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Given the circumstances, she knows better than to expect the usual welcome when she steps through the Stargate and into Atlantis' gateroom.
Still, the weapons pointed at her are rather unnerving.
**
John pauses just a few steps into the infirmary, taking in the scene that his head insists is impossible but which his eyes maintain is true. Elizabeth is sitting on a gurney, back straight, legs dangling over the side. Her backpack, tac vest, and jacket are gone, leaving her in black uniform pants and a black t-shirt. Except for the slightly longer hair pulled back into a ponytail, it could be their Elizabeth sitting there, just fifteen feet away.
She glances his way, catching his gaze, and John forces himself to walk over. "So," he starts, and then realizes that he doesn't know what to say.
Elizabeth's lips turn up in a faint smile. "So," she echoes, and then looks around the infirmary. "Somehow, for an alternate reality, this looks an awful lot like my Atlantis. It's somewhat anticlimactic."
All he really got before charging to the infirmary is that Elizabeth had come walking through the 'gate and that the only explanation anyone has come with so far – besides yet another Asuran clone – is that she's from another reality. "From what McKay tells me, there are hundreds or even thousands of universes that are pretty similar to ours. You must be from one of those."
She nods. "You sound as if you have some experience with this." It's not quite a question.
He shrugs. "Just once here. It's popped up a few times at Stargate Command, though."
"We've encountered it a few times, too – enough to know that we have about a day to find a way to get me home before I start suffering from entropic cascade failure."
The term sounds familiar to John, and he wracks his brain for a few seconds before he remembers what that is. "Actually, that won't be an issue. Our Elizabeth is...." He has to swallow hard before he can finish. "We lost her, last year."
She looks startled before her face goes blank, but this Elizabeth seems similar enough to the woman he knew that he can still read her eyes. She's a bit weirded out by the news, and at the same time doesn't know how to react. She drops her gaze from his and neither of them says anything for several seconds. "What happened?" she asks quietly.
He opts for the short version. "She was captured during a mission. She's the reason Atlantis is still standing right now."
She lays a gentle hand on his forearm. "I'm sorry, John."
"Yeah." He sighs. This isn't something he wants to talk about, though – after a year, it's still hard – so he switches the focus back to her. "Any idea how you got here?"
She shakes her head. "No. I was with a team exploring a village on M7X 332 that turned out to be abandoned. I went inside a house, looked around a bit, and when I came out the others were nowhere to be seen."
"Do you remember anything strange happening? A sight, a sound?"
All at once she looks annoyed, and it takes him a moment to realize that she's upset with herself, not him. "There was a mirror," she says. "The frame was different than the one we have in storage at Area 51, but it was the same size and shape. I should have known better." She sounds frustrated.
"What happened?" he asks gently.
Elizabeth sighs, glancing around them. "I touched it. I was looking around the house when I thought I saw one of the sigils carved around the frame glow, so I went to investigate. It was covered in dust so I brushed it off." At her side, the fingers of her right hand stretch and then clench into a fist. "Everything went dim for a moment, like a cloud passing in front of the sun. When I came out of the building my team was gone. I couldn't find any sign of them – it was like they'd never been there. I decided to contact Caldwell to get an SAR team to join me, but when I dialled Atlantis I ended up talking to your people." She spreads her hands. "And here I am."
John crosses his arms and leans a hip against the gurney. "I'll talk to Carter about taking my team to M7X 332, see if we can find the mirror and get you home."
"Carter?"
"Colonel Carter – she's in charge of the Atlantis expedition."
"That blonde woman who was in the 'gate room when I came through?"
He nods. "She was assigned here after you – I mean, after Elizabeth...." He fumbles with his words, giving up altogether when fingers brush against his shoulder.
"She was in charge?"
"For nearly four years here, and for a year or two back on Earth before they figured out how to get to Atlantis."
Elizabeth looks curious. "How did the military take being under civilian control?"
"Some better than others," he admits, "though I think she had more trouble with some of the scientists and the IOA than the military. But after our first year here, cut off from Earth and no one to rely on except ourselves, most people were willing to follow her to hell and back." He stops there, abruptly aware of what he's saying and who he's saying it to.
"You were close?"
"We were friends." It seems too small a word to describe what they were to each other, but it's the best he can come up with. Uncomfortable, he forces a light tone as he asks, "So, you're on an off-world team, huh? Are you military?"
She laughs, a loud, genuine chuckle that's surpringly painful to hear. "Oh, no. I used to negotiate peace treaties back on Earth, and I guess they figured it would be handy to have someone with my background on first-contact missions. The SGI teams have a less than stellar record when it comes to meeting new peoples. It only took them the better part of a decade to figure out that maybe all-military teams aren't the most effective."
Keller approaches then, data pad in hand. "Dr. Weir's tests all came back clear. There's no reason to keep her in the infirmary."
John straightens away from the gurney as Elizabeth slides off it. "Come on," he says to her. "I'll take you to the mess hall and then we'll go talk to Carter about going back to that planet and getting you home."
She gives him a bright smile. "Sounds great. I'm starving."
**
Over lunch, Elizabeth fills him in on her reality and finds herself equally surprised both by what's similar and what's different. So much looks the same that it would be easy to believe that she's home, but then she'll run across a room that's in the wrong place or catch a glimpse of someone who's supposed to be dead, and she's abruptly reminded that this isn't where she's supposed to be. The looks she keeps getting from others reinforces the feeling that she shouldn't be here.
"I'm not assigned to a specific team," Elizabeth tells John in response to his question. "Caldwell sends me along whenever a team visits a planet that looks inhabited, or to do follow-up if they run into an unexpected civilization. Caldwell's not exactly the subtle type, so a lot of the negotiations with potential allies fall to me." She arches a brow. "Your team keeps me pretty busy too."
He looks surprised. "My team?"
"John's team is always getting into trouble – I have to talk them out of executions or prison sentences, or apologize when one of them does or says something they shouldn't. Rodney officially isn't allowed to go within five feet of anything even remotely alcoholic after a particular incident with a chieftain's daughter."
John nearly chokes on his water. It makes her feel better to see him laughing, because he looks so sad whenever he looks at her. She knows it's senseless, but Elizabeth feels guilty that she's here when his Elizabeth is dead.
"May we join you?"
