1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: Well, here it is, lol. It didn't turn out the way I wanted it to, but then again nothing ever does -grins-. I apologise now for any mistakes, I didn't have the time to read it through. Enjoy!

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Different Paths P1

By Steph7085

For once, nothing eventful had happened in, or outside of Atlantis. Normally it would be welcomed as the respite it was, but for John Sheppard it was hell. After all, he thrived on action and the lack of things to do was making him more than a little restless, which was why he found himself sitting in McKay's lab - willingly. He had to do something to alleviate his boredom, and annoying the hell out of McKay was always so much fun, not to mention easy.

The scientist in question was sitting opposite John looking incredibly harassed as he battled with his 'latest discovery', tapping the metallic looking…thing on the table top as John watched with his arms folded across his chest. He would have put his feet up on the desk, but Rodney had taken to shoving them off so he'd settled for leaning back in his chair, alternating between gazing at the ceiling and the private war between man and…machine thing.

"What the hell is that thing anyway?" John asked, righting his chair and leaning over the table to get a closer look. Rodney levelled him a glare, huffing.

"Well, I wouldn't be here trying to figure it out if I knew would I." He stated irritably. Standing up and shaking the small, rectangle device.

"Well, sorry," John drawled sarcastically, smirking as he fiddled with some random papers. "I thought you knew everything."

"I know more than you," McKay bit back. "Not that it takes much, flyboy. Don't you have somewhere else to be, instead of sitting in here annoying me?"

"Nope," John replied with a grin. Unfortunately, his response was lost on the scientist who had finally made the device do something. Rodney's eyes were focussed on a small portion of the surface which had risen, like a pillar, from the rest of it. A small white light had briefly emanated from it, before it flickered out again causing Rodney to glare darkly before shoving it on the table.

"Stupid ancients. If they were so smart why didn't they think to leave instructions?" He muttered rhetorically, marching over to a far away bench to refill his coffee cup. John took that moment to snatch the device from the table and fiddled around with it.

"I don't know, it doesn't look too hard McKay. Maybe it's just you," John teased, causing Rodney to whirl around.

"Oh, ha, ha. It doesn't seem to be working for you either, Genius."

"Well…" John began, but the device cut him off. A blinding light formed in the centre of it, and like a moth to a flame, his eyes were drawn to the light. In that instant, his surroundings disappeared as his vision darkened. Common sense kicked in and he let the device drop to the floor. It clattered noisily on the lab flooring and instantly caught the attention of everyone else in the room.

"Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" McKay cried out clutching his palm pilot to his chest. John ignored him, his focus held completely by the brunette who was so familiar, yet so, so completely different.

In an instant his emotions came crashing down like a tidal wave and he had to use all his strength to keep his face neutral. This wasn't right.

"What the hell?" He exclaimed, just as his double strolled into the room and quickly pulled his weapon out on him.

--

It didn't really take him long to figure out what happened. He had heard and read about stuff like this before, so it didn't take long to connect the dots. It helped that McKay had immediately jumped to the same conclusion, which had thankfully convinced himself, not to shoot himself.

John shook his head - he hated alternate realities already.

"I knew it was too quiet," he muttered to himself, shifting on the infirmary bed. His doppelganger, Elizabeth and a couple of guards accompanied him - ok, ordered him, with silent threats of violence - to the infirmary, for the obvious DNA checks and so on. He didn't mind, he would have done the same thing in this situation.

"Excuse me?" The Doctor asked, in an all to familiar voice, one that he though he'd never hear again. John looked up and smirked in his usual boyish way.

"Quiet time in Atlantis always means something bad is going to happen," he stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Well? Is he me?" his double asked seriously, his eyes alternating between trying to see straight through John and Carson.

"Aye. It's a complete match."

"As if one of them wasn't enough," McKay cried out.

"McKay…" Alternate John growled threateningly, but John was distracted by the sound of a quiet feminine chuckle. He couldn't help but look up, his heart leaping into his throat at the familiar, and greatly missed sound. His eyes roamed over her, absorbing every detail to memory. Her brown, curly hair, a lot longer than when he had last seen her, trailed way past her shoulders and caressed the leather material of her jacket. Her face was alight with amusement, her eyes sparkling, making them look greener than usual.

