Updated
Hey guys, sorry it took me a little while to write this one. Big changes are coming, big decisions had to be made. Then I had a version all set to go out and I lost it all and had to rewrite it. It was very disheartening. But, we're back!
Happy Reading!
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The Return Pt. 1
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"So what exactly are the odds of us getting stranded out in the middle of no where," John asked, spinning around the pilot's chair of Jumper 3 Jumper 3.
Sheppard wasn't anxious about the flight itself, but he was antsy to get underway. It was always the same with test flights for him, the anticipation had his adrenaline buzzing in something that would have been excitement in someone else, but Sheppard was too in control for that. Although, up until recently he had never done test flights in experimental aircraft with someone he cared about on board. In the past it had always just been him and he trusted his abilities to fly just about anything, but sometimes thing went wrong. With little family to leave behind, the chances of things going wrong had never really bothered him. But Kai mattered, maybe more than he knew how to say or admit, even to himself.
Kai glanced up from her laptop. John had been fidgeting for the last fifteen minutes waiting for her to give the all clear. She could feel not only his boredom, but also his anticipation thrumming through the Bond like an itch along her skin. It was distracting when she was trying to focus on her work. It was so rare to see him like this and she rarely had until they began work on this project. She soon realized it was why he enjoyed being a test pilot so much. The danger and unknown were a thrill for him, and was so different from the confining responsibilities of his normal duties.
"Probably less than the first couple of tests," she allowed without looking up from her computer screen, but she could still see him turn the chair another time in her peripheral vision. John was distracting to her at the best of times, but with his impatience and excitement blazing down the Bond she found it hard to stay focused. She wished she could have sent him out of the jumper while she finished her calculations, but she had to maintain a pressurized hull. Even the most minor miscalculation could result in a failure of the test and she didn't want to get an earful from McKay.
Kai and John had been working with McKay and Carter on building their intergalactic gate bridge between the Pegasus and Milky Way galaxies. John flew while Kai monitored functions and stability as they used McKay's experimental macro that would allow the jumper to be forwarded from gate to gate in order to span the space between galaxies in minutes instead of the two weeks it took on the Daedalus. They had started small with the new macro, just leapfrogging a middle gate close by. Once that was successful they built on it, and had successfully bypassed twelve gates total on their most recent flight. Today was the real test. Today, they were going to travel from Atlantis to the Midway station between galaxies through seventeen gates and then through another seventeen on to the Milky Way and eventually Earth.
"So worst case scenario we end up stranded at one of the gates and have to wait for the Daedalus to come pick us up?" John asked cheerfully. "What? Ten days max?"
Kai shrugged a shoulder as a smirk twisted her lips. There were worse things than getting ten whole days just the two of them, but it wasn't the worse case scenario. "No actually, worst case is the tidal forces of the forwarding program rip the jumper apart and we end up ejected through the wormhole out a random gate and die in the vacuum of space."
"That would be bad," John acquiesced sardonically.
"It would," Kai agreed stoically, but her lips were still twisted up and there was a gleam of a smile in her grey eyes.
"So...how many days rations are on board?" John asked conversationally as he turned the chair back to face Kai. She was bent over her laptop, chewing on her lip in concentration. She had her scarf wrapped elegantly around her hair, leaving the long line of her throat bare. He swallowed and turned the chair again so he wouldn't be distracted by her. He wasn't sure if he had been fast enough though, or if she would feel his attention through the Bond. Things had been busy lately and they hadn't had much one on one time. Kai had been laid up for several weeks following their mission on M1B-129 while she recovered from her gunshot wound. During her confinement on Atlantis she had worked hard with McKay on finishing the Gate Bridge project.
"Fourteen if we're careful," she said distractedly as her fingers skittered across the keyboard. "That's as long as it takes the Daedalus to get from earth to Atlantis...but it shouldn't matter. If there is a malfunction, and we manage to survive, it will most likely be at Midway and the Daedalus is already there waiting for us."
