It had now been six hours since Rebecca's birth and the group still hadn't returned home. They'd spent the first couple of hours in the infirmary watching as their counterparts met little Rebecca Elise but had left when John, Teyla and Ford had gone because Rebecca had fallen asleep in her tired mothers arms and Rodney had decided that Elizabeth needed to rest. They all felt that though this was all something like a dream they'd already infringed on more personal moments than they should an so had walked around their new version of Atlantis looking for any more people in the same situation as them. By the end of the six hours they had found almost 30 people that had woken up to find themselves stranded there.
Not knowing what to do the thirty strong group had made their way to the function hall deciding that they needed to try, as a group, to come up with any idea that could to get them back home. Of course all had realised that it was pretty futile. They'd need the help of an Athosian but none of the Athosians had been affected as the Earth team had. Elizabeth doubted that even Halling would know exactly why the drink had affected them the way it had.
When they reached the function hall they realised that like back home, there was a celebration going on. The hall was absolutely filled with people. Nearly every one of them could pick out themselves amongst the crowd. Doctor Beckett was dancing with Emilie, John Shepphard was dancing with Teyla, and Lieutenant Aiden Ford was playing the music with some other of Atlantis' inhabitants...
"I bet our party finished hours ago." Ford commented.
"I should hope so considering that most of the people who went to it probably collapsed." Rodney McKay replied.
"I wonder if they're any closer to figuring out how to bring us round." Elizabeth Weir commented trying to summon up some hope that they would find a way back to their Atlantis rather than having to remain on this dream like version.
"I hope so. I mean what are we going to do if we have to stay like this forever?" John Shepphard asked.
"I don't even want to think about that." Elizabeth replied.
Rodney put a hand on her back tenderly.
"This can't be permanent. You have to remember that." He told her hoping to soothe her in some way.
"We've been here for over six hours Rodney. It's starting to feel permanent don't you think?" Carson Beckett replied.
"I just want to go home." Emilie told them getting upset. "I'm so tired. How is that even possible?"
"We're all tired Emilie." Elizabeth told the young woman. She walked up to her and put an arm around her comfortingly. "We'll bet back to Atlantis I promise you." She added though unsurely.
"But how?" The young woman asked echoing the question that was in everybody's mind.
"Come here lass." Beckett whispered softly as he pulled the young woman into his arms. He smiled at Elizabeth gratefully.
Elizabeth noticed that all of the people who had been trapped there for hours looked on the verge of giving up hope. Many sat down tiredly and chatted with their friends. Beckett led Emilie to some steps, which they sat on watching everything that was going on in the hall. Shepphard and Ford went to watch the other Ford and the band play amongst the many people that didn't even know that they were there. Once again Rodney and Elizabeth were left alone.
"You're probably sick to death of hearing me say this but how are you doing?" He asked her concerned.
"I feel like a failure Rodney. On top of all of this, on top of everything we've seen and everything we're feeling I can't get them home."
"Neither can I. Neither can Beckett or Shepphard..."
"But I'm the leader. I should be able to...."
Rodney put a finger over her lips to quieten her.
"Listen to me." He told her putting his hands on the sides of her arms. "This is not your fault. You could not have known that this was going to happen. How can you find a way for us to go home when just the same as us you don't know how we got here or where we are? You haven't failed anyone here."
"It's all been so hard." She told him tearfully.
"I know it has. You think any of us wanted our true desires played out like this in front of the people that we care about? No. But it's happened and we have to learn from it. We've all gone through this, many of us together. You're not alone in what you're feeling I promise you and you`re not going to be alone when we get back."
"You can't possibly know what I'm feeling." She told him sternly. "You can't have any idea. Did you leave anybody back at home?" She asked him knowing that he hadn't and realising as soon as she said it that it would hurt him.
He shook his head a little sadly.
"Well I did. And now I've come here and learnt that he's not the person that I really desire. Do you know how hard that is for me to deal with? Do you know how awful I feel about this? I just really didn't need all of this right now. "
Rodney just looked at her completely shocked and hurt.
"Well I'm sorry that after everything we've been through during these past few hours you feel so awful about caring for me. Elizabeth I truly am sorry, but we`ve seen this for a reason and for once it`s not my fault." He told her a little angrily and she could hear the total hurt in his voice.
"Rodney." She called softly as he walked away from her. "Rodney." She shouted again loudly her heart feeling as if it had broken when she realised that she may have lost one person on Atlantis who meant the world to her.
All of her team turned to face her as she shouted but he didn't. He walked off amongst the crowd as his friends watched sadly, leaving an equally upset Elizabeth behind him.
Feeling unable to stand up anymore Elizabeth leant against a wall and slid down on to her knees. She could feel tears welling up behind her eyes but she wouldn't let them fall. She couldn't afford to. The people she had been brought here with needed her to be strong. They needed her to have hope, and even if she was completely broken inside she could never show them that she was beginning to lose it. It was one of the burdens of being a leader. She always had to appear strong and hopeful to inspire her team to do the same even when that hope seemed far away.