Elizabeth looks up to see Teyla, stomach swollen in the later months of pregnancy, and Ronon, hair more restrained than she's used to. Both are carrying trays.
John waves them into seats and the other two join them. The smile Teyla offers her is open, friendly, and she's the only person who doesn't look at Elizabeth as though she's seeing either a ghost or a threat. Ronon is eying her warily, as if not sure what to make of her presence. Elizabeth nods at him, deliberately cordial. He takes a bite of his food.
The conversation is strained. Like the city, Ronon and Teyla and John look familiar but there are enough differences to constantly remind her that she is not home. In that moment, she is fiercely homesick.
John looks at her worriedly and though she gives him a reassuring smile, he doesn't seem to buy it. "You ready to go see Carter?" he asks.
"Yes." She stops to clear her throat. "As nice as it is here, I think I'm ready to go home."
Though his face remains neutral, John's eyes turn sad again. Elizabeth has to remind herself that this is not her John and that it is not her responsibility to fix what's wrong. She's sorry he lost his Elizabeth, but she can't bring her back and she can't be her substitute. She has her own world to get back to, her own people who are wondering where she is right now.
It's time to go home.
**
Carter okays a trip back to the world where Elizabeth lost her team, and in a remarkably short amount of time Elizabeth is outfitted with her off-world kit and standing to the side of the 'gate with John, Ronon, and Rodney, waiting for the final go-ahead from the control area. Seconds later the Stargate engages and she's stepping through the water-like surface, only to emerge halfway across the galaxy. "This way," she says to the others, pointing in the direction of the abandoned village. She's no tracker, but even Elizabeth can see that the only footprints in the dirt are hers. The rest of her team didn't make it to this reality with her; she can only hope it's because they're safe in their own reality, and not trapped in yet another one.
They're only ten minutes away from the Stargate when she sees Ronon slow, and then stop. She watches him narrow his eyes and pivot in a slow circle, halting about ninety degrees from where they're headed.
Ronon and John pull their weapons at the same time. She's just a second behind in readying her zat'ni'katel, and Rodney has his handgun at the ready half a second after that.
A faint rustle in the tall grass is all the warning they get before someone fires on them. They all return fire and John orders a retreat to the Stargate. "Elizabeth, Rodney, dial the 'gate! Ronon and I will cover you!"
Elizabeth fires once more before taking off after Rodney. She hears John swear and turns to see a man with a bloodless bullet wound heal, with no apparent side effects. "Go!" John hollers, and she turns and runs as fast as she possibly can.
Rodney reaches the DHD before she does and starts slamming in the address for Atlantis. Elizabeth spins and drops to one knee to cover him, but their attackers are immune to her zat. Even three direct hits, which should disintegrate them, barely slow them down.
The event horizon whooshes into existence and she hears Rodney yelling for Atlantis to lower the shields; they're coming in hot. The two of them bolt for the 'gate as soon as they get the all clear, but both pause before crossing through to look back at their teammates.
The two men are just pulling even with the DHD, though they are moving slowly as they keep twisting around to fire at the enemy. Much closer than she likes are half a dozen men, dressed in shades of grey and beige and carrying weapons she's not familiar with.
"Go!" John shouts again, and Elizabeth reluctantly turns and dives through the 'gate. She stumbles as she reaches Atlantis, falling to her knees, and is narrowly missed being hit by a stray shot coming through the 'gate behind her and Rodney.
It can't be more than fifteen seconds, but it feels like an eternity before Ronon and John come through to Atlantis. The shield comes up instantly, flares bluish white in an irregular pattern as several somethings crash into it, and then the Stargate shuts down and everything is eerily silent.
Carter's voice breaks the silence. "What happened out there?"
"Asurans." John's voice is hard, almost brittle. "They must have a ship in the area – there was no sign of activity near the 'gate."
Carter gives Elizabeth a look she can't decipher, but she knows it isn't good. All she says, however, is, "Get yourselves checked out in the infirmary. We'll debrief in half an hour."
John nods silently and moves away, back stiff. Knowing she's missing something but not quite sure what, Elizabeth hands off her weapon and tac vest to a waiting staff sergeant and trails after the men.
She manages to finagle a gurney next to John's, and the first instant they're left alone she nails him with a look and asks, "Who are the Asurans?"
His face is closed off. "Replicators. Robotic life forms that choose to take the form of their creators, the Ancients."
She's familiar with the Replicators, if only through stories and mission reports. But she'll come back to that after she gets an answer to her next question. "Why did Colonel Carter look at me like that when you mentioned them?"
He rubs a hand over his face. "Elizabeth—"
"Tell me, John."
He won't meet her eyes. "You – she – was killed by the Asurans. Then they made a copy of her, and she no sooner found us when they killed her too. Both times, she sacrificed herself so that my team, so Atlantis, would survive."
Jesus. For all intents and purposes, he'd had to live through her death twice, and then she'd shown up just months later to remind them all of what they'd lost. "That's why Keller gave me all those tests. You thought I was another clone."
He shrugs, still not looking at her. "We had to be sure. The Asurans have the desire and the ability to make more versions of her."
She has to concede his point. It also explains why everyone in the city looks at her the way they do.
She's not a believer in fate – she values free will too much for that – but Elizabeth starts to think that maybe there's a reason why she ended up in this particular reality. It's possible that she can bring these people a little bit of peace.
She stares at John until he meets her gaze. "What if I told you I know how to defeat the Replicators?"
**
John taps his fingers against the table impatiently as he waits for Carter to arrive. After dropping her bombshell, Elizabeth had decided it would be better to tell her story to everyone at once. While he agrees that it makes sense, John can barely restrain himself from dragging the story out of her.
Carter finally arrives, and as soon as everyone is seated Elizabeth begins to speak. "I joined the Stargate Initiative six years after they figured out how to work the 'gate. The Replicators had been a threat for about three years, and we lost a lot of good people in that time. In the year that followed, we lost a lot more."
Elizabeth pauses for a few seconds, her fingers twisting together on the table, and John wonders who she lost during that time.
"Eventually," she continues, "Dr. Rodney McKay and Dr. Radek Zelenka came up with a way to beat them.
"I'm not a scientist and I don't pretend to understand the details, but somehow they managed to reprogram the Replicators so that all of their base components were attracted to each other, sort of like supermagnets. It started with just a few Replicators being pulled together, but as the mass grew, the stronger the attractive force grew. Within minutes, all of the Replicators were joined together in a giant mass." Her hands sketch out a vague sphere. "They were helpless to do anything. Once they were all trapped, an Asguard ship was used to push the mass into the corona of a sun. They were all destroyed."