"That's reassuring," John said glibly and he rotated back around to face Kai. "So, are you excited to see Earth?" he asked after a beat.
"In a way I already have," she responded, not looking up from her scans.
"Well...that barely counted," John argued thinking back on their experience on M5S-224. "You saw earth through my hallucinations," he reminded her.
It had been nearly three years before when Kai had first come to Atlantis. At the time John hadn't understood his urge to protect her, and despite being nearly a stranger, she had been pulled into his hallucinations due to his actions. "Do you suppose the Bond is the reason those mist people connected us telepathically for that?" he asked after a moment's consideration. It wasn't until the words were out of his mouth that he realized she might not have followed his train of thought.
Kai stopped working and looked up at John thoughtfully. Her brow wrinkled as she considered his words. "I don't honestly know when the Bond formed," she told him. "That was one of our first missions together...but the Bond formed fairly early, I think," she conceded, feeling a little embarrassed to admit just how early on she had been attracted to John Sheppard.
"You think?" He asked. They had talked about the Bond in the past, but not like this.
Kai shrugged. "I was as clueless as you when it first began."
John snorted. "You at least knew it was a possibility."
Kai chewed on her lip. "But I didn't believe it, I just thought..." she dragged off, unsure how to explain how it had felt to be around him those early months.
John flashed her a boyish grin. "You liked me," he teased.
She blew out a playfully frustrated sigh and turned back to her work, rolling her eyes at his behavior. She wasn't about to dignify that with a response. His ego didn't need the help. Her stoicism only made him chuckle.
"All right," Kai dragged off hitting enter. She looked up from her laptop, comparing the screen to the Jumper's systems. "We are all ready on our end."
The humor fled from John's face quickly and he turned back to face forward, all business as he powered up the Jumper. "Control Room this is Jumper 3, Zian and I are ready to proceed."
"Understood," Chuck responded. "Jumper 3 is clear for departure."
John nodded to Kai and she leaned forward and dialed the DHD. "Gate is dialed," John reported and he watched as Kai accessed the Macro program on her laptop. Once it was uploaded it appeared on the HUD in front of them.
"Forwarding macro has been uploaded," John reported to the control room. He knew every step and key stroke of this test was being monitored and would be reviewed. He didn't want to get yelled at by McKay for not being thorough.
The jumper lowered into the gate room, facing the open wormhole.
"Alight John, you guys have a go," Elizabeth said. "Good luck."
"All right then, here goes," John said grimly. He clicked off his radio and glanced towards Kai. "You ready?" he asked.
Kai nodded.
It had never been pleasant going through the gate, but the pressure had always been instantaneous and then released, nothing but a few seconds of momentary discomfort. The macro extended the time in the wormhole to almost fifteen minutes. Kai wasn't claustrophobic, but the minutes dragged on while her entire body was impossible to move and the pressure built and built and just when she thought it was getting to be too much they came through the other side. Kai gasped in a breath and when she turned to John his jaw was tense and set. The experience hadn't been pleasant for him either.
The gate they exited was part of a skeletal construct that housed a Pegasus gate on one side and a Milky Way gate on the other. In time it would become a small space station with just enough room for a small crew and to allow a single jumper to pass through. For now there was just the frame work connecting the two gates in the middle of the void between galaxies. It was 3 million light years between the two galaxies. Ahead of them the spiral arms of the Milky Way were just visible to the naked eye.
"Beautiful," Kai muttered, taking in the splashes of color against the black back drop of the void.
"Colonel Sheppard, right on time. What's your status?" Colonel Caldwell's voice crackled through their radio.
"You know, felt a little weird. Kai?" John asked glancing towards her.
"Weird," she agreed.
"Kai said weird," John relayed unnecessarily, acting as though Caldwell wouldn't have been able to hear Kai himself through the comms. Kai playfully slapped John's arm with the backs of her fingers. He shot her a wicked grin that made her stomach flip flop. He couldn't resist giving Caldwell hell.
