Earlier that evening sleep had been threatening to come easily for the residents of Atlantis but now it was far away as all pondered the various things they had witnessed during their comatose states.
All had come around over seven hours after they had first collapsed. Halling and the Athosians had watched over them with medical teams as they lay comatose in the function hall, the team not able to move all of those stricken as there were so many of them. Instead they had taken Elizabeth, Rodney, Beckett, Ford, Emilie and John to the infirmary for tests and monitoring and had to bring pillows, blankets, monitors and a lot of infirmary equipment into the function hall turning into some sort of make shift hospital for the stricken that lay in there. Intravenous drips had been put into the arms of everyone suffering from the phenomenon to prevent dehydration as most of the people left on Atlantis battled to find out what was going on.
So much remained unexplained about what had happened that night. Medical teams could find no reason for the collapsing of so many and the Athosians had no idea why their drink had affected so many the way it had. All that was known was that a lot of lives had changed because of it and that for those hours a large number of people had visited the same version of Atlantis in a dream like state to see their inner desires played out.
~~~
Doctor Carson Beckett sat in his quarters feeling restless. Sleep wouldn't come no matter how much he willed it to. All he kept thinking of were the things that he had seen and experienced that day.
His thoughts drifted to his counterpart and how content he had seemed. Settling down was something Carson had thought about but hadn't really spoken about much with anyone. The idea of meeting someone that he loved and having a family was always something that he had held dear to his heart. It was something that he had always wanted but he hadn't realised how happy the idea of it all made him until he had come face to face with it happening. Being on Atlantis could be lonely and sometimes he just craved someone to share lonely days and nights with and to one day have a family with the woman that he loved.
His thoughts then drifted to Emilie. Since their arrival on Atlantis he had admired that pretty young woman from afar. His heart had fluttered every time she laughed or smiled and every time she spoke to him he could feel butterflies in his stomach. They had gotten on so easily straight away. She tolerated his humour and his gentle teasing and responded to it with teasing of her own and that was something he respected her for as well as her intelligence and dignity.
That relationship that had grown between them was the reason they'd found themselves experiencing everything together that day. He knew that their care for each other and their desire for each other was the reason that they had seen themselves together as they had and also the reason why they had woken up beside each other on that strange version of Atlantis. He was so grateful that she had been there to experience it all with him, and also very aware of the meaning as to why she had been there. He had come away from it all realising just how much he wanted to protect her and take care of her, and just how much she meant to him.
Spending that time with her had been one of the most profound experiences of his life. Seeing his counterpart so happy had made Carson realise what he wanted out of life and seeing it all with Emilie at his side and seeing her reactions to everything and listening to her speak about everything had made him realise just how special she was to him. When she had broken down and cried it felt as though his heart was going to break and when she had smiled he felt as if his heart was going to burst and now in his room without her there he realised he had never felt so lonely.
Carson sighed and lay back on his bed. Thoughts about the day were still whizzing through his mind at such speed that he wondered how he'd ever keep track of them all.
It was then that he realised someone was pressing the buzzer to his quarters. He rubbed his eyes tiredly.
"Come in." he called out wearily.
Emilie peeped her head through the door and smiled at him and he could feel his heart skipping a beat as he looked at the beautiful young woman.
"I thought you would have been sick to the back teeth of seeing me today." He told her, not able to wipe the smile off his face.
Emilie shook her head and fiddled nervously with a ring that she wore as she entered and the door closed behind her.
"Are you all right lass?" He asked her concerned.
"My heads still spinning about everything today." Emilie told him wrapping her arms around herself.
"Mine too." He agreed sitting up on the bed and turning his attention to her. "You can't sleep either?"
Emilie shook her head.
"I'm tired but I just can't. Everyone's the same. Most of Atlantis is still up right now." She told him as she thought of all the people she had passed who were deep in conversation on her way to his quarters.
"What brought you here lass?" He asked her softly.
"I just couldn't sleep and after today I guess here was the only place I wanted to be." She told him shyly. "I was worried you'd be asleep. I didn't want to wake you."
"I wouldn't have minded if you had." He told her. "I've been thinking about you a lot."
Emilie blushed and walked over to him. She sat down at his side.
"I wanted to thank you for today. I don't think I could have gotten through it without you there. If I had been alone I would have been petrified. I guess I was a little petrified but I had you and it made it all okay."
"The reason we weren't alone...You understand why that was...?" He asked her touched by her openness.
She smiled and cupped his cheek in her palm.
"I know why it was." She told him looking into his beautiful eyes. "Carson what we saw...It was pretty amazing."
He nodded.
"And the fact that we saw it together...that was also pretty amazing." She added.
"It was." He told her. "The desires we saw...I've never shared them with anybody before but sharing them with you felt right somehow. Like it was you who I was meant to share them with."
"They were my desires too Carson. They came from both of us. That's what makes them so special." Emilie told him smiling.
"We seemed really happy together there didn't we? With the engagement and the baby. Deep down those were things I always wanted you know? But I never met the right girl."
"I know what you mean. My career is so important to me but sometime in the future I want to settle down and have a family. I want it all I suppose."
"How are you dealing with it all now? You were pretty upset earlier." Carson remarked concerned for her well being.
Emilie sighed tiredly.
"I'm okay I guess. Seeing all that was like experiencing every emotion at once. It was hard. And to see Dr McKay and Dr Weir going through what they were was awful. I just got so tired and I just wanted to come back here...but now I'm back..."
"What?" He asked her quietly.
"Now I'm back...I miss having you with me. When you asked me to dance tonight...I just...I was so happy. I've liked you since we arrived here but I figured you'd think it was just a crush and brush it off if you ever found out. I never imagined..."
"That I'd feel the same?" He asked her looking right into her eyes.
Emilie nodded.
"You really took care of me today Carson. You made sure I was all right. You held me when I was upset. I mattered to you..."
"Of course you mattered. Emilie you've always mattered. I hated to see you so upset. You`re so beautiful when you`re happy."
Emilie looked at him touched.
"I always thought that you were a lovely man but today...today I learnt how true it was. You were my anchor today and I'm just so..."
Carson put a hand on her lips tenderly wanting to say something to her.
"You helped me too lass. Believe me. Having you there with me made it easier for me too. It's not what we saw that was uncomfortable for me. What we saw...it did something to my heart. It was just the circumstances. It was the not understanding and not knowing when we were going to come round. I'm not that good at telling people my feelings. I've got a big mouth but a lot of the time a lot doesn't get said and when I'm around someone I care about a great deal I turn into an idiot. I feel blessed that our feelings brought us together today because you got to see what I feel for you...I probably would have left it until too late if Dr Weir hadn`t of gotten me to dance with you and we hadn`t gone...wherever we went."
"And I got to see that you wouldn't hurt me. I feel the same Carson." Emilie replied honestly. "So what do we do now?" She asked him shyly.
Carson leant towards her and kissed her softly on the lips, propping her chin up with his thumb and gently resting his other hand on the back of her neck. When they parted Emilie rested her forehead against his and stroked his cheek with the back of her hand. She smiled and the smile was matched by one of his own.
"I can think of something we could do." He whispered. "You know, seeing as we can't sleep anyway."
"And what's that?" Emilie asked him raising her eyes brows and softly running her hands down his back.
His body shuddered under her gentle touch.
Carson ran his fingers through Emilie's hair and gently pushed some stray strands of hair out of her eyes. He then moved closer to her so their bodies were almost touching.
"How about a game of doctors and nurses?" He teased.
Emilie smiled and then they kissed, this time more passionately, before falling back onto the bed and into each other's arms and hearts.
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