In the quiet that follows her recount, John takes a moment to assess everyone's reaction. Elizabeth is sitting without moving, her eyes locked on her hands, which are now folded neatly in front of her. Ronon looks interested. He figures Teyla's expression matches his own – a little confused and a little hopeful. Rodney and Carter are exchanging glances that have him daring to hope.
"Do you think—" Rodney starts.
"—it's possible? I don't know. It would require completely re-writing the base code—"
"—and then finding a way to deliver the new program directly to each of the Asurans—"
"—probably during an upgrade—"
"—but we'd have to find a way into and out of the Asuran homeworld without them detecting us. That didn't go so well last time."
The technobabble speedtalk stops all at once, and John catches the half-guilty look Rodney shoots his way. He ignores it. "Can it be done?" he demands.
Rodney and Carter exchange looks again before he answers. "It'll take some time to figure out how to re-write the base code, but I think we can do it."
Elizabeth clears her throat, and John finds his attention drawn back to her. "I realize that you have more important things to do, but there's still the matter of getting me home."
Carter's the one who answers. "As long as the Asurans are on M7X 332, there's nothing we can do. I'll send a camera to check out the planet tomorrow. If there's any sign of activity, we'll have to postpone. If it's clear, we'll wait another couple of hours to be sure and then send you back with Colonel Sheppard's team to see if we can find the quantum mirror. Until then," she shifts her attention back to Rodney, "I want you and Dr. Zelenka to get to work on re-writing the base code. I'll be down to help you out in a couple of hours."
Almost as one, everyone pushes back their chairs and stands. Most of them move for the doors, but John lingers when he realizes Elizabeth isn't moving. "Something wrong?"
"I don't have anywhere to go."
It's only then that he remembers that she hasn't been assigned any quarters; she was supposed to be home by now. "Let's get you a room for the night," he says, and leads her out of the room.
**
The Asurans end up spending nearly two days on M7X 332, and with little to do Elizabeth quickly finds herself getting restless. Rodney and Radek – she can't get over how different he looks with glasses – demand her time at first, as they attempt to get every last bit of information they can about her reality's defeat of the Replicators, but she hadn't been on that mission and many of the scientific details are beyond her comprehension. After little more than an hour she becomes useless and Rodney effectively kicks her out of his lab. She isn't the least bit offended; her McKay is much the same.
There isn't much for her to do. Being around other people is unnerving, seeing how they look at her and now understanding why. She seeks refuge in the gym for a while, taking out her frustrations on a punching bag. After, she retires to the room John found for her, thankful that even with all the restrictions placed on the Atlantian database that she can still access Solitaire.
Teyla arrives at her door late that evening, carrying two cups of tea and a book. "I thought you might like some company," she says when Elizabeth raises a questioning eyebrow. "You have spent much of today in here by yourself."
Elizabeth steps aside to let her in. "Been keeping track of me?" she asks, watching Teyla set the steaming cups on the desk before setting down the book.
She dips her head in acknowledgement. "You must realize you're the center of conversation for most of the expedition. When I overheard that no one has seen you since before lunch, I thought I would come visit."
She puts both hands to her lower back, stretching with a small grimace, and Elizabeth quickly ushers her to a chair. "I couldn't take the stares," she admits, handing Teyla one mug of tea before taking the second one and sitting on the edge of the bed across from her. "Half of them look at me as though I've come back from the dead, and the other half look at me like I'm going to stick my hand in their heads and put them through their own personal hell."
Teyla looks sympathetic. "You have to understand how much we loved and respected Elizabeth. We still don't know what the Asurans did to her or how she died, or if any of them adopted her form, and for many seeing you brings that fear into the light. For others, your presence opens wounds that have only recently begun to heal." She holds out her hand in the space between them, and Elizabeth reaches to grasp her fingers tightly.
"What about you?" she asks, throat tight. "You don't look at me like everyone else. Why not?"
"Because I have grieved for my friend. I mourn her loss still, but I accept that she is gone. While you remind me of our Elizabeth in many respects, you are not her."
Elizabeth smiles, blinking rapidly. "You're wiser than any of us, no matter the reality." She pulls back her hand, sniffing quietly. Her gaze lands on the book Teyla brought with her, and she reaches for it. "War and Peace?" she questions.
"It's John's. Elizabeth had asked to borrow it when he was finished, so I thought perhaps it would be something that would appeal to you while you are a guest here."
"While I appreciate the thought, Teyla," Elizabeth says as she thumbs through the thick novel, "I sincerely hope that I'm not here nearly long enough to complete this."
Teyla chuckles, taking a sip of her tea, and their conversation turns to lighter topics as they get to know each other, in a way, all over again.
**
It's late the next afternoon before Carter lets them return to M7X 332, and it still throws John to see Elizabeth gearing up with the rest of his team. He has trouble taking his eyes off her, knowing that in a matter of hours she'll probably be back in her own reality and he'll be forced to deal with her loss yet again.
Someone begins the dialling sequence and he startles as the first pattern lights up. The wormhole swooshes to life and he looks up at the command center as Carter wishes them luck. With a nod of acknowledgement, he follows his team through the 'gate.
They're all on high alert as they head for the village at a fast clip, but there is no sign of the Asurans.
John slows as they enter the village, glancing around at the decrepit buildings. "Where do we start?" he asks Elizabeth.
She points to a building ahead and to the left, still in remarkably good condition when compared to most of the other structures. "That one. I went inside to look around and when I came back out, the rest of my team was gone."
She takes off without waiting for a response, and John has to jog a few steps to catch up. At the house, he makes Elizabeth wait outside with Rodney as he and Ronon do a quick search of the interior. Once inside, she heads straight for a small room in the back, but she halts on the threshold without warning. With a quiet curse she propels herself into the center of the room, and John watches from the doorway as she spins in a slow circle, taking in every inch of the undeniably empty space.
"It's gone." Stricken green eyes meet his. "The mirror was in this room, right there against the wall. It's gone."
**
They spend ten minutes scouring the house from top to bottom, and several hours thoroughly checking any place in the village large enough to house the mirror, but Elizabeth knows it's fruitless; the mirror is long gone.