Caldwell managed to keep his response to an impatient sniff. "What is the status of your jumper?" He clarified a little sharper than necessary.
Kai ran her eyes over the screens and was pleased to see all their numbers were reading normal. "We're good," she told John with a nod.
"Everyone seems to be in one piece. Ready to proceed to next phase," John said, serious once more. "Uploading macro and initiating dialing sequence," John said nodding towards Kai.
Kai dialed earth, but there was a long silence from the other side of the comms. Kai frowned, wondering if Caldwell was making things difficult for John on purpose. It would serve John right. There was no reason to keep poking at Caldwell. She knew it was because of how Caldwell had treated her in the past, and while it was sweet, it was wholly unnecessary. There was only one Colonel from earth whose opinion mattered to her. She had mastered the art of avoidance when it came to Caldwell.
"Daedalus ready to proceed," John reminded them a little impatiently. "Has McKay given us a go?"
"Colonel Sheppard you have a go," Caldwell told him, but it sounded like the other Colonel was barely paying attention.
John nodded and flew through the gate. The sensation was the same, the crushing pressure that seemed to lift just in time as they came through the other side. Kai looked around with interest as she saw Stargate command for the first time. So far everything was just as she remembered from John's hallucination of their gate room. It was much more industrial and military feeling than Atlantis. The coldness of the instillation reminded her a lot of her own people.
"About time," an acerbic voice crackled over the comms. Kai tensed. Most of her interactions with people in positions of power from earth had not been positive.
"Sorry General O'Neill, sir," John said with a laugh, that made Kai relax a degree. She wasn't entirely certain what to expect from her first trip to earth, but watching John's face, Kai could tell he liked this commanding officer.
"Colonel Sheppard," General Landry greeted. "Kai Zian, welcome to earth. Colonel Sheppard, you know where to park. We'll debrief and go over the flight data when you're ready."
"Yes sir," John replied and he raised the jumper up into the hanger.
While Kai finished downloading the Jumper's flight data John hovered over her shoulder. She frowned as she felt low level anxiety radiating between them somehow much stronger than before the flight. She went still and turned back to face him, it wasn't like John to be anxious. She glanced around the Jumper but couldn't see what had him so on edge. She had assumed it was the mission and the inherent danger of the test flight, but now she wasn't so sure.
She turned to John. "Is there something wrong?" She asked.
His gaze jerked up to meet hers a look of surprise flashing in his eyes, followed quickly by guilt that temporarily drowned out the anxiety in the Bond. "Sorry," he said looking a little sheepish.
Kai glanced around them. "Am I missing something?" She clarified. "I can feel your tension. Are we in danger here? I thought-"
"No, no of course not," John assured her quickly, feeling even more guilty for making her doubt the SGC, but then he hesitated. "Not like you mean," he clarified.
Kai went very still as she considered his words. He hadn't outright denied the possibility of danger and she could still feel his tension. It wasn't like John to not be straight forward with her.
John felt her discomfort through the bond and took a step closer to her, eating up her personal space. "It's not like that," he assured her quickly. "It's just..." he dragged off raking a hand through his already unruly hair. He hated this feeling of helpless paranoia. He had no reason to distrust the IOA or Stargate command, but he couldn't just turn off his protective instincts, especially when it came to Kai. Back at home he trusted the people around them. He knew if shit hit the fan and he went down, his men would have Kai's back. Here it was hard to say where people's loyalties lay and to them she would always be an outsider. It was something he couldn't protect her from and he hated it. He wanted to turn the jumper around and take her home where she wouldn't have to deal with it.
John hesitated as he realized he no longer thought of earth as home. Somewhere along the line Atlantis has become home and he was already feeling strangely homesick for it. Something he had never experienced before. Home had always been where he laid his head for the night.
"John," Kai prompted. She had remained silent while experiencing the tangle of emotions radiating down the Bond. The last and strongest had been something she thought might be homesickness. Glancing out the window she wondered how long it had been since John had been back. It couldn't be easy for him to be away from his planet for so long.
