To say they'd had a long day would be an understatement. Not that there were many *short* days on Atlantis, but this day would remain notable for a long time, between the octopus-thing and the water leak and the latest hostile planet and...
It made John even more tired just thinking about it. Now, some 36 hours after he'd last slept, he gratefully slid under the covers. To make it even better, Liz was in bed with him. They didn't often risk discovery in this way, but they'd wordlessly agreed that today they deserved it, no matter the consequences.
John slid an arm under her breasts, pulling her close and nuzzling his nose against the soft spot on the back of her neck. She chuckled, already sounding half asleep.
"I think we need a vacation," he whispered in her ear.
"Mm-hmm."
"A beach house."
"No water." Her breathing deepened into the almost-snores he found so endearing.
"Just you an' me." Breathing in her scent, John slept.
* * * * *
When the alarm sounded, signaling a problem somewhere in the city, they swung out of bed and back to work without even the chance to say good morning.
"Talk to me," Liz said to Grodin as she strode in a few seconds after John. He hoped that whatever the emergency was, it meant nobody noticed them coming in together.
"We're getting weird power spikes in one of the unexplored sections of the city," Grodin said, bringing up a map.
"Weird?" John asked. "Is that a technical term?"
"Dr. McKay's choice of words, Major."
"Rodney?" Liz leaned over the comm. "What can you tell me?"
"Not much. Atlantis drew on a whole lot of power about ten minutes ago."
"To do what?"
"How the hell should I know? Atlantis didn't exactly send me a memo."
Anticipating orders, John stepped aside and scrambled a team of Marines, ordering them to use the transport chambers to get close and then wait for him.
"Have any of your people been in the area?" Liz asked Rodney.
"Oh certainly." The acid in his voice could have melted through metal. "We have plenty of time to wander around the city unescorted. It's not like we're spending all our time trying to defeat a bunch of soul-sucking vampires and keep the city from running out of power."
Her mouth twitched and she shot John a glance. "A simple 'No' would have sufficed. Major?"
Shrugging, he studied the map. "I'm sure some of my people have done unlogged walking, but I doubt they'd have gone there. There's a hell of a lot of unexplored territory between here and there."
"That's what I thought. Go take a look, then."
"We're on it."
"And Major?"
"Yes?" He turned in the doorway.
"Be careful."
"Aren't I always?"
She sighed and he jogged down the hallway. Corporal Aljhari radioed to let him know where they were, and John set the transport chamber for the same spot.
When he opened the door, there was nobody there. In an instant, John's gun came up. Had something taken out his team already? A quick peek showed a perfectly ordinary Atlantis hallway and no hostiles.
John tapped the comm. "Corporal?"
"Yes, sir?"
"Where the hell are you?"
"Uh...right where I told you, sir, waiting for you. Is there a problem?"
He stepped out. One end of the hall was lit and welcoming, while everything else was dark. "Yes, there's a problem! I'm standing just outside the transport chamber and there's nobody else here." He took a step toward the lights and they brightened. *That* was weird.
"Sir, we're at the chamber a quarter mile west and one level above. Are you sure that's what you selected?"
He turned back and brought up the map. "Of *course* I'm...what the hell?"
"Sir?"
"Sorry, Corporal. I must have miskeyed it." Except that he *hadn't*. He stepped back into the chamber, confused. "On my way." He keyed in the location slowly and deliberately.
When he opened the door, he faced the same empty corridor. "Damn it."
"Major Sheppard, have you reached the area yet?" Liz sounded annoyed, which probably meant Rodney hadn't shut up.
"No, ma'am. I'm having some...difficulties with the transport chambers."
"Difficulties?"
"They keep putting me..." He stared at the map. Oh shit. "At the location nearest the energy spike instead of where the rest of my team is."
"Are you in any danger?" Her voice remained even, but he heard the undercurrent.
"I don't think so. Nothing has attacked me, although I do feel like I'm in a game of Dungeons and Dragons."
"Excuse me?"
"I'm in a maze of twisty passages that all look alike."
"Very funny, Major." Rodney cut in. "Now that you're done establishing your geek credentials, could we get back to business? Why did the chamber take you there?"
"I have no idea."
"Will it let you return?"
"If not, it's going to be a loooong walk back." He stepped in, punching the familiar code for the chamber nearest the gateroom. He opened the door slowly and blinked in surprise.