Eventually, it begins to grow dark and John calls an end to the mission. He glances over at her as though he expects a protest but she has nothing to say, merely turning back in the direction from which they came what seems like days ago. None of the men attempt to make conversation, and the walk back to the Stargate is a quiet one.
Back on Atlantis, she hands off her weapon and tac vest to a waiting Marine and silently trails the others up to Carter's office. At her gesture they all find a place to sit, but Elizabeth remains standing by the door, arms folded over stomach as she tries to fight back the emotions that threaten to overwhelm her, if she lets them.
"What happened?" Carter asks, glancing briefly at her before shifting her attention to John. "I expected you back hours ago. Did the Asurans return?"
John shakes his head. "There was no sign of them. We couldn't find the mirror."
Carter looks over at her again. "Do you have any idea what might have happened to it?"
Elizabeth shrugs, biting back the urge to ask when, exactly, she was supposed to figure out where her only way home had gone. "These Asurans just spent the better part of two days on that planet. Logic would suggest they took it, or at least did something with it."
"This could be bad," Rodney says from the other side of the room. Everyone looks at him, thankfully taking their focus off her. "This could be very, very bad. If the Asurans have the quantum mirror, they have access to thousands of realities. They'll have infinite resources."
There's silence as everyone absorbs that thought. Elizabeth speaks without thinking. "If it's Ancient design, it's likely that it will only work for those who have the Ancient gene. This is exactly the sort of technology they would safeguard." They're all looking at her strangely and though she thinks she ought to be used to that by now, she finds herself asking, "What?"
It's Rodney who asks, "You have the ATA gene?"
"You mean the Ancient gene? Yes, I was injected with the synthetic version that Dr. Fraiser created a few years ago." They're still giving her an odd look, and she makes the connection. "Your Elizabeth didn't have the gene."
"It didn't take," John confirms. "Carson tried twice, but it only ever worked on about half the population. They still haven't managed to improve the success rate."
Elizabeth can't even imagine living on Atlantis without the ability to access all of its functions. It must have been frustrating for her counterpart to have to rely on other people so heavily in order to run her expedition.
"So can the Asurans use this mirror or not?"
Predictably, it's Ronon who gets them back on track. Rodney exchanges glances with Carter before answering. "We can't know for sure without studying it ourselves, but if Elizabeth's right that it's of Ancient origin then it certainly is plausible that only those with the ATA gene can use it for its intended purpose."
"How close are you and Radek to doing whatever you need to do to destroy the Replicators?"
Elizabeth looks from Rodney to John and back, wondering where he was going with this and what it has to do with the quantum mirror.
Rodney responds in typical Rodney fashion when he isn't sure of the answer. "Well, it's very complicated. Another few days, maybe a week. Or two. Certainly no more than a month." He pauses for a breath, then his eyebrows draw together and he demands, "Why?"
John shrugs and turns to her. "I know it's longer than you want to be here, but after we've turned the Asurans into a giant silver ball, we'll find the mirror and get you home."
Elizabeth smiles for the first time all day. These people don't owe her anything, they have their own problems to deal with, and they're still willing to take the time and effort to help her. "Thank you," she says softly. Yes, she'd rather go home sooner than later, but having to stay a month is a better option than spending the rest of her life here. These people look like her friends, but they're not. She doesn't belong here, and she knows they understand that as well as she does.
She turns to Colonel Carter. "I'd like to help out while I'm here, if you'll let me. There must be something I can do besides sit in my room all day long."
She doesn't know the other woman very well, but in spite of Carter's poker face Elizabeth catches a hint of hesitance, maybe doubt. She tries not to let it bother her; she is, after all, a stranger.
"Why don't we discuss it tomorrow?" the colonel suggests. "It's been a long day and I'm sure you have a lot to work through."
Elizabeth knows a dismissal when she hears one. "Of course," she agrees, forcing a smile. "Tomorrow." With a nod to the men, she escapes from the office and returns to her room without making contact with a single person along the way.
**
Elizabeth pauses outside John's room, not sure if she should be here. He's done so much for her already that it hardly seems fair to ask for more, but of anyone she might ask for help getting through to Carter, he seems the most likely person.
She knocks, and it's only a few seconds before he answers. "Hey." There's an awkward moment where they stand there and stare at each other before he asks, "Do you, uh, want to come in?"
Elizabeth nods and steps inside. "It's warm in here," she notes, surprised.
John raises an eyebrow at her. "It is?"
Elizabeth shifts her attention back to him, knowing that she's not making much sense. "Sorry, I just meant...." She gestures at the room. "My John's quarters are always freezing. He sleeps better when it's cold and he's buried beneath about ten blankets."
He's looking at her curiously now, almost suspiciously, and she stares back in confusion. "You sound... close."
Elizabeth reviews what she's just said and realizes what it must sound like to John. "It's not like that," she corrects softly. "We're friends." Glancing away she adds, "He's married."
She doesn't volunteer that he's only seen his wife once in the past four years, or that they're separated and in the middle of divorce proceedings. None of that matters. John is an honourable man and as long as he's still legally married, whatever feelings she might have for him – or vice versa – are irrelevant.
She avoids this John's gaze for several moments, afraid of what he might see if she looks him in the eye. Instead she moves to the window, pushing aside the curtain to take in the view of an Atlantis that is so much like her own that for a few seconds she can almost pretend she's home. But the room is too warm and the colours are subtly wrong and this isn't where she's supposed to be.
"Elizabeth?"
She shakes off the melancholy and turns back to John. "The reason I'm here," she begins, forestalling the other questions she knows he wants to ask, "is I was hoping that you could talk to Colonel Carter and convince her to find something I can do."
John smiles at her, though it doesn't quite reach his eyes. She tries not to take it personally. "Bored?"
"Just a little," she admits with a quirk of her eyebrow. "There's only so much sitting around and reading a person can take, after all."
He nods in agreement. "I'll talk to Carter. You probably won't be allowed off-world, at least not yet, but I'm sure there's something you can do around here."
She smiles. "Thank you, John." She moves for the door, touching his arm as she passes, and almost makes it to the hallway before a wave of dizziness leaves her stumbling into the wall.
"Elizabeth?" she hears dimly. "What's wrong?"
Her tongue is thick in her mouth. "There's something—" she starts, but it's as far as she gets before the pain takes her, a bone-deep agony that feels like she's being ripped apart from the inside out, molecule by molecule.
