Doctor Carson Beckett looked at his two friends as they watched the events unfold in front of them. It had been a strange couple of hours to say the least and a testing time for all of them but for them he felt so much sympathy and concern.
If anyone had told him a few hours ago that he'd be seeing his hearts desires played out in front of his very eyes he would never have believed them. If someone had told him he'd be sharing the experience with a beautiful young nurse he'd thought the world of since their arrival on Atlantis he wouldn't have believed that either. But he was. He was seeing her desires entwined with his own and he was seeing them with her at his side. She desired him as much as he desired her and he had never been so grateful to John Shepphard or the Athosians for bringing he and Emilie together that night.
He watched as she stood over by the bed next to Elizabeth's looking at the baby. His counterpart and hers were sitting on the bed and he was holding the little girl in his arms like a proud godfather should, cooing and talking to her as he rocked her gently. Emilie sat at his side with her head on his shoulder and one of her fingers was clasped in the little girls' hand.
Elizabeth now had Rodney sitting on her bed behind her and she was sitting between his legs with her back resting against his stomach and her head resting against his chest. His arms were wrapped around her protectively yet tenderly so as not to cause any discomfort after the birth and their hands were entwined on her lap. He soothingly ran his thumbs in circular patterns over the soft skin of her hands and he had his head resting against hers. They were both watching Carson and Emilie with their little girl and smiling.
`Ghost' Emilie walked back over to them and sat back down at Carson's side.
"She is the most adorable little girl I have ever seen." Emilie told them all energetically.
Elizabeth and Rodney looked at her.
"She's got her moms eyes. They're so green! And her daddy's mouth. She has this whole cute little pouty thing going on."
Rodney and Elizabeth smiled.
"Hey I don't pout!" Rodney then argued frowning.
"Aye you do." Beckett replied nodding his head. He always enjoyed teasing Rodney.
"I do not." Rodney argued back.
"Rodney you really do." Elizabeth agreed.
"Don't." He replied pouting sulkily as the others laughed.
"You should go and have a look at her. She's so sweet! They've called her Rebecca Elise McKay. Such a pretty name." Emilie told them.
Rodney looked over at the little girl in Beckett's arms and decided that he did want to see her. They'd all just watched her birth and he wanted to see the little girl that had made his counterpart so proud.
He got up and walked over to the bed where Beckett was holding her and looked down at the tiny baby girl. Emilie was right. She did have her mother's eyes and wispy brown hair but she had his mouth. She was so perfect and he wished he could hold her as Beckett was now.
"Elizabeth you have to see her." He called glancing over at his counterpart and Elizabeth who were whispering sweet nothings to each other lovingly while looking at their daughter.
"Rodney I don't know." She replied softly amazed by all of the emotions that were whizzing through her for Rodney and about what they had seen.
Rodney nodded understandingly watching as Emilie took baby Rebecca into her arms. She was being watched both by the Beckett she was sitting next to and the one Rodney had been sitting with a few minutes previously. His friend looked smitten with the pretty nurse.
"She's so small. She really looks like you." Rodney told Elizabeth smiling as he looked at the baby again.
The baby began to cry and Emilie gently handed her back to Elizabeth's counterpart who soothed her daughter immediately.
Elizabeth decided that though this was almost certainly some kind of dream everything that they were feeling was very real. It was all a part of them and that couldn't go unnoticed or be ignored. She got up and slowly walked over to where Rodney was standing and her breath caught in her throat when she looked at the baby girl that lay in her counterparts arms.
"This is like a dream. How can we be feeling all of this? How can we be reacting like this?" She asked Rodney emotionally.
"Because it's a part of us. We're experiencing all of this just by watching it. It's bound to cause a reaction because this is what we keep buried and now we have to see it all brought to the surface."
"She's beautiful." Elizabeth whispered as she looked at the child amazed at how small she was and by her tiny little fingers and toes.
"She really is." Rodney agreed.
All were interrupted as the doors opened and Major John Shepphard, Teyla, and Lieutenant Aiden Ford entered the room carrying balloons and teddies. It was only when they got to the bed that Elizabeth and Rodney noticed another Ford and Shepphard standing by the doorway watching the whole thing and looking totally perplexed.
"John?" Elizabeth called over to her friend.
Shepphard did a double take when he noticed Elizabeth and Rodney standing there by their counterparts. He then noticed Carson and Emilie sitting chatting in the corner.
"What the hell is going on here?" Shepphard asked as the group all walked over to each other.
"No-one`s entirely sure." Carson replied as he walked over with Emilie.
Shepphard looked at them and frowned.
"You two are holding hands now?" He commented as he noticed that their hands were linked.