"Well, Major? Do we need to send a St. Bernard?"
"I'm right where I'm supposed to be." Curiouser and curiouser. He stepped out and turned to stare at the chamber in disbelief, ignoring odd looks from passing personnel.
"So you forgot how to dial a location. Boring. I'm going back to my lab to study the energy spikes."
"Hang on a second." He stepped back in, glared at the console, and set it for his original destination. "Damn," he said.
"Same problem?" Liz asked.
"Yep. I'm gonna scout around and see if I can figure out why Atlantis is bringing me here."
"Negative, Major. Return to the operations center."
He stepped out and the lights brightened again. "But I should see--"
"Not without your backup. You and your team will return and give Rodney some time to figure out what's wrong."
"Aw, Mom, you never let us have any fun."
"Major."
"On my way."
With a last look down the hallway, John informed his team of the change in plans and returned to the operations center to plan the hike out. Every head in the place was bent over a console and the room was filled with mutters. Rodney was gone, probably back to his lab, but Zelenka was here. Good, he was easier to deal with anyway.
"So, Doc?"
"Hmmm?" Zelenka looked up, shoving his glasses up his nose.
John leaned against the console, arms crossed. "Have you geniuses figured out what's going on?"
"Is a mystery," Zelenka said with a shrug.
John waited, but the scientist only blinked up at him, radiating innocence. "That's it?" John asked eventually.
"Is something else you wanted?" Eyes wide, Zelenka waited.
John sighed. "Zelenka?"
"Yes?"
"Stop that. Your English is at least as good as mine, if not better."
"Sorry, I can't resist." He grinned. "We're no further. The computers refuse to tell us what the power was used for and the diagnostics show nothing wrong with the transport system. No one but you has had any difficulties so far, but we're restricting it to official use only."
"What does Rodney say?"
"What Rodney said was unprintable."
* * * * *
Since he'd been forbidden further exploring, John went off to do some of the paperwork that piled up during emergencies and brief Sgt. Bates on the situation so far. Bates looked like he figured this was all John's fault, but he knew it wasn't politic to say so. Then again, he nearly always looked like that.
After the initial excitement, the rest of the day was quiet and John found himself muttering "It's quiet. Too quiet." That was never a good sign for his mental health.
"Ah, Major Sheppard?"
John froze. Why would Liz call him over the comm with such a strange tone in her voice. "What's wrong?"
"When you were diverted earlier, did the corridor have lights at one end?"
He was already jogging down the hall, nearly bowling over Bernie, who was carrying a box of cucumbers. "Where are you?"
"The same place you were, I think. I was trying to go to the hangar bay." Now she sounded irritated.
"Are you stuck? We'll be there to--"
"Whoa! I haven't even tried to get back yet. I wanted to let you know the situation."
"Get back here now!" She didn't carry a gun, who knew what was behind those doors...
There was a long pause. "Are you ordering me to do something, Major?"
Hell, he really had to be careful what he said over an open channel. "My apologies. As ranking military officer, it is my considered opinion that the area is unsafe for civilians. Better?"
She laughed quietly. "Much. I'm on my way."
John stopped in the middle of the corridor, holding his breath.
"I'm back at my original transit point and I'm heading down to Dr. McKay's lab to see if there's an explanation for this."
John scrubbed a hand through his hair. What the hell was going on?
* * * * *
Endless tests of the transport chambers found that John and Liz were unable to go anywhere except that one point. And only they could reach it.
After watching the scientists debate endlessly, Liz shook her head, whispering to John, "I'm going back to work. Let me know if they come up with anything."
"Do I have to?" He sighed, foreseeing hours more of listening to them argue.
"Yes." She swept out of the room and John put his elbows on the table and leaned his chin against his palms. At least he'd learned how to doze lightly in situations like this, and he drifted off, coming back only when the room emptied out.
Blinking, he looked around to see everyone but Rodney had disappeared. "Good morning, Sleeping Beauty," Rodney said with a smirk as he typed away at his laptop.
"Go to hell." John ran a hand through his hair and blinked a few more times to wake up. "So? What'd you geeks conclude?"
"Nothing." The smirk turned to a scowl. Rodney *hated* not knowing the answer to something. "What the hell did you do?"