John snapped out of his thoughts. "A few years back SG-1 brought an ah...ally to earth. They didn't treat him too well," he said shifting his weight restlessly.
"And this ally wasn't human?" Kai asked, perceptive as always.
"He's accepted now, and an extremely valuable member of their team...but that was after they wanted to...study him," John dragged off his jaw tight.
Kai swallowed as she took a moment to process all John was saying. He was worried they would want to do the same to her, she realized. She cleared her throat. "Doctor Beckett conducted a series of tests when I arrived on Atlantis," she reminded him keeping her voice perfectly level.
"Not like that," John said grimly.
"Are you planning on joining us sometime soon?" General Landry's voice came through their comms.
"Contrary to what you might think, I do have other things to do today, important things," General O'Neill quipped.
"Briefing room," General Landry barked.
"Yes, sir," John answered through the comm. Then he turned back to Kai. "Look, it's fine. I'm just being paranoid," he assured her. "I trust General O'Neill," and the ring of truth in his words reverberated down the Bond. He turned and opened the rear hatch of the Jumper.
Kai finished a few last key strokes and closed her laptop. She slid it into her cross body bag and stood. John stood in the rear compartment, his broad shoulders tense as the ramp lowered. The lights in the bay were bright and left him in silhouette. He looked determined and powerful.
She wished she could do something to make him feel better, but this wasn't something she could fight. Kai smoothed her hands over her thighs and glanced down at herself. She had not considered how she chose to dress this morning important. She wore her more traditional Mortii leather pants and knee high boots. She had a fitted, long sleeved black athletic shirt beneath her flak vest. She had kitted herself out in case something went wrong and had a sidearm on her hip and her Blades in their x shaped sheath against her low back. She didn't know if it would have been better to appear harmless or strong. Her own people only valued and respected strength. She trusted John to know what the best tactic was to navigate the situation and would follow his lead.
Kai disliked the feeling of self doubt pooling in her stomach. She wasn't used to it and she wanted to appear competent and confident when she met John's superiors. She knew John had gone out on the limb for her, risking a lot to bring her into Atlantis initially, and now even more for this thing between them. She only hoped she would prove to be worthy of it.
John felt Kai step up close to him as they descended the jumper. Technicians descended on the jumper to complete whatever additional tests Carter had called for. He could feel her doubt and hated that she worried all because he couldn't control what went down the Bond.
When he and Kai stepped into the hall he was so distracted he nearly bumped into Carter.
"Colonel," Carter greeted, snapping off a salute before flashing a warm smile.
"Major," John said, returning her salute.
"I was hoping to catch you on the way up to the briefing," she said. She glanced towards Kai and quickly extended her hand. "Major Samantha Carter," she introduced herself.
Kai took the woman's hand. She was taller than Kai by a couple inches, had an athletic build and short blond hair. It was obvious she was military, but she was warmer and more relaxed than most military people she had seen so far. John was still tense and worried, but there was no malice in the woman's body language. "Kai Zian," she said with a respectfully nod of her head.
"Welcome to earth," Carter said with another smile. "It's great to finally meet you. I've of course heard a lot about you. I've read most of your repair logs about the Jumpers. Great work."
Kai swallowed, surprised by the woman's words of praise. "Thank you," she said quickly, nodding respectfully once again.
"Well, we better not keep the Generals waiting," Carter said and she led the way towards the elevator and up to the briefing room.
John was tense as they came through the door. Kai had seen him more relaxed facing a squad of Wraith. He snapped off salutes to the two men. They returned them, but their eyes immediately went to Kai who was slightly behind John's shoulder. She was forced to half step around him so she would not appear to be hiding from them. She might be uncertain and self conscious, but she wouldn't let these powerful men know that.
"Kai Zian," the first of the two men greeted. Both men were older than any humans that worked on Atlantis. This one had steel grey hair and his heavier build suggested it had been a long time since he had seen the field work that earned the medals that decorated the breast of his uniform. "I am General Landry, welcome to Earth."