As if sensing his gaze she looked towards him, her eyes briefly catching his before he looked away. He didn't need to look to know her smile had vanished to be replaced by a look of confusion and concern, so he cleared his throat and tried to rid himself of his conflicting emotions.

"Leather?" He asked, raising his eyebrows and gesturing to the jacket. Elizabeth narrowed her eyes as his double grinned.

"That's what I said."

"Oh, shut up," Elizabeth scolded playfully, slapping alternate John's arm.

"Yes, this really is fascinating. Can we get on with the explanations now?" Rodney snapped impatiently, looking towards the blonde who stood next to him and gesturing wildly. She rolled her eyes as she stepped forwards.

"As much as I hate to say this, I agree with him," she told the group as Rodney beamed smugly. "We know you've come from an alternate reality, what we need to know is how."

The group looked at him expectantly, and he couldn't help but feel uncomfortable. Sure they were his friends…and himself, but as far as he was concerned he had lost two of them, and having them here, in front of him was bringing back memories and regrets. Having Elizabeth right next to him wasn't helping matters so he jumped up and moved away. It was way too distracting.

"Well…I was in the lab, annoying McKay. I picked up that device thing, after McKay tried to beat it to death. It went all glowy, like most Ancient devices do and then I ended up in the lab, here…annoying McKay again. You know the rest."

"So you're annoying in any reality," McKay stated, before he sighed in annoyance. "Well whatever you did drained it completely. I ran some tests whilst you were getting tested."

"Well, we'll have to figure it out soon, before entropic cascade failure sets in," Sam said worriedly. "Believe me, it's not something you want to experience," she continued when she saw both John's perplexed frowns.

"We're using the ZPM to charge it up now. It should only take a couple of hours," Rodney explained. "Anyone fancy lunch?" he added as an afterthought, earning looks from everyone in the room. "What?"

"Well, you're more than welcome to look around. All we can do is wait now," Sam announced ignoring Rodney's question. "I'm sure our John won't mind escorting you around. I'll be in my office is anyone needs me." with that said she walked out of the room.

"Well Carson, can we leave now. I know I'm just dying to get out of here, so the other me must be to."

"Hell yeah," John agreed. "No offence Carson."

"Fine. You're free ta leave, but if ya feel anythin at all, anythin…" he stated warningly, giving both John's a stern glare.

"Don't worry Carson. I'll make sure he comes back if anything happens," Elizabeth soothed diplomatically, with a smile. Carson nodded and went to his office, muttering about difficult patients.

"Come on then. I don't know about you two, but I'm hungry," Alternate John said as he moved towards the doors. John slowly followed and couldn't help but notice when his other self put his hand on Elizabeth's back.

--

Multiple stares and whispers followed then into the mess as John's double joined the line. John didn't feel like eating and went to sit on a table in the furthest corner of the room, sinking down into his seat with a sigh.

"Are you ok?" Elizabeth asked softly, taking the seat across from him. John looked up sharply, surprised that she had followed him.

"I thought you were getting some food," he stated, more tersely than he meant to. Elizabeth looked taken aback for a moment, but she recovered quickly.

"John's getting mine," she told him softly, tilting her head to the side to try and meet his eyes. John scratched the back of his neck and tried to look anywhere but at her. Unfortunately his eyes had a mind of their own.

"Look, I'm sorry for snapping. It's just so…" he tried.

"Different?" She offered, as she rested her chin in her hand.

"Yeah," he agreed with a sigh. "You have no idea," he breathed. Elizabeth looked at him curiously, but he spoke before she could. "Why aren't you in command?" He asked absentmindedly.

She looked surprised. "Um…well, a few months ago I was injured when the Replicators attacked…"

"Rodney activated the Nanites you had in your body to save your life," he added quietly. Their gazes met for a few seconds before John looked away, suddenly finding the table interesting.