"Hey, I didn't do anything!" John held up his hands.
"Well, it's either you or her and guess who has the gene?" Rodney sniffed and went back to typing furiously.
Frowning, John racked his brain. "But I didn't *do* anything!"
"Suuuuure." Rodney's hands slowed. "I feel like it's a vital clue that only you and Dr. Weir are affected."
"Maybe Atlantis has figured out we're the two top-ranking people?"
Sneering, Rodney typed some more. "Because Atlantis cares about that. No, that's not it. There must be something about the two of you."
And was *that* ever an avenue of thought to keep Rodney away from. "All I know is that I'm not going to be able to do my job if I can't use the transport chambers. What if there's an attack somewhere in the city and I can't get there? I can't cover your ass if I can't reach you in time."
"I didn't think about that aspect."
Typical. Tell Rodney he might be in danger and you could distract him from everything except food. "I thought not."
"You? Think? Ha, that'll be the day."
John growled, leaning over the desk. "If you're so smart, then tell me what's going on so I don't have to take a team in."
"I have no idea." Rodney glared at the computer. "The computers won't tell us."
John stalked toward the door. "Call me when you *do* know something."
* * * * *
When the same section of Atlantis showed the same blip the next morning, Grodin didn't think it was necessary to wake anyone up, but as soon as John walked into the control room, he knew.
"Again?" Liz was asking in disbelief.
"About half an hour ago," Grodin confirmed. "The spike wasn't nearly as high this time, but it was there."
Liz frowned. "It concerns me that we don't know what's happening down there. For all we know, the Ancients could have imprisoned Wraith that the city is waking up."
"Thanks for the cheery thought," John muttered.
"Give me something, people! I'll be in my office." Shaking her head, she left them to it.
John trailed her. "When can I take a team down there? With Ford and Teyla off-world, I'm bored."
She shot him a dubious look.
"Fine. I'm curious. So sue me."
"Give it some time, John. I don't want your team in danger so far away unless we have no other choice."
"You know where to find me." He shrugged and turned to leave as she turned on her own computer.
"What the--"
He whirled. "What's wrong?" Everything looked fine except the expression on her face, which was somewhere between puzzled and pissed.
"I'm locked out of the computer. I'm beginning to think this is some kind of practical joke."
"Joke?" John asked. When she turned a considering look on him, he held up his hands. "Hey, not me. If I wanted to play a joke, I'd shortsheet Kavanagh's bed."
"Point. But the specificity of these occurrences, plus the fact they're aimed at us..."
"Hmm." He sank into a chair. "It's certainly a possibility. I'll get McKay and Zelenka on it."
"What if they're the culprits?"
He laughed. "If it was them, the computers would display only in binary when we logged on. But I can't see either of them endangering the mission this way."
"Okay." She nodded slowly. "Investigate. And have them figure out a way for me to get some work done!"
* * * * *
The computers were accustomed to Rodney being logged on to multiple stations, so they were able to convince the computers that Liz was Rodney. Of course, this meant she had to endure a 20-minute lecture on what files not to touch lest she accidentally blow up the city.
John coughed to avoid laughing as he watched Liz's jaw clench. Luckily for Rodney, he was good enough at what he did that she probably wouldn't bite his head off. Although if he didn't shut up soon...
"Rodney!"
His mouth snapped shut. "What is it, Major?"
"Let it go before she assigns you to latrine duty."
"There aren't any--"
"Rodney?"
"What?"
"Shut up."
Rodney opened his mouth, looked at Liz, shut his mouth, and left without another word.
"Thank you." She sank down heavily into her chair.
"He means well."
She rubbed her temples. "I know."
"Well, now that you're back in business, I'm going to continue investigating the possibility of a practical joker."
* * * * *
Four hours later, he'd gotten nowhere. Between insults, McKay insisted he'd found no evidence of tampering and Zelenka backed him up.
"It's time to take a team in." He marched into Liz's office, dropping his usual laissez faire attitude in favor of business. "We need to know what's happening."
She drummed her fingers on the table for a moment. "Go."
He was out the door before she could say anything else, already issuing orders through the comm. Within five minutes, his team was assembled and had transported to their original meeting place, immediately setting out for the point he could reach.
John paced back and forth, waiting to hear from Corporal Aljhari. When the comm finally clicked, he was already halfway into the transport chamber.