Beckett and Emilie smiled.
"The last thing I remember is feeling really dizzy and I remember seeing Major Shepphard collapse. Then everything went black and I woke up here." Ford explained.
"Wherever here is." Shepphard commented. "Any ideas?" He asked the group.
"It appears to be some sort of dream Atlantis where we've all woken up to see ourselves living some of our deepest desires." Rodney told him as he and Elizabeth walked over.
"How's that even possible?" John Shepphard asked.
"Halling told me back on Atlantis that the drink he was handing out is said to make you aware of your inner desires. How is it possible? I don't know. All I know is we've all woken up here and we`ve all seen things...personal things." Elizabeth explained.
"Yeah I can relate to that." John replied smiling smugly.
"What is that smile for?" Rodney asked him curiously.
"He came round to see something rather x-rated going on between he and Teyla." Ford told them all.
Rodney rolled his eyes and the others laughed.
"What about you Ford? What did you see?" Rodney asked the young Lieutenant.
"Our team discovered the first step to destroying the Wraith.... And I have a band here." He told them grinning.
"A band?" Shepphard teased raising his eyebrows.
"I think it's a good idea." Emilie replied. "We need something like that to raise our spirits after a hard day."
"Thank you Emilie." Ford told her grateful that someone had stuck up for him.
"What about you Beckett?" Shepphard then asked.
"Why don't you take a look?" The Scotsman replied motioning to his counterpart who was sitting with his fiancee on his lap and patting her stomach.
"Very romantic." Shepphard teased. "I always thought you were a bit of a softie."
"There's nothing wrong with wanting to meet a nice young lass and to have a family as well as a good career." Beckett replied.
"Emilie..." Shepphard prompted.
"You're looking at it Major Shepphard. We came round together and saw ourselves together. I see what he sees." She explained.
"And you two...you...wow." Shepphard said in shock as he looked at Elizabeth and Rodney and then their counterparts who were proudly showing off their new baby daughter to their friends.
"That's all you're going to say? No teasing? No sarcastic remarks" Rodney asked perplexed.
"Like the good Doctor said McKay there's nothing wrong with wanting to meet someone you love and to have a good family as well as a good career." Shepphard replied. "Knowing that you want the same as everyone else does...it's a good thing. It's nothing to be ashamed of." He told the man reassuringly.
"Even I thought you'd have more to say about this than that." Elizabeth told the Major.
"Oh I could say more, but it would be to wind up McKay and not for any other reason. None of us can help what's in our hearts can we? And if for you it's this and each other then who I am to tease you about it. You two look happy here with your child and with each other and your happiness is all that matters to your friends. I won`t say that it doesn`t shock me because it really does..."
"It`s that hard to believe is it?" Rodney muttered.
"Well I had no idea that you two cared about each other like this that's all." Shepphard replied.
"John..." Elizabeth said softly.
"This has been really hard on everyone involved. It's really personal and because we're friends it's all interlinked..." Beckett started to explain.
"We'd just really appreciate it if..." Rodney started.
"I know. We've all got a lot to work through after this. If it could just be considered a dream it would be fine but these are our feelings involved here. This has all been created by what's inside us." Shepphard commented.
"I guess it's not so bad for me because I haven't seen the kind of thing that all of you have but I promise I won't say a word."
Elizabeth nodded gratefully.
"And I won't either. If Teyla finds out what I saw..." Shepphard said pulling a face.
The group of six turned to face their counterparts and watched as they interacted. It was obvious they were all a close group of friends. Teyla was sitting with John and was chatting to Elizabeth about the birth; Ford was holding the baby in his arms and pulling faces at her. Beckett was taking care of another patient with Emilie's help and chatting to his friends and the patient about his impending fatherhood while he worked while Rodney was sitting with Elizabeth who was still enveloped in his arms. It was a picture of contentment.
"We look like a big family." Elizabeth commented as she looked at them all.
"I guess we all are. We spend every moment of each day in each other's company. We trust each other with our lives. How can you do that and not become like a family?" Ford asked.
"The laddie has a point." Beckett agreed still holding Emilie's hand.
John walked over to where their counterparts were sitting and looked at the little girl.
"She is the cutest little girl I've seen guys. Ford come take a look at her."
Ford walked over and looked at her.
"He's right Doctor Weir. She's lovely."
"That's not a bad voice Ford." Shepphard then teased him as Ford's counterpart started to sing to the little girl who was looking up at him with her piercing green eyes. "Look at you all cute with a baby."
Ford turned away embarrassed.
"So what do we do now?" Ford asked the group curiously as he and Shepphard made their way back to their friends.
They all looked at each other and for the first time realised that they truly had no idea.
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