"Yes. Well, we ended up on the Replicator home world to try and take a ZPM. It went wrong and I ended up getting captured." Elizabeth told him quietly, gazing at her hands.

"We left you behind," John continued, causing Elizabeth to look up.

"No, I ordered you, him, to go," she corrected sternly, before she continued. "I was kept prisoner for a while until a rebel group of Replicators helped me escape. Oberoth had probed my mind so much that everything was so…distorted. If John hadn't come for me then I don't know what I would have done."

"He came after you?" John asked, his eyes dismayed.

"Yeah. He left Atlantis, everything, just to bring me home. Of course Ronon wouldn't let him go alone, so he had to join."

"Who had to join what?" Alternate John asked as he placed a tray in front of Elizabeth and sank down into the chair next to her, his own tray in front of him. Elizabeth quickly stole a chip from his alter-self's plate, earning a playful scowl. She just smiled back innocently, putting the chip in her mouth as she protected her own plate from his retaliation.

John felt like someone had kicked him in the gut, as the regret and self recrimination settled over him. If only he had followed his instincts instead of orders.

--

The last hour had passed by in a blur. John had barely listened to anything his doppelganger or Elizabeth had said, and only nodded when he though it was appropriate. It couldn't stop his thoughts from drifting to what-ifs, and the grief that he had buried and hidden threatened to overcome his weakened control. He knew that Elizabeth could tell something was wrong. Hell, she always could read his mind, and the concerned glances she kept giving him made her worry obvious. He just didn't know how to act. He couldn't bare talking to her, looking at her, and touching her, having her back, just to loose her again.

It was heaven and hell all in one.

He sighed heavily and leaned further into the railing. Being on 'their' balcony had always helped to clear his head, so he had persuaded his escorts to let him see the control room. They had talked to Sam for a while before John had asked to go to the balcony. Luckily, they let him go alone.

It was strange how their realities were so similar, the only differences being the people and Replicator situation.

It turned out that Elizabeth was now the leader of the rebel Replicator fraction, and was the go-between between Atlantis and the Replicators, she had also created a tentative alliance between Earth and the small fraction of Replicators opposed to Oberoth and the others. John couldn't help but be proud of her.

The event that had taken Carson's life in his reality had happened here, only, he had been further away from the explosion. He was injured, but survived to warn, mother and threaten his patients as usual.

John's grief struck him again and he bowed his head. How could things in this reality be so right, when his seemed so wrong?

"Hey," Elizabeth said gently, surprising him. He slowly straightened out and looked over his shoulder, smiling at her softly.

"Hey," he replied, turning to face the ocean again. He stiffened when Elizabeth joined him at the balcony, her arm almost touch his.

"Are you ready to go back?" she asked as she pushed some of her hair behind her ear. "Rodney says the device is almost at full power." She noticed John quickly turn his head and rested her hand on his shoulder, he shrugged it off and paced agitatedly. He stopped when he noticed her hurt look, and reached out to her, stopping midway and letting his hand drop. "John?"

He returned to his place at the balcony and gazed at the horizon. He heard Elizabeth sigh and shut his eyes tightly.

"Carson's dead," he stated intensely, finally meeting her gaze and holding it. Shock showed on her face as she gasped. She tried to speak, but John held his hand up. "In my reality Carson died in the explosion, there wasn't even a body left to take back home, just an empty coffin. His Mother cried on my shoulder."

"John…" she whispered, shaking her head and moving forward. "You don't have to…"

"We…I didn't go after you," he interrupted his voice cracking with emotion, even though he was incredibly still. He shoved his hands in his pockets and faced the horizon again. Elizabeth's hand gently rubbed his back and he sighed, leaning into her touch. "I wanted to, God, I wanted to. I even packed my gear up a few times, but I never did, and now your dead and I did nothing…"

"John," Elizabeth soothed, gently pulling in his arm to turn him around. "It's not you fault."

"Yes it is. I never should have left you behind in the first place," he snapped, angry at himself. And now your dead, and it…I" He stopped and breathed in deeply, closing his eyes and re-gaining his control. "Lizabeth…I…It's so hard."