"Sir, we have a problem."
Briefly considering the beneficial aspects of banging his head against a wall, John managed to answer with reasonable calm. "What now?"
"We're blocked from entering the area. The doors aren't responding, even to those of us with the gene."
John gritted his teeth. "Wait where you are for ten minutes. I'm going in. I'll try to open the doors from the other side. If you don't hear from me by that point, return immediately."
Aljhari undoubtedly thought this was a bad idea, but was too military to say so. "Yes, sir."
A moment later, John--gun raised--stepped out of the transport chamber. He hesitated, looking at the brightly-lit corridor, but turned his back and headed for where his team waited.
Jogging down the dark corridor, he willed the lights to come on. Atlantis seemed to resist before giving him enough light to see his way, and doors opened so sluggishly he nearly ran into them.
When he reached the final set of closed doors, he stopped and concentrated on opening them.
Nothing happened.
He toggled the comm. "Corporal? I'm here but the doors aren't responding to me either."
"What should we do, sir?" Unspoken was 'this is freaky, sir, and we'd all like to either blow something up or head back to the control room.'
"Since I'm the only one who can get in here, I'm going to investigate. Hold your position and wait to hear from me. If I'm not in contact in the next half hour, report to Dr. Weir."
There was a long pause, just short of insubordination. "Yes, sir."
John grinned in appreciation at the precision of that pause. You had to admire someone who could time things that finely. "I'm turning around now. I'll try to report in every few minutes."
"Thank you, sir."
Still grinning, John turned to jog back the way he'd come. Maybe it was his imagination, but Atlantis seemed relieved by his decision--lights came up instantly to light his way and doors popped open so fast he could hear them squeak.
It was damn disturbing, but John was pretty sure that Atlantis wouldn't deliberately drag him into a dangerous situation.
Of course, accidentally was another matter...
He slowed down when he reached the transport chamber. Last chance to back out, he thought.
Without a backward glance, he headed toward the area Atlantis had been herding him. "I'm going in," he reported.
"Be careful, sir."
"Affirmative."
At the end of the hall was yet another closed door, no different than any other. John got a better grip on his gun and told the door to open as he stepped forward.
He stopped in the doorway, lowering the gun. His jaw dropped. "Holy shit," he said, tapping his comm. "Dr. Weir, I think you need to see this."
"Major?"
"I've found out what Atlantis is hiding. And you really need to see it."
"Are you certain it's safe?"
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure. I suppose you could drown, but that's about it."
"What?"
* * * * *
By the time Liz stepped through the door, John had taken off his boots and was soaking his feet in the hot tub. He turned when he heard her make a choked sound. "Like it?"
"John?"
"Mm-hmm?" He pondered the crackling fire, wondering where Atlantis might be venting the chimney.
"This looks like a vacation cabin. On Earth."
"That it does. Specifically, it looks like the cabin I've been dreaming about."
"Do you mean the city took this out of your mind and recreated it?"
"Yep."
Still staring around her, Liz sat down rather abruptly on a battered couch. "This is ridiculous."
"I agree. How the hell are we going to explain *this* without giving away our relationship?"
"I have no idea." Liz looked around, eyes widening when she saw the deer head on the mantel over the fireplace.
"And do you know what the worst part is?"
"What?"
He sighed. "I *still* can't get Atlantis to make me a turkey sandwich."
--end--
Dream of Vague Shapes von Mara Greengrass
Story Bemerkung:
This is a birthday present for Medie. As always happens when I write for her, it got a bit out of hand. Thanks to Stexgirl2000 for helping me in my hour of need. I couldn't manage everything she suggested, but the story sucks less thanks to her :)
Featured Stories
Fortune\'s Favor by Offworlder FAM
Winner of the Atlantis challenge for the December 2007 fic challenge contest.
Winner of the Atlantis challenge for the December 2007 fic challenge contest.
Most Recent
Alisa - The College Years by LE McMurray 13+
Having left Atlantis to go to college in no way meant Alisa McKay's life would...
Having left Atlantis to go to college in no way meant Alisa McKay's life would...
Random Story
Team Player by Madison GEN
"Crap, she thought, I am about to die, the neurotoxin doesn't work and Rodney...
"Crap, she thought, I am about to die, the neurotoxin doesn't work and Rodney...