what it was." She turned towards the screen and placed her hand on it. A door slid open. "I'm happy for you, John. Really."

"I didn't… you told me… you left..."

"I remember and you did exactly what I told you." She glanced back at him, before they entered the cave. "And if I seem calmer... It's because I released my energy into the boxes. That's how I found out what to look for now."

Lights turned on as they walked the hallway. An open room, filled with monitors, appeared at the end.

"Ancient lab." John provided, seeing her step closer to one of the monitors, similar to the ones on Atlantis. It came back to life.

"Well, try to be comfortable, Sheppard. Because this is going to take a while."

"Yes, ma'am." His hazel eyes watched her as she sat in one of the dust filled chairs and started translating.

Three hours later

"The boxes..." Her whisper made him stop as he just entered the room once again after leaving her for a while to her own work. "They're a conduit."

"For what?" John stepped closer to her, seeing the way she stared up at him upon the news.

"I... don't know... Perhaps, my powers. This is very ancient writing. This is..."

"Alexandra."

They both turned towards a voice.

"Kal!" Immediately, Alexandra stood up with a ball of light in her hand.

"Wait a minute." The pilot frowned at the same time, grabbing her arm and looking between the two. "How did you..."

"This is an Ancient facility of mine." Kal stared at the two, not even flinching by the reception from the two humans. "And Mélya's. I'm connected to it. So, I sensed it when she opened it." He answered before John could finish the question.

Alexandra narrowed her eyes, making the ball of light to disappear.

"What are you doing here, Kal?"

"I'm here to warn you, Alexandra."

And the way he said, the tone and the words...

"You're working with Adria." Her fist closed in anger and her body became taut.

At her words, John pulled his riffle up, pointed at the ancient that highjacked his mind yearss before.

"I needed the Ancients to pay."

"You... released her?!" Alexandra took a step closer to the other man.

"With your help." Kal saw the way her lips became a line. "I've merely offered the idea. However, I'm only here to pass on a message. She wants to talk with you."

"Not a chance!" John exploded, taking a step closer to the woman he wanted to protect.

The ancient's eyes turned towards John.

"I am sorry for any pain I caused you, Col. Sheppard. I was angry. And for a way out. You too, Alexandra. However, you must understand that everything must have a balance." He added.

"You really think I believe that?" The scientist frowned, her hand finding John's arm by her side, her eyes searching for deceit on the other ancient. She found none. Then, it was like she need a tether to her rational side and her hand grabbed the colonel's arm, feeling it's strength under her palm.

"If there is anything you must believe is in my intentions." Silence filled the room for a moment. "For all intents and purposes, believe that I am on your side, Alexandra. I believe you will always do the right thing. You are the best of us." There was a serious glint in Kal's eyes. "You and I are the same, Alexandra."

"No, we're not. You're doing her bidding." The scientist narrowed her eyes.

There was only a smile from the ancient.

"I hope you think about what I said. Just call out my name and I'll take you to Adria."

Taking a step closer to him, Alexandra let go of John's arm.

"The others. Ganos Lal? Are they alive?"

"I... don't know. I can't feel them. They disappeared when you became human and Adria found the Wraith." Another smile, softer this time. "Farewell, Alexandra. Colonel Sheppard." At that, Kal disappeared.

Atlantis

John had given her a day.

He had replayed their mission. Their talk with Kal.

After downloading the information from the Ancients database, arriving in Atlantis and debriefing Woolsey, for weeks he had been waiting for her to come back to him. And, for a moment, she had been. He had seen the Alexandra he had grown up to know. And the way she had grabbed his arm, told him one thing. There was still a chance for them. And he would fight for it.

Now, he just stood by the open door of her lab, the shape of her frame cut through the light coming from the window. She always had the best office. Even McKay had said so at one point in the past years. And little did he know that John had hid it from him so he could give it to her, expecting her to come to work in Atlantis some day.

Looking at her shoulders, he knew she was relaxed, even if she had a frown between her brows.

"A quiet John Sheppard. That's different." Her voice was softer than in previous days as brown eyes turned to him.

"I missed this view." His voice ranged in the quietness of the lab. He couldn't see what she was thinking or feeling. But he could see he was welcome into her space. "I'm not angry. Not anymore, anyway. In case you were wondering."

"I wasn't." She went back to look at the screen, sifting through the information she had brought from the Ancient planet.

"Alex…" John finally moved into the office. "What happened with Larrin..." He saw her stop, but not look at him.

"You don't need to explain it to me." The scientist's voice came out soft.

"I went to help her. Me and the team." He continued, not paying mind to her words. However, his eyes stayed on her. "In the end, we ended up celebrating the win. And the finding of another box. That's why I trusted her with it." The pilot saw her nod. "But, then..."

"John." Brown eyes found his. They were cold. But her tone, almost pleading, asked him to stop. He couldn't.

"She found me drinking. Alone. Talking to myself. Maybe I was trying to tell you that we had found another box. Maybe I thougth that you would come for it. For me. I don't know." His voice almost faltered. "I ended up blurting everything out to her. You and me. The pain, the betrayal, the boxes, why you had left... Next thing I know, I woke up in her bed. It was one time." His eyes caught a glimmer of emotion in her eyes. He didn't know what it was. All he wanted was to wrap his arms around her and forget the past year. But John stopped himself, because he didn't know what she wanted from him. Not anymore.

"I don't blame you. Or am I angry. You found solace in someone. I could see it when I opened my eyes after returning. After putting my memories back together, I realized that between the last time I saw you and the moment I opened my eyes here, something had changed. You were... calmer." She used his own words from the day before, never taking her eyes from his.

"Can we be friends? Again? At least, that. Please?" He saw her shoulders tense and then relax, so he continued.

Alexandra listened. She knew that what happened the day before was part of her decision of keeping him at a distance. She would keep him safe. No matter what. However, even if her energy had receded after her talk with Cameron and her work with the boxes, she felt tired. Tired of the wall she had put around herself because of her mission, because of Adria, because of the Ancients. She was just so tired. So, she gave in.

"Yes. We can be friends..." Then, Alexandra smirked. "Flyboy."

The big grin that appeared on his lips made her heart beat and she knew it would be harder now to keep him away.

"Good. Dinner time is upon us. I'm sure Torren misses his godmother."

Ps: Thoughts?