Elizabeth's eyes shimmered brightly when he met them, and he watched, fascinated as a lone tear escaped and ran down her cheek. She quickly wiped it away before she spoke.

"Our realities seem so similar up until that point, I don't know if this will help at all, but…everyone else was told I was dead as well." John's head shot up sharply, hope shining in his eyes. "Teyla and the team she was leading ran into some clones of us, they were made to believe I was dead."

Elizabeth stepped closer to him and looked up into his eyes, folding her arms across her chest.

"John and Ronon weren't there so they didn't know and kept looking. It turns out the Replicators that saved me had faked all of our deaths to stop the others looking for us."

John reached out and gripped her hand.

"Maybe I'm on the same planet. I know it's a long shot, but if you want the co-ordinates of the planet then you can have them."

For the first time in a while John felt something other than grief and regret. It was hope.

--

McKay carefully handed the device to John and moved as far away from him as the room allowed.

"Rodney, what are you doing?" Alter-John and John asked together with the same expressions on their faces. Rodney ignored it all.

"I don't know what will happen once it activates, and I'd rather not be sucked into an alternate reality and suffer cascade failure," Rodney explained with a huff before turning to look at John. "Well come on then, we don't have all day."

John just shook his head as his twin groaned. He looked towards Elizabeth and smirked when he saw her smile. She mouthed 'good luck' to him before reaching for his doubles hand. His eyes widened in surprise just as the device changed shape, the pillar sinking inwards as a blinding light overtook him. Everything went black.

Slowly, he opened his eyes and found himself lying on the floor of Rodney's lab, the device just beside him. He blinked and when he opened his eyes again Rodney was above him, gazing at him in surprise. The scientist tapped his earpiece.

"Sam, I've found him," he reported, before turning back to John. "What happened? Where did you go? I told you not to touch anything!"

John barely heard him, his heart was beating wildly in his chest as he fumbled through his pocket. Then, his fingers found it and he sighed in relief as he pulled the folded piece of paper from his pocket.

He had a mission to complete.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: Sorry for the delay...work is evil! Special thanks to Hannah554! Enjoy!

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Different Paths P2

By Steph7085

"Let me get this straight," Sam said intently as she leant back on the edge of the desk and met John's gaze. "The device pulled you into an alternate reality where you saw what could have," she stressed the 'could have', "happened if you had continued to search for Dr. Weir. The Dr. Weir in that reality gave you the co-ordinates where that John and Ronon found her alive and well. Now you want to follow it up?"

"Yep. That about covers it," John replied, shifting in the chair that was in front of her desk. Ronon grunted in the background and folded his arms, obviously more then ready to go. Teyla, although more controlled than Ronon, seemed just as eager to find her missing friend. They all stared at Sam in anticipation. She sighed.

"You do realise that the reality you were pulled into could be completely different to what we face in ours. The planet might not exist, or if it does be uninhabited, or even worse…"

"Have Wraith, or the Big Bad bots. I know where your coming from, but if there's even the slightest chance she's there…" John finished hopefully.

"It would be more then worth the risk," Teyla supplied calmly. Sam met all of their stares, pausing momentarily on Ronon.

"I'm with them," he grumbled with a shrug, causing Sam to huff out a laugh and shake her head as she moved behind the desk.

"Alright. If, and I mean if everything checks out with the planet…"

"Already done," Rodney told her smugly as he marched in through the door. "The planet is there, along with the typical blue skies, green grass and trees that every planet in this galaxy has." He folded his hands over his chest and smirked widely. He surprised everyone when he clapped his hands together impatiently. "Come on then, lets go."

John chuckled as Ronon rolled his eyes. Teyla watched in amusement, her eyes meeting Sam's as she waited expectantly for her answer. Everyone else's soon followed.

"Ok, you can go," she told them, smiling at their obvious relief. "Just be careful, we don't know what's waiting for you out there. Remember, you won't be able to just come back through the gate if you get in trouble."