"General Jack O'Neill," the other man introduced himself. He reached across the table and shook her hand. The action made him seem like the more friendly of the two, but Kai quickly decided he was the more dangerous. His hair was lighter grey, but despite his age he was still fit and strong looking.
Landry gestured to the chairs and the group sat. John took the seat next to Kai and when Carter was about to move to the opposite side of the table the door opened. A stern looking man in a suit walked in like he owned the place.
Kai felt John's tension ratchet up another notch and she drew in a breath. He still appeared calm, only she would know how much the stranger's presence had upset him.
"Heath, what the hell are you doing here?" Landry asked a little gruffly.
The man took a seat beside the Generals, snapping open his briefcase. "The IOA and the President have given Langley permission to attend all briefings regarding the SGC program."
Carter's eyes flickered to first O'Neill's and then Sheppard's for a brief moment before she moved around the table and took the other seat on Kai's left. Kai recognized it for an act of solidarity, but she wasn't sure why it was necessary. This man didn't look any more dangerous than Woolsey had when he came to Atlantis.
"We heard about today's briefing following the flight and felt it pertinent to have a presence."
"I didn't realize you cared so much about the mechanical mechanisms of the Jumpers," O'Neill said. His tone was lazy, but his eyes were hard as he watched the man in the suit.
"I don't," the man said sharply. "But-"
"That's too bad," O'Neill said, his casual tone swallowed up so quickly it was disorienting. "Because that's all we're here to talk about. How the jumper fared during the trip. Isn't that right General?" O'Neill asked crisply.
"So it is," Landry agreed.
"Don't play games with me, I have the report right here," he said looking down at his files. "A...super assassin almost genetically identical to the ones you call Ancients comes to earth and you think we'll just let her leave?"
John's whole body locked down, he could hear his pulse pounding in his ears as something that might have been terror choked him. The second the suit from Langely walked in he had been powerless to protect Kai. He had brought her here and practically offered her up to them. It was his worst fear.
"I think it's time to leave," Sheppard snarled, unable to help himself. His voice was as dangerous as the gleam in his hazel eyes.
Kai recognized the anger rising in John and knew he was about to do something that would get him in trouble, all because of her. Not wanting to draw attention to them, Kai reached down the Bond, trying to push towards him so he would know she was fine, but she could feel nothing but his rage. It was deafening. She reached under the table and laid a hand in his thigh.
John flinched at the physical touch, so focused on the man in front of them Kai surprised him.
"A super assassin," O'Neill said sounding impressed. "Now that would be cool. Unfortunately, I think that meeting must be down the hall. Here it's just the Colonel here and a mechanic from Atlantis."
The man looked like he had sucked in a lemon. "Don't think-" he started.
General Landry shifted, drawing the attention back to him. "I don't think you are hearing us son. You better go check your information, you're in the wrong room."
The man's eyes flickered to Kai and a menacing gleam flashed. "If you're just a mechanic where are you from?" He challenged.
John moved like he was going to stand and Kai knew whatever was about to come out of his mouth was going to make things a thousand times worse. Kai's thoughts raced and she quickly spoke up. "Martha's Vineyard," she said.
He grunted in surprise but kept pushing. "Favorite food?" He challenged.
"French fries," Kai snapped back without missing a beat.
"Movie."
"Star Wars."
"Okay thats enough," General Landry said pushing himself to his feet. "I think we've entertained this long enough. You know your way out."
The man's eyes were hard but he stood nonetheless, he didn't want to risk being wrong, but he obeyed.
Once the door closed behind him, O'Neill turned to Kai. "Martha's Vineyard?" He asked, arching a brow.
Kai turned back to the General, going incredibly still in that way that reminded everyone she was not quite human. "Good surfing I'm told," she said and O'Neill threw back his head and laughed.