The last thing Elizabeth sees before she passes out is the worried face of John Sheppard.
**
Keller barely clears the door to the room where Elizabeth is being treated before John is asking if she's okay.
"She's stable," Keller assures him, and the relief that floods through him nearly leaves him shaking. He ignores the reaction and asks his next question.
"What happened?"
Keller shakes her head, looking frustrated. "I'm not entirely sure. So far her scans have come up clear, but I'm still waiting on some bloodwork. Given the phasing effect you described, I've asked Dr. McKay to run some tests of his own. This might be outside my area of expertise."
"Can I see her?"
"She's sleeping right now – whatever happened to Dr. Weir left her exhausted. But you can go in as long as you don't wake her."
He nods and makes his way to the isolation room door, slipping inside and stopping just a few steps in.
Someone had changed her into scrubs, and even next to the nearly white fabric she looks pale. John watches her breathe for a few minutes and then makes his way back to the main area of the infirmary, where he finds McKay and Keller huddled over scans and reports. "Anything?" he asks, leaning against the door frame.
Their expressions are grave when they look up and John braces himself for the news.
Rodney glances away, then back. "We think Elizabeth is suffering from entropic cascade failure."
John blinks at him. "Excuse me?" He's sure he must have heard wrong.
Keller straightens. "Based on what you've told us and some preliminary scans, it looks like Dr. Weir is suffering from entropic cascade failure. We're looking through the SGC's reports now and Colonel Carter is on her way down – she was directly involved in the first few contacts with visitors from alternate realities."
This is not happening, John thinks, grateful beyond relief for the solidity of the door frame as the implications sink in. "But that wouldn't be possible unless...." He can't say the words.
Rodney can, apparently. "Unless our Elizabeth is still alive."
"Jesus," John breathes, not sure if it's a curse or a prayer. He closes his eyes and grips the door frame so hard his knuckles crack. "Thirteen months." The words feel as though they're being ripped from his throat, leaving it raw. "Thirteen fucking months." That's how long they've left her at the mercy of the Asurans. He turns to leave.
"Sheppard?"
"Not now, Rodney," he says without turning or slowing. He's curiously calm just now, but it's not going to last and when the numbness wears off it's going to be violent. He needs to be either running himself exhausted or locked in a gym with Ronon and two pairs of bantos sticks when that happens.
A hand lifts to his radio. "Ronon? You busy?"
**
Several hours later, exhausted, bruised, and more or less in control of his emotions, John slides into a chair beside Teyla and Ronon, and across from McKay and Carter. "Sorry I'm late," he mutters, not bothering to offer an explanation.
"No problem," Carter responds. "We're still waiting for– Ah, Dr. Keller, Dr. Weir."
John looks up to see Elizabeth hovering at the entrance. She still looks pale, but overall she looks a lot better than the last time he saw her.
"Here's what we know," Carter begins. "Dr. Weir has conclusively experienced an episode of entropic cascade failure. This can only mean that in spite of what we'd been led to believe, our Elizabeth Weir is still alive."
"Why a week?" John asks. All eyes turn in his direction. "Why did it take a week for this to happen?" Granted, he doesn't really get the science behind it, but the reports all say that Elizabeth should have had a reaction within the first twenty-four hours.
"We're not entirely sure," McKay admits. "Our best theory is that this Elizabeth's ATA gene and our Elizabeth's nanites have created enough of a difference at the quantum level that there's a sort of buffer that's delaying the reaction."
John glances at Elizabeth and then away again when he finds her looking at him. "How long do we have before it becomes critical?"
McKay and Carter exchange looks. "We can't know for sure," Carter says, "but we don't think we have much more than 96 hours."
"So we need to pull off the mission against the Asurans by then."
"To save this Elizabeth's life, yes."
"Can you re-write the base code by then?" he asks Rodney.
"We can," Carter says firmly, though Rodney looks less certain. "Your job is to come up with a plan of action for recovering Dr. Weir and the quantum mirror before we destroy the Asurans."
"That's all, huh? Piece of cake." John leans back in his chair, folding his arms over his chest.
"Unless there are any questions, I suggest we all get to work." After a moment's silence, Carter nods. "Let's go."
**
John, Ronon, and Lorne spend hours reviewing all the mission reports they have on the Asurans and hashing out a rescue plan. The exact details will have to be worked out after they reach the homeworld and determine where Elizabeth and the mirror are being held, but at least they have some possibilities worked out.
John stays behind to go over the variables one last time, though the other two leave. He's so intent on his work that he doesn't even hear Elizabeth enter the room, and her voice startles him. "What are you doing?"
He stretches his back, feeling something pop. "I'm just going over things to make sure we're not missing anything."
She nods, but her next statement makes him think she wasn't really listening. "You've been avoiding me."
"I haven't!" he protests automatically, but she quirks a brow at him and he quickly recants. "All right, I have."
He's already lived through her death twice. It was bad enough when this Elizabeth was going back to her own reality, but at least she'd be alive. If they don't pull this off, he can't watch her die again. Keeping his distance seemed easiest.
Elizabeth merely nods and moves on. "So, what's the plan?"
He motions her over and she moves around the table to join him. "This is the Asuran homeworld," he begins, showing her the image on the screen. He zooms in on the sprawling Atlantis replica. "This is the main city and the most likely location of Elizabeth and the quantum mirror. From our previous visit, we know that this tower," he refocusses the image on a specific part of the city, "is the most heavily guarded. We'll approach the city in a cloaked jumper and land as close to it as we can. Then we play hide and seek with the Asurans and hope that we can find what we want and upload the program before they notice us and kill us." It's too much like the last time, when everything went so horribly wrong, but it's their best shot.
Elizabeth seems to sense something of his mood because she waits quietly as he pulls his thoughts away from the past. He clears his throat. "Anyway, those are the basics. Rodney's usually got some tricks to help buy us some time."
John stares vacantly at the screen, mind starting to go over all the potential outcomes yet again: best case scenario, worst case scenario, and the whole range of possibilities in between. The odds aren't in their favour.
A hand on his arm and Elizabeth's voice draw John back from thoughts he doesn't want to be thinking anyway. "You look tired."
He is. He spent hours sparring with Ronon and then hours more strategizing. The day's starting to catch up to him.