"No, we'll just get back in the jumper," John joked, and Sam couldn't help but notice how much his little trip had changed him. It seemed that hope had brought Colonel John Sheppard back. She just hoped it wasn't premature reaction.

"Alright guys, let's get prepared," John told his team, snorting when he realised they were half way into the control room. Rodney's excited chatter carrying back to his ears. He shoved his hands in his pockets and made it to the door…

"John," Sam called, causing him to stop and glance back. She studied him closely before finally speaking again. "What would you have done if I had said no?"

John's face became blank, but he replied immediately, without any hesitation. "No was never an option." Sam wasn't surprised and she smiled at him, nodding in respect. She understood perfectly well.

"I hope you find her," she said sincerely.

--

The planet fit McKay's description perfectly. With trees, grass and other plants it could have been any other typical Pegasus galaxy planet. John carefully scanned the terrain, his eyes expertly searching for any signs of life or anything that could be considered a threat. Ronon did the same as Teyla walked beside Rodney, who was alternating between staring at the detectors screen and eyeing the foliage with disdain. They headed off into the woods.

"Anything?" John asked, glancing at Rodney over his shoulder. The scientist shook his head.

"I'm not detecting anything. No human life signs or high energy readings," he sighed irritably.

"There is not much here," Teyla added, her disappointment evident.

"That doesn't mean anything," John defended, "they could be laying low."

"We'd still detect something," Rodney explained quickly.

"Not if they don't want to be found McKay. They're Replicators remember, they can build ZPM's without breaking a sweat. I don't think stealth is going to be an issue for them," John replied in frustration.

"Or maybe they are not here," Teyla said gently, hating that she had to say it, but knowing she had to.

"No," John protested defensively," they're here. I know it."

John faced forward again, but froze when he noticed Ronon subtly shift his stance and tighten his hold on his weapon, facing to the right. John and Teyla automatically lifted their weapons ready to defend themselves. Rodney wasn't as quick.

"What's going on?" He shrieked shifting closer to Teyla as he fumbled for his gun.

"McKay," John growled in warning. "Ronon, what do ya see?"

The Satedan grunted and reluctantly lowered his gun, then he quickly spun around and pointed it in the other direction. John quickly copied and found himself face to face with the business end of a weapon. He gulped and slowly lowered his gun. Ronon reluctantly followed, muttering a curse.

Looking past their 'new found friends' John saw Rodney and Teyla being held by several others. All of them wore the same simple outfits very similar to Earths camouflage. John would have bet the last Turkey sandwich in the whole galaxy on them being Replicators.

"Hey, there's no need for violence," John said sarcastically. "Can't we talk this out like adults."

"Come with us," ordered the person holding John at gun point. He seemed to be the leader of the group. The leader gestured to John's weapon and three others stepped forwards, talking the rest of the teams weapons from them.

"All you had to do was ask," John retorted sarcastically as he was non to gently pushed forwards, along with the rest of his team.

It wasn't long before they arrived at a rock face. A jagged path curved jaggedly around it until it disappeared into an opening. They were quickly ushered up the path and into the cave.

"Great. We come all the way to this planet to try and find Elizabeth and a group of Replicators and we get kidnapped by cavemen," Rodney muttered darkly, glaring at the man who gripped his arm tightly.

The lead guy stepped towards the wall and spoke into air. The rock in front of him simmered out of existence, revelling a corridor that look remarkably similar to Atlantis' hallways.

"Erm…McKay, I don't think they're simple cave folk," John remarked with raised eyebrows, hiding a grin as Rodney's face lit up in shock.

"How did you do that? A cloak?" Rodney blurted out, involuntarily stepping forward to try and get a closer look. Unsurprisingly, they ignored the question.

A few corridors later they found themselves being put behind a force field. It was a mirror image of Atlantis' brig. The man who seemed to be the only one able to talk looked at them through the force field. John couldn't really see much else so he settled for staring back.

"You will remain here until the commander deals with you." he explained.

"And your commander is?" John asked.