Suddenly the music in the hall came to a halt and clapping and cheering could be heard. Elizabeth got up and walked over to Beckett and Emilie who could see what the cause of the commotion was from where they were sitting.
"What's going on?" She asked them and they noticed her voice was choked with unshed tears.
"The party's to celebrate Rebecca's birth and your engagement." Carson explained.
"They've just brought Rebecca down to show everyone. Look..." Emilie told her pointing as Rodney and Elizabeth walked through the crowds.
Rodney had his arm around his tired fiancee lovingly and Elizabeth was carrying little Rebecca, who was dressed in a hooded babygro with teddy bear ears sewn on to it.
They watched as Rodney led Elizabeth to a chair and helped her sit down. He kissed her and then his daughter on the forehead and made his way to the stage where Ford was standing with other members of the band.
"Speech." Carson Beckett shouted as his friend got on the stage cheered along by Teyla and Shepphard.
Emilie, who was in her fianc's arms, swatted him playfully. She smiled as Carson kissed her.
Rodney looked around the room shyly, quietly thanking Ford when the young man handed him a microphone. He looked at Elizabeth who smiled encouragingly at him.
"Good evening everyone. As you all know I have a tendency to ramble on about nothing in particular so I promise that I'll make this as short as I can. First of all I wanted to say thank you to everyone who has sent cards and gifts down to the infirmary for Elizabeth and the baby. They're very much appreciated and we're so thankful that we have so many people here who care enough to do that. For anyone who hasn't heard; the reason that we're here tonight is that Elizabeth gave birth to our baby daughter Rebecca Elise early this afternoon...."
The room erupted in more claps and cheers.
"I'm also overjoyed to announce that Elizabeth has agreed to become my wife. So as well as being given the most beautiful and precious baby girl today, the beautiful woman that I love is now my fiancee."
The room erupted in claps and cheers again for the happy couple.
"I'd also like to announce that Rebecca's godfather Dr Carson Beckett and his fiancee Emilie are expecting a baby of their own. So I hope that everyone will join me in a toast to my beautiful fiancee who has given me a love I thought I'd never find, to my beautiful Rebecca and to Carson and Emilie. Cheers."
"Cheers!" Everyone shouted loudly and clapped again.
"Now tonight we have a once in a life time treat for you. It's either going to really suck or be really nice. If it sucks we do apologise. Emilie if you will..." Rodney motioned.
Carson looked at Emilie curiously as she walked up to the stage and took the microphone off Rodney. Rodney then sat down at the piano as Ford picked up his guitar and music began to play. A few seconds later Emilie began to sing watched lovingly by a surprised and moved Carson Beckett.
What do you do when love comes along
and offers your heart a chance to move on
with no guarantees, no safety net,
trust what you feel, you take that first step
just close your eyes
and reach for the moment before it slips by
here is your second chance, take it and fly
As the words echoed through the hall the many couples of Atlantis started to dance. Carson walked over to where Elizabeth was sitting with her daughter and sat down and both watched their lovers; amazed by the talents that they possessed which had never been seen before.
Meanwhile all of the spectators who were also in the hall were watching, many silently wondering if their colleagues had the same talents as the ones on this version of Atlantis. For a few brief moments their plight was forgotten.
Carson looked at Emilie curiously.
"Do you sing?" He asked her. "Because here lass you sing like an angel."
She smiled.
"There's a lot you've still got to find out about me Doctor." She told him cheekily. "If you want to." She added softly.
He smiled at her and cupped her cheek in his palm.
Elizabeth meanwhile found herself completely absorbed in Rodney's piano playing. She knew that her Rodney had wanted to be a pianist and could play the piano but she'd never heard him. It was another part of him that he kept hidden away after the hurt of being told by people he cared about that he'd never be good enough to do it. Hearing his counterpart play was the most beautiful sound that she had ever heard and she hoped that one day that her Rodney would feel comfortable enough to play for her.
The weight of the world, the need to survive
has made you believe that you got no right
and out of the blue,
you meet someone who offers a place warm as the sun
just close your eyes
reach for the moment before it slips by
here is your second chance, take it and fly
Rodney McKay stood hidden amongst the crowd listening to the words of the song. For him it described what Elizabeth had become to him. How out of the blue she had come into his life and offered him such warmth and the motivation to be a better man just by caring about how he was feeling and by treating him with respect and care instead of annoyance.
He hated that they'd argued. He hated so much that she was going through all of the anguish that she was because of what they were seeing. It was hard for him too and for all of the others that they had arrived on this Atlantis with, but for her he could see it was tearing her apart. She'd left someone behind on Earth and to see someone else taking the place that you'd expect that person to hold in your heart was bound to be difficult.