"Why don't you take a break?" Elizabeth suggests.
John looks around and realizes that he's done all he can; the rest depends on McKay, Carter, and Zelenka. "I could use something to eat," he admits.
"I hear there's apple pie."
"Let's go."
**
The next few days pass slowly for Elizabeth. Although Carter tries to find her something, there's really nothing Elizabeth's qualified to do that doesn't require too much security clearance. She ends up spending most of her time with Teyla at first, but the entropic cascade failure seizures become more frequent and more severe, and her last day before the mission is spent in the infirmary, under the watchful eye of Dr. Keller.
She's been anxious to get home for some time now, but it's becoming apparent that finding that mirror soon is a matter of life or death for her.
**
John is going through the mission supplies when she enters the jumper bay, and she almost smiles at his double-take at her clothing. "Going somewhere?" he asks warily.
Elizabeth glances down at her off-world uniform. "I'm joining you and your team for the mission."
Though he's pretty successful at keeping his expression neutral, she sees the alarm. "No, you're not," he says with an unmistakable tone of finality.
Elizabeth doesn't pretend to know what he's feeling, but she can imagine some of it. "Yes, John, I am. Colonel Carter has already approved it."
He starts for the door. "We'll see about that."
She grasps his shoulder as he passes by, stopping him. "Neither of us has a choice. Rodney and Dr. Keller both say that I don't have enough time to wait for you to come back. Either I go with you, we find the mirror, and I go home, or...." She can't finish the thought, though more for his sake than her own.
Beside her, John closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. "Okay," he says on the exhale. "But you do everything I tell you to do, got it?"
She impulsively touches his cheek. "Got it."
John turns almost imperceptibly into her touch and Elizabeth's breath catches at the longing she sees in his eyes. This man loves his Elizabeth, is maybe even in love with her, and the past week and a half has brought up things he'd managed to bury away. She hopes he gets the chance to tell her.
Noise at the entrance to the bay has them both pulling back. John turns away to busy himself in the jumper, while Elizabeth turns to see who's arrived. She finds Rodney and Ronon entering the room, both geared up. Rodney already knew she was joining them, but Ronon's eyebrows raise the slightest bit as he takes in her off-world kit. Though he doesn't say anything, he looks past her to John before boarding the jumper.
Rodney pauses beside her. "I guess Jennifer talked to you?" he asks awkwardly.
She smiles reassuringly. "It's okay, Rodney. I've been off-world dozens of times, remember? Everything will be fine."
He nods doubtfully, still looking worried, and moves past her to join John and Ronon.
She takes a moment to check that everything in her tac vest is where it should be, finding comfort in the familiarity of her pre-mission ritual, then boards the jumper in time to hear Carter give them the all-clear. Minutes later they're through the 'gate, Lorne and Lieutenant Huang in the rear of the jumper with them, and she has very little time to think of anything except the mission ahead of them.
**
There's been tension in the air ever since they left Atlantis, but the atmosphere is practically thrumming as Asuras comes into view. So much depends on this mission, Elizabeth knows – not only her life, but that of her double. And she's beginning to understand that saving the other Elizabeth means so much more to the people she led than she ever could have imagined.
"All right," John says as the puddle jumper slows on its approach to the Asuran homeworld. "Here's the plan. We're going to land near the west pier, where security seems lightest. McKay and I are going to locate Dr. Weir and the quantum mirror while the rest of you wait in the jumper with this Weir. I'll radio you once we've found the mirror and have you escort her to our location. If you don't hear from us every ten minutes, then you're to leave immediately. Is that understood?"
Everyone nods, and Elizabeth watches as John lands the jumper and he and Rodney collect their gear. They're all silent as the rear hatch is lowered. John hesitates on the landing and turns back to glance at her before he strides off in the direction of the main spire, Rodney trailing behind. She watches them leave and soundlessly wishes them luck.
**
"Left at the next intersection and then the first door on your right."
John looks up from his life signs detector, configured to detect Asurans, to where McKay is studying his own scanner. "Are you sure?"
Rodney seems exasperated by his question. "It's not like it's labelled with her name, so no, I'm not sure. But it's the only human life sign I can't account for so I thought you might want to check it out!"
"Keep your voice down!" John hisses back, hurriedly checking for any indication that the Asurans are headed in their direction. Confident that they're still undetected, he readjusts his grip on his ARG and moves forward.
Both men pause outside the room where there's a single human life sign. John reaches for the door control but hesitates just short of triggering the sensor. This is one of those "moments of truth": either Elizabeth is here, in this room, and they have an actual chance of saving her, or she isn't and they're out of options.
John takes a deep breath and opens the door.
The room is large, but he sees her immediately. She's hard to miss, suspended the way she is in the middle of the room by a pale blue light that John guesses is some sort of force field. She's dressed mostly in black, her hair longer than he remembers, her eyes closed. Although he's aware that it means nothing, John's relieved to see she looks at peace.
"Sheppard."
He pulls himself away and turns toward Rodney, who has already started looking around the room. "The mirror's here too," McKay says, gesturing to a large, silver and grey rectangular object.
John blinks. "It can't be that easy." The two things they came for in the same room?
"Or they're that arrogant." John watches him poke around the room. "Actually, this might be a main lab; that would explain why they have both Elizabeth and the mirror here. They're probably the Asurans' top priorities."
"Which means that it won't be empty for long," John points out. "So how do we do this?"
McKay straightens up from his examination of the quantum mirror. "The control's here," he says, pointing at the device on a table not far from them. "The instant we try to release Elizabeth, we're going to set off all sorts of alarms. We should bring the other Elizabeth here, get her back to her own reality, and then free our Elizabeth at the same time that we upload the new subroutines to the mainframe. And then get out of here as fast as we can."
John gazes up at the woman caught in the force field, wanting nothing more than to get her home, where he'll never let her off-world again. But he knows that McKay is right, and she seems safe enough for the moment. He resists the urge to lay a hand against the shimmering blue light and reaches for his radio instead. "Lorne. Bring Dr. Weir to our location."
**
It's a long trip to where John and Rodney are waiting; at least, it seems so to Elizabeth, who suffered another seizure while waiting in the jumper and is now utterly exhausted. Thankfully, Lorne and Huang manage to evade any Asurans along the way, so she's been spared the need to fight or run.