"Me…" John's head snapped around to the sound just in time to see Elizabeth slowly walk out of the shadows, wearing a very familiar leather jacket. He barely heard Rodney's surprised 'Oh my God, or Teyla's whispered 'Elizabeth'. He couldn't tear his eyes away. "You can let them out Kaneth. They're not a threat," she told their previous escort, who nodded obediently and lowered the force field.

John casually moved out of the cell after sparing his team a glance. McKay looked like someone had punched him and couldn't seem to take his eyes away from Elizabeth.

"Elizabeth, are you ok? Why didn't you contact us? We though you were dead! Couldn't you have spared a phone call?" McKay rambled, a mixture of concern and hurt. Elizabeth's lips upturned slightly and John could see a suspicious gleam in her eyes.

"Rodney," Teyla scolded in a heated whisper. He immediately shut up.

"These are the people of Atlantis," Kaneth stated with understanding, standing next to Elizabeth. Elizabeth nodded slowly.

"Lizabeth," John began, but Elizabeth held up her hand and after she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear she met John's gaze. What he was about to say was forgotten as he noticed the emotions in her eyes. She breathed deeply a few times before addressing Kaneth once more.

"Will you show them around?" She saw that Rodney was about to speak and beat him to it. "Let Rodney have a look at our computer. It should keep him out of trouble."

For once Rodney didn't protest, the thought of getting a look at the main computer way too tempting. He grinned at her as he moved to follow Kaneth, Teyla keeping step behind him. When she passed Elizabeth she smiled and bowed her head, causing Elizabeth to look away.

Ronon reluctantly followed at a much slower pace. Suddenly, he paused near to Elizabeth and looked down at her.

"It's good to see you," he stated simply before walking through the doors, leaving John and Elizabeth alone.

Silence reigned for a few moments as John studied her. So far, almost everything had matched with the alter-verse he had been pulled into, but he could see the differences instantly. She was different. She looked the same, but she seemed…reserved. That was when a stray thought rushed to the front of his mind. Something that alter-Elizabeth had said…

_Oberoth had probed my mind so much that everything was so…distorted. If John hadn't come for me then I don't know what I would have done."_

His throat threatened to close up at the though and he forced himself to move, so that he was standing right in front of her. He whispered 'Lizabeth' again and she slowly met his eyes.

"You okay?" He asked, barely more than a whisper. The familiar words seemed to affect her, her eyes darting to the floor as she bit on her lip.

"How did you find us?" she questioned.

"You told me where to look," he responded. She shot him a look and he couldn't help smirking at her as an ache developed in his chest. God, he'd missed this. "It's a long story," he explained.

--

After wandering the halls together for a while, Elizabeth had taken John to what could have been 'their' balcony, the only difference being that the view wasn't of the ocean, but of the whole launching bay.

John had explained the whole alter-verse incident and had even managed to make her laugh once or twice, a fact which he was very pleased about. She had told him that what her other self had said was more or less correct. He'd also briefly covered what had happened in Atlantis in her absence.

"It really isn't the same without you," he told her honestly, joining her at the edge. John looked down at the landing pad and gazed at the ship in awe. "I still can't believe you have your own ship, not to mention underground base. It's kind of cool," he grinned.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes at him, but couldn't help the smile that formed. She never could when it came to him and his 'boy-like' behaviour. She nearly jumped out of her skin when he absentmindedly grabbed her hand. His face fell when he saw her reaction.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I'm just still a bit jumpy I guess."

John's face darkened and he turned away, targeting the wall with his glare. He ran his hand through his hair angrily before turning to face her again.

"Don't," she cut off sternly. "It isn't your fault John."

"But…"

"No buts. I remember ordering you very clearly…twice," she told him. "I know you would never leave anyone behind willingly John. I don't blame you. I never have and never will."

Elizabeth sighed and faced the landing bay, placing her arms on the railing. John joined her, giving her a playful nudge then mirroring her position. He gazed at her with a tender smile on his face. She looked at him, puzzled. He just smiled wider.

"What?" She asked self consciously.