O'Neill glanced towards Sheppard, noting his hands that were still clenched into fists and his tight jaw. He hadn't had the opportunity to work directly with Sheppard, but all reports painted him as a competent, if laid back, commander who was loyal to a fault and had a serious problem with authority. The man's disregard for the chain of command was so legendary it was a miracle he had been promoted past Major. Of course, O'Neill had been in the room the day Doctor Weir put her foot down and insisted on the promotion. The most recent report from Doctor Weir was still sitting on his desk and certainly seemed to explain the Colonel's uncharacteristic show of temper. O'Neill cut his eyes to the small woman to Sheppard's right before turning back to Sheppard. "Relax Colonel," he said glibly. "He won't be back for at least half an hour."
"I think it's still prudent we wrap up this meeting and get you back on your way before that," Landry said. "In lieu of a full debriefing we'll have you download the flight data to Major Carter."
Kai nodded in agreement. It seems the Generals of earth weren't as bad as she first thought.
The door burst open as they were all standing and Daniel stood looking over their group in confusion, a stack of files clutched to his chest. "Am I late?" He asked.
O'Neill clapped him on the shoulder as he passed him. "'Fraid so."
"I was hoping to interview Ms. Zian," Daniel said looking back and forth between the two generals. He knew he wasn't that late. He glanced down at his watch, confirming the briefing had been set to start less then five minutes ago.
Kai watched the bookish looking man curiously. Although clutching papers with his glasses sliding down his nose there was something about him that prickled at her instincts. A quiet confidence that suggested he had seen more than most scientists she had encountered. John hadn't tensed when the man joined them, which suggested he was a known entity that John didn't perceive as a threat.
"I'm afraid you're too late for that Doctor Jackson," General Landry said grimly. "Colonel Sheppard and Ms. Zian were just leaving."
Daniel began to sputter. "But her culture is one we haven't...I mean, she's a-" he started to say and cut off his words at the dark look in Colonel Sheppard's eyes.
"Heck of a mechanic," O'Neill filled in brightly. "I know, too bad. That would have been quite the interesting paper. A real page turner."
"Doctor Jackson, may I have a word?" Landry called.
Kai had the distinct impression the general was giving them time to make a hasty escape. Not that she felt like Daniel was a danger, but rather that he was likely to slow them down. John rested a hand on her low back and propelled her forward into the hall.
"Kai, do you mind if I ask you a few questions about the macro?" Major Carter asked, falling into step beside her.
Kai nodded her affirmation. "Of course Major Carter."
"Please, call me Sam," she said with a warm smile, and the two of them set out towards the bay where they had left the jumper.
"Colonel," General O'Neill called after Sheppard when he would have followed Kai and Carter. "A word."
John hesitated and turned back around to face him. O'Neill glanced towards Kai, but she was far enough ahead he assumed she was out of earshot.
John knew better, but he didn't bother pointing it out to the General that Kai would be able to hear what he had to say just about anywhere on the level unless they went into one of the sound proof interrogation rooms.
"With all the tension in there today, I didn't really want to bring it up, but recently a report from Doctor Weir found it's way to my desk..."
Sheppard stiffened, but his face didn't give anything away. Ahead of them Kai hesitated for a step. O'Neill noticed. His gaze flickered from Sheppard to Zian and back again. "You know what, it's not really important right now," O'Neill said with casual smile. "We can talk about it next time, but ah, let's keep the fraternizing to a minimum. The IOA and SG command haven't read it yet, but they are likely going to have a lot to say about it."
John stiffened but fought to keep the flash of anger off his face. "It is expressly against regulations to fraternize with someone under my command. I have never engaged in any kind of questionable behavior with anyone in the United States military," he bit off crisply. He liked O'Neill, but he hadn't missed the looks passing between him and Carter. He would be damned if he would be railroaded just because Elizabeth felt the need to write some report about something that wasn't her business. He wouldn't have cared either way, but he hadn't actually broken any rules this time.
A smirk pulled at the corner of Jack's mouth as he took in the flash of temper in Sheppard's eyes. He found he liked the Colonel a little bit more now. He grinned as he clapped Sheppard on the back. "See that it stays that way Colonel."
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