Although she's sort of expecting it, Elizabeth still stops in shock when she sees herself, suspended in mid-air and surrounded by a pale blue light. She's known, of course, that there's another her in this universe, but it's another thing altogether to see another Elizabeth Weir who has been held captive for the past year.
Beside her, Lorne lets out a low whistle. "Nanite bastards," he swears, and then blinks. "Uh, sir? Is she wearing leather?"
Lorne must see John's expression, because he hurriedly changes the subject. "Oh, hey. That the mirror?"
Elizabeth follows his gaze to the familiar quantum mirror, leaning against a wall, and her knees nearly buckle in relief at the sight.
Rodney gestures her over and Elizabeth moves to take the controller he's holding out to her. The mirror flickers to life as soon as she touches it, and everyone in the room except Huang, their lookout, gathers around to get a better look.
The image reflected in the Ancient mirror is no longer that of the room they're in, nor is it of the run-down house where she first found it. Instead, she can see the familiar lines of an Atlantian lab. At first Elizabeth thinks the other room is empty but movement near the edge of her view draws her attention, and then Zelenka moves fully into her sight. Rodney McKay is there within seconds, and he and the one beside her gape at each other.
"It looks like my reality," Elizabeth says, taking in the glasses-free Zelenka, but then again so many of the people she's met the past two weeks look like they could be from her reality too. She turns to Rodney. "Is there any way to verify?"
He drags his attention away from his counterpart to look at her. "Objectively, no. But the mirror stays tuned to the last reality it displayed before shutting down and your theory that only people with the Ancient gene can activate it seems sound, so it's probable that this is your reality."
Elizabeth looks back just in time to see John rush into the Atlantis lab, coming to a quick stop beside the two scientists. She can't help the involuntary smile, and sees the tension flow out of him as he takes her in.
She forces herself to turn away, back to the people who have taken her in over the past week and a half. Behind them is her double, and she remembers that they don't have time for long goodbyes. This particular journey is over for her, but they still have a dangerous path ahead of them and time is limited.
She hugs Rodney first and tells him to be safe. She offers Lorne her hand and he shakes it firmly as he wishes her luck. John gets a hug and a whispered thank you, and his crooked smile and off-hand "Any time" don't fool her in the slightest.
She turns back to the mirror. With a deep breath, Elizabeth reaches out and touches it.
The world flashes white.
**
Though he's aware that every minute they're on this fake version of Atlantis increases the risk of being caught, John takes a moment to watch the reunion taking place twenty feet and the fabric of the universe away. He sees his counterpart touch her arm, the gentleness of the gesture not lost on him, and turns away. There's a small sound, like a whoosh of air, and he knows that the mirror has shut down. They'll never see any of those people again. That thought is not as daunting as it was just a few days ago, though.
They have their Elizabeth back now.
John turns to Rodney. "All right, so what do we do next?"
McKay is already standing next to what looks like a control panel, and John joins him there. "The mainframe is two floors down. If we release Elizabeth now, the Asurans will probably be alerted and they'll figure out pretty fast that we're here. If I upload the modified base code first, I doubt we'll have time to come back for her and make it to the jumper without getting caught in the destruction of the city, assuming the Asurans don't find us first."
"So I'll have to free Elizabeth at the same time as you do your thing."
McKay nods, looking unhappy. He points at the control panel. "When it's time, you need to push these symbols in this order. Don't screw it up because the system will lock you out and you won't get a second chance."
John watches Rodney point to the figures one more time, committing the sequence to memory. "Got it." He hits his radio switch. "Ronon, I need you to rendezvous at my location." He's not strong enough to carry Elizabeth all the way to the jumper, and if he were to run into any resistance along the way he'd be screwed. "Lorne, Huang," he calls. "Get McKay to the mainframe and head back to the jumper the instant he's done. We should already be there. If we're not, don't wait." He nails them both with a look. "Understood?"
Lorne looks like he wants to argue but all he says is, "Yes, sir," before motioning to McKay to follow him. Huang checks the corridor, nods an all-clear, and then John's alone in the room.
He takes the few minutes before Ronon arrives to study Elizabeth more closely. She is, as Lorne noted, dressed in a black leather uniform, which makes no sense. If the Asurans are responsible for the change of clothes, why leather? Why not one of the drab outfits they choose for themselves? He almost smiles at the hint of red on the sleeves, because that small detail is curiously Elizabeth.
Her hair is much longer, nearly halfway down her back and straighter than he's used to. This confuses him too, because she looks like she's in some sort of suspended animation and he didn't think hair would grow. Maybe it does, he concedes. Or, more likely, she hasn't been held here the entire time. He's sure the Asurans spent a lot of time trying to get information out of her. He's been tormenting himself with images of exactly what she might have gone through ever since McKay and Keller told him she's still alive.
She doesn't look tortured now. Her features are calm, settled, like she might be sleeping, or taking a break out on the balcony before heading back in to take on another meeting with the science department or tackle reports for the SGC.
There's a noise from the hallway and John draws and points his weapons even as he ducks behind a console for cover. Rounding the doorway, Ronon merely raises an eyebrow in his direction as he makes his way into the lab, pausing in front of Elizabeth.
John gives him a few moments before filling him in on the plan. "You'll probably have to catch her," he says, eyes flicking from Ronon to Elizabeth to the door and back again. "I don't know if she'll wake up before we're out of here; you might have to stun her." John's more relieved than he could ever say that she's alive and they're about to take her home, but he's under no delusions. Last he knew, she had nanites in her system – probably still does – and she's been in the hands of the enemy for over a year. She won't be the same Elizabeth he knew a year ago, but to what extent, and in what capacity, she's changed will remain a mystery until she wakes up. He can't take any chances.
Ronon nods his understanding, not taking his eyes off Elizabeth. John returns to his spot by the control console, and it's only a few minutes more until Lorne's voice is coming over the radio.
"We're here, sir, and Dr. McKay's working on the changes right now. He says you should be ready to release Dr. Weir on his say-so."
"Acknowledged," John replies. In the background, he can hear McKay muttering to himself. The sound is strangely comforting.
He relays the information to Ronon and then stretches a hand above the console, finger hovering over the first symbol of the series Rodney showed him. When Rodney gives him the okay just seconds later, he punches in the sequence without hesitation.