"Nothing," he replied, "it's just…no-one can knock sense into me like you can." Elizabeth shook her head as John looked out towards the ship. "Rodney really missed you ya know," he stated simply.

Elizabeth linked her fingers together and bowed her head, nodding her acknowledgement.

"He was inconsolable…completely distraught," he continued, watching her from the corner of his eye. "I was ten times worse," he admitted softly, causing Elizabeth to look at him sharply, her eyes pained.

"John…" she whispered, her voice hoarse as she shook her head. John gripped her hand when she tried to move away, his thumb unconsciously caressing the back of her hand. Eventually, she relaxed her stance and looked up from their joined hands to John's face; it was calm on the surface, but she saw everything he didn't project in his eyes.

"I…I missed you too," she told him honestly. John smiled lightly and slowly, so that she wasn't surprised, pulled her closer to him, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. Her forearms were resting against his chest, keeping them apart. That changed when she slowly moved his arms around his neck, her head coming to rest on his shoulder.

He felt her silent tears seep through his top and tried to pull back, but Elizabeth shook her head so he remained where he was. Giving and receiving comfort all at once. He turned his head and rested his cheek on her hair.

"Come home Elizabeth," he pleaded softly.

"I can't," she answered, her voice cracking before she cleared it and pulled back, wiping her remaining tears away with her hand. Confusion showed on John's face.

"Why not? It's not as if you have to hide anymore. Oberoth and the other Replicators are gone. We destroyed them."

"I know. I was there," she told him. John's eyes widened as his mouth opened in shock.

"You were there and you didn't say anything?"

"John, please, let's not do this now," she implored, her hand gripping his jacket. He clenched his fist and breathed in deeply, not wanting to start an argument.

"You're right, it doesn't matter now," he said after a moment, before gazing into her eyes pleadingly. "Non of it matters as long as you come home."

"It's not that easy John," she argued, her hand falling away from his jacket. "So much has happened. I have responsibilities here now. I can't just leave them," she told him, gesturing towards the bay where the Replicators were working.

"We need you too Lizabeth," John countered softly. Her expression became torn as she gazed down towards her saviours, her friends. Despite how much they meant to her though, it didn't compare to Atlantis and the family she had discovered there. She would not abandon her new family though.

"Maybe it's time to talk about that alliance," was Elizabeth's only response.

--

An explosion of blue sent the personnel in the control into action as Sam marched out from her office.

"IDC?" She questioned.

"It's Colonel Sheppard's Ma'am." Chuck informed her with a smile, his anticipation clearly showing. Sam hid a grin, the Atlantis crew had been jumping out of their skin since they had received John's first transmission. Sam had to admit to herself silently, she was excited too.

"Lower the shield," she ordered, making her way down the steps. Lorne met her on the lower floor his face alight with anticipation. Their eyes fell on the event horizon.

John came through first, his grin giving away everything and that was when the room fell silent.

Sam moved forward.

"Welcome home Dr. Weir."

The gathered crowd cheered.

--

John strolled into McKay's lab and found the scientist participating in his new favourite past time: beating up the device that had pulled John into a different reality. He cleared his throat.

"Have you figured that thing out yet?"

"It won't work. I don't even know how it worked in the first place. It's as if there was never any power source there at all," Rodney sulked, pouting miserably. "Weren't you seeing Elizabeth off at the gate?" He questioned after a moments thought.

"Yeah, she left a few minutes ago," John informed him. "She'll be back in a couple of days though."

"Oh, so you thought you'd come down here and annoy me now that your girlfriend gone," Rodney complained. "Can't you see I'm trying to work here?"

"Trying being the word," John muttered under his breath, ignoring the girlfriend comment.

"Hey! It's not my fault I can't figure it out. It doesn't make sense. If I didn't know any better I'd say some outside influence was controlling this thing," he cried.

"McKay, just leave it. Let's go get some lunch…it's turkey sandwich day."

"Oh fine," the scientist huffed, dropping the device on the table and following John out of the room.

Carson smiled.

THE END...I mean it this time, despite what Hannah says! Lol!


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