Being leader he knew that it would have been easier for her to go through all of this alone. At least then she wouldn't have had to admit to him what she had seen and she could have pushed it all away. Their desires involved each other though. They were entwined. He meant to her what she meant to him and so they'd had to go through all of this together just like Carson and Emilie had. That meant that neither of them could brush any of it under the carpet and pretend it wasn't there because it had come from within them and it was a desire shared.
He still felt hurt about what she had said. He couldn't completely understand what she was going through because unlike her he didn't have anyone back home but he could understand why she was upset. He wasn't so unfeeling that he couldn't understand that. What hurt him most was that she'd made it all seem like an inconvenience. She'd made it seem like both of their feelings were an irritation that she didn't want to acknowledge and were feelings which shouldn't be acknowledged.
Elizabeth cared for him, he truly knew that she did but right now it just seemed that like everybody else in his life she would rather ignore those feelings and pretend that they didn't exist because it was the easy option. That hurt him deeply. He had found someone who he knew that he could love a great deal and that he already did care about more than he probably should and he didn't want to have to pretend that those feelings weren't there. Especially after seeing all that they had that day and after finding out what was in her heart as well as his own. But then if they hadn't ended up seeing it he wasn't sure he would have said anything to her. He would never have believed that she could care about him too and would rather have kept it all to himself to stop himself getting hurt as he now had.
Elizabeth had a lot more to lose than he did. He knew that and he knew that was part of the reason why this was all so hard for her but it still didn't stop him from hurting. Love didn't come easily for him and love from others for him was even more rare an occurrence. Knowing how much he loved her only hurt him more when he thought about their argument and how hard it was for him to love a person. As hard as it was for him to love, somehow he'd fallen in love with her and it hurt him to know that she currently felt as bad about her feelings for him as she did.
Just when you think love is a distant dream
oh, fate give you wings
just close your eyes
and reach for the moment before it slips by
here is your second chance, take it and fly
As Elizabeth looked around the hall her eyes settled on a forlorn figure amongst the dancing couples. She couldn't believe how much she had hurt him by what she had said and all she wanted was to talk to him and to tell him that she hadn't meant to hurt him with her words. She just wanted him to understand that she had to work through all of this. She wanted him to understand that she didn't want to hurt Simon back home. She wanted him to understand that she cared for him more than he could ever know but that she felt awful that a man who had played such a large part in her life back home didn't seem to hold that same place anymore.
This morning she had woken up expecting it to be a normal day. As normal as could be expected on Atlantis anyway. She most definitely hadn't expected to collapse and then to wake up on another version of Atlantis where her hearts desires played out before her very eyes.
Her feelings for Rodney had been growing for a long time. They'd come along at a time where she'd felt so lonely being a leader and where any kind of emotion like that felt so distant from her. Working with her was one of the most arrogant, egotistical, whining Scientists that she'd ever met; a person so much more complex than any other person she'd encountered in her life and a person who she never imagined she'd get close to. He could be completely tiring, brash and loud and yet to her he had become one of the most precious people in her life. With him in her life she never felt lonely because she knew that she could be open with him and she knew that he was there when she needed him no matter what anybody else thought of him.
From the very moment that they met on Antarctica a bond had been forged between the pair of them. There was an immediate connection and it was as if each could sense what the other needed. She could see through the front that he put on for others and knew that underneath it all he was a tender, caring, insecure and somewhat shy man who was so afraid of getting hurt. It was a part of him that not many people seemed to see and one that he certainly didn't reveal to others around him but to her it was revealed in lots of little ways. In the way that she seemed to be one of the only ones who could calm him down when he was panicking. In the way that he softly called her name. In the way that he wasn't afraid to offer her comfort or reassurance when it was needed no matter what other people might think of the usually arrogant scientist showing a more caring nature. It was revealed in the way that he would give his life for hers. In the way that he had sat with her for hours back on Antarctica when everything seemed so new and overwhelming. In the way that he had opened his heart to her earlier on that night and had allowed her to open hers like so many times before. In the way that he tenderly touched her when things seemed overwhelming. It was as if she brought out the best in him and every time she saw that tenderness and bravery and care in his interaction with others her feelings for him grew. Back on Antarctica she knew that she had met a special and unique man, but she'd never thought back then that to her he would be so important.
As she thought of all those things that he had done for her, and how much tenderness and care that he had in him to give Elizabeth realised what she could lose by pushing him away. For those past seven or so hours he had been her rock. He had taken care of her, he had checked on her, he had listened to her and talked to her, he had soothed her, he had worried for her and he hadn't cared who saw it. For those past few hours the arrogant, sarcastic Rodney McKay had disappeared and instead had appeared the gentle man that she so often saw. He had grown so much because of her and his care for her. How could she let someone so special go?
She noticed Rodney's eyes looking up at her and her heart fluttered in her chest.
"I'm so sorry." She mouthed to him sincerely.
Elizabeth swore that she saw him smile but then she gasped as he collapsed on the floor. She immediately started to run towards him but then noticed that all the others that had come here with her had also started to collapse on to the ground, and then her world also went black.
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