There's an electrical whine as the blue force field surrounding Elizabeth disappears, and even as John's moving for the door Ronon manages to catch her before she hits the floor. He spares a few valuable seconds to watch the way Ronon cradles her carefully, but then his lifesigns detector beeps a warning and he locks that part of himself away.
A quick glance at the detector shows that the area outside the lab is still clear, but John's still cautious as he ducks into the corridor with the ARG at the ready. Confirming that it's safe, he leads Ronon in the direction of the jumper, one hand on the trigger and the other grasping the lifesigns detector. They manage to make it halfway to where the puddle jumper's waiting for them before they run into the first group of Asurans.
The Asurans seem surprised to see them, which gives John enough of an advantage to wipe out all six of them before they know what's hit them. He doesn't think they're lucky enough for the exchange to go unnoticed by the others, however – that link of theirs is probably instantaneous – so they double their pace, nearly at a run now.
They're maybe two hundred metres from the jumper when they turn a corner to find three more Asurans, and this group is definitely prepared for them. John and Ronon scramble back behind the protection of the wall as an energy blast streaks toward them, and Ronon juggles his hold on Elizabeth and slings her into a fireman's carry so that he can pull his weapon.
"On three," John says lowly, not bothering to wait for Ronon's acknowledgement before counting down. Ronon goes high, he goes low, and between the two of them they manage to take out the others with no more than a cut to his arm from shrapnel. The adrenaline's still pumping away, but John's starting to think they just might make it out of here in one piece. "C'mon," he says to Ronon, rounding the corner once more.
"Colonel Sheppard."
John freezes mid-step, the all too familiar voice cutting through him to the core. He pivots slowly to face the man that had been standing unnoticed behind them.
Oberoth.
Everything else fades away for a moment, erased by a white-hot hatred that takes even John by surprise. "Ronon," he says after a few seconds, sounding stangely calm even to his own ears. "Get Elizabeth to the jumper. If I'm not there in two minutes, leave."
He's not sure if he expects an argument, but all Ronon does is nod before following orders.
Oberoth is still just standing there with a smirk on his face. John wants to smack it off. Badly. "I should have expected you'd come for her," he says, sounding amused. "I did, the first few months, but when there was no sign of you I assumed you'd written her off for dead. She never stopped believing, though. No matter how we manipulated her thoughts, she always believed you'd come for her."
John breathes deep, muscles clenching, but doesn't say anything.
"She managed to escape, did you know that? It took us quite a while to find her. You should have seen how hard she fought us then. It was something of a challenge to break her down." Oberoth tilts his head. "The human fight for survival is a curious thing. We still don't understand why she fought harder to protect her thoughts and memories than she fought against the physical torture, but we learned a great deal experimenting with her."
In John's opinion, death – or whatever the equivalent is to these soulless machines – is too good for Oberoth. He lifts his chin and shifts his weight, not taking his eyes off him. "If you find that surprising, then you'd be amazed by how she's going to recover once we get her home, in spite of everything you've tried to do to her." He raises his weapon and grins ferally. "Too bad none of you will be around to witness it." The expression on Oberoth's face twists into fury and he launches himself at John, but he's too far away and is a pile of silver dust before he covers half the distance. John wishes he felt more satisfaction.
He turns and sprints the last of the distance to the jumper. In spite of his orders to Lorne to leave if he got there first, McKay is hovering by the rear hatch and the major is waiting in the pilot's seat. He hits the control to close the hatch as soon as John's clear and shifts to the co-pilot's chair. "We're all set to go, sir."
John glances at Elizabeth, unconscious on the back bench, and Ronon and Huang, who are standing guard beside her, and nods. He should probably chew Lorne out for disobeying orders, but anyone who lives by the leave-no-man-behind mentality is someone he understands all too well. "How much time do we have?" he calls back to McKay, settling into the seat and lifting off with a thought.
"Not long," is the distracted answer, and a look back reveals that Rodney's bent over his data pad, rapidly punching in... something. Finally, he looks up as they clear the atmosphere. "Less than a minute. We need to be at least ten thousand kilometres from the planet when the subroutine kicks in."
"Got it." John focusses all his attention on getting them out of there, and swears that he can feel the g-forces in spite of the inertial dampeners.
They're barely thirty seconds away when the HUD pops up in front of him. There's nothing remarkable about the display at first, but after a few seconds they can see how the planet begins collapsing in on itself, first the replicated Atlantis, then more and more until it's just a big, dense ball of metal.
The jumper is silent for a while as they all stare at what used to be the Asuran homeworld. John doesn't know what everyone else is thinking, but it's hard for him to grasp that it's over. That the Asurans are destroyed, that they've found Elizabeth after so long and are bringing her home... it's too surreal.
"Lorne," he says quietly, nodding at the controls and rising. The major takes his place as John moves to the rear of the jumper, ignoring the fact that the other three men move to the front as he makes his way to Elizabeth's side. For a long while he just stands there, staring at her. Slowly, he reaches out and rests his hand over hers. "Lizabeth," he murmurs, squeezing her fingers.
"Welcome home."
**
Epilogue
Elizabeth's so lost in thought that the swish of the balcony doors opening and closing behind her doesn't really register, but the weight of someone's stare is enough to bring her back. She turns her head to the side to find John standing not too far away. "How long have you been there?"
He shrugs and ambles closer. "Not too long," he says, mirroring her position and looking out over the ocean. He glances at her. "You thinking about that other Elizabeth again?"
She nods, feeling the need to explain even though there's nothing accusatory in his tone. "It's so hard to believe that if we'd made just a few different choices, that could be me. If their Replicators are anything like ours, I can only imagine the torture they put her through."
His hand slips into hers, warm and solid, and Elizabeth leans into his side. "But it's not you. And besides, she's home now."
"You don't know that."
John pulls away and tugs at her arm until she turns to face him. "I do know, because if that had been you then nothing would have stopped me from bringing you home. And if she's anything like you, then she'll pull through whatever they tried to do to her."
For someone who's self-admittedly awful with the personal stuff, he somehow manages to find the right things to say to her. She leans up and kisses his cheek. "Thank you," she murmurs, smiling a little as his ears turn red.
"C'mon," he says, tugging her arm again, this time in the direction of the doors. "It's getting late and you promised to have dinner with me tonight."
"So I did," she agrees, falling into step beside him as they approach the control room. He squeezes her hand, and neither of them lets go the entire way to the mess hall.
--end--