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Home Cont.
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The driver parked the car outside a small, but tastefully designed ultra-modern house. John climbed out of the car first. He gathered their bags while Kai trailed along behind. She glanced up and down the street, but there was nothing to see. No one out walking and no other cars. She frowned, wondering if the Major's neighborhood was always this quiet.
John walked up to the garage pad and quickly typed in his four digit code. The garage opened showing a sleek black on black Ducati and a perfectly restored 1969 Corvette Stringray. "Oh yeah," he said smirking proudly. He already couldn't wait to get them out on the road.
He opened the door that led into the house. "Just like I left it," and he led the way inside. He set their bags off to the side and headed deeper into the room.
Kai frowned as she moved around the quiet room. "Are you bonded?" she asked, suddenly realizing there might be someone else in the house. No one had ever mentioned the Major being bonded but he seemed like a private person.
"Bonded?" he asked in confusion.
Kai pressed her lips together. "Mated?" She tried frowning as she tried to remember anyone mentioning the word their culture used.
"Married," John finished for her. "And no, absolutely not."
Kai chuckled. It didn't surprise her to hear that. He didn't seem like the type to settle down. "So all of this space is for you?" she clarified.
"Well, a guy's gotta have a lot of space," John said as he looked over his house. It was perfect in every way. Right down to the framed Johnny Cash poster on the wall. "I bet there's still-" he dragged off moving behind the bar that was set up off the living room. He opened the mini fridge and sure enough there were two beers sitting on the top shelf. "Perfect," he said, though he was frowning thoughtfully. He carried them over to the bar and used an opener to pop the tops.
He held one out to Kai. "Nice and cold," he encouraged when she didn't reach for it at first.
She lifted the glass bottle to her nose. "It's fermented," she observed.
"It's called beer," John said with a smile. He snapped one of the caps across the room.
Kai took a sip, nodded in approval and tilted it back to drink half the bottle. Then she moved around the Major's living space. She dragged her fingers along the top of one of the tables. She wondered about the Major saying there was something wrong here. In some ways she could see the Major in a place like this, but it just didn't feel right.
"Is all of this for recreation?" she asked staring at the pinball machine.
"Yeah," John argeed. "I got just about everything you can imagine, don't I?"
Kai stared into the Major's eyes. "What is it?" she asked, he seemed unsettled again.
"I was just thinking again..." he assured her, forcing a smile. "About Doctor Weir and everyone else back on Atlantis..." he drug off.
Kai nodded in understanding. "I'm sure they're fine."
"Yeah," John agreed stepping up next to the wall of windows beside Kai. "I'm sure you're right. Hey, how's the head?" he asked suddenly.
"What?" Kai asked baffled by the major's sudden change of subject.
"Your head," he said motioning towards her. "Right when Rodney dialed the gate..."
Kai frowned for a moment as though the memory was hazy. "Right," she agreed. "I haven't felt anything like it since."
"Well that's good," he said awkwardly. He wasn't sure why he was so uneasy being alone with Kai. It wasn't like he wasn't used to bringing women to his house, but he wasn't trying to seduce Kai. The two of them had spent no recreational time together before this and he didn't know how to act. Back on the planet it seemed like such an easy answer to bring her with so she could help brief the military. He hadn't considered what it might be like having it be just the two of them for up to a month. He could have left her back at Stargate Command, the look on Kai's face back in the infirmary made it clear she hadn't expected to be cleared to leave the base. But leaving her behind after she volunteered to come all this way felt like using her. He had been sincere with Weir that morning. If they expected her to earn their trust they had to return the favor.
"Here," he said moving towards where he had set down their bags. "I'll show you where you can stay."
He led the way down a short hall and opened a door. "There," he said gesturing inside. "Guest room."
Kai stood beside him in the hall peaking around the doorway. "Are we not going back to the base?" She asked in surprise.
John hesitated for a moment, frowning down at her. The narrow hall forced her to stand close. "You can if you want to, I thought you'd be more comfortable staying here."
Kai blinked up at him, her face remained impassive but her confusion showed in her eyes. "You're inviting me to stay in your home?"
"Yeah, sure. I mean we already kind of did back on Atlantis."
"This is different," Kai said. "This is your personal space and your personal life. That is very different than what you do professionally."
"In case you didn't notice, my work is my life. We're gonna be stuck in military quarters for three weeks on the Prometheus on the way back to Atlantis. You might as well be comfortable now. Bathroom's through there," he pointed across the room to the en suit and then hitched his thumb over his shoulder towards the other closed door. "My rooms across the hall."
Kai simply couldn't fathom why the Major would be so nice to her. "Thank you Major."
The two of them walked back out to the living room.
"Hey," John said after a moment. "Let's get out of here. Have you ever heard of a motorcycle? I've got one in the garage. We can take it out. I'll show you the sights with the wind in your hair," he said with a boyish grin.
Kai found herself returning his smile. His enthusiasm infectious. "You don't want to spend time in your home after being gone so long?" she asked looking around the house in confusion.
"You came all this way, you should see earth, right? Well, it's out there."
"You don't have any friends or family you would like to visit?" she asked. She found it ridiculous to think the major didn't have someone important to him.
"There's an idea," John said snapping his finger, and the very next second the doorbell rang. John's smile faded for only a moment as he moved to the door and opened it. Two large, burly men stood outside it.
"Hey!" they greeted together.
"Mitch, Dex," John said his voice low in disbelief.
"You didn't really think you could pass through town without seeing us, did you Shep?" Dex asked with a wide grin.
Kai frowned at the Major. He stood, blocking the doorway, staring at the two men in utter disbelief.
"So are you going to invite us in or what?" Mitch asked.
"Well, yeah, sure, what the hell," John said, stepping back to allow his old army buddies inside.
The two were chuckling together as they came in. "Hi," one of them said stopping in front of Kai. He raked his eyes up and down her. "I'm Dex," he greeted, winking at her.
"That's enough of that," John called, shoving them both towards the bar. He paused beside Kai, there was a smile on his face, but his eyes were troubled. Kai stepped towards him, into his space so she could speak without being heard.
"Major?" she asked uncertainly.
He snorted and shook his head. "It's fine, they're old buddies of mine," he assured her.
She nodded but didn't believe him. For some reason in that moment she remembered the hard nudge she had felt in her mind earlier in the day. She tried to hold onto the memory of that, what it felt like, but it made her feel inexplicably sad. She jerked away from the memory, blinking back to the present. She shook it off turning her focus back to their new guests and followed the Major back into his living room.
Over the next hour more and more people started showing up . People were moving through the house and outside where they were using his swimming pool. John stood at the windows as he listened to Dex telling Kai yet another war story.
"So our boys were pinned down and hotshot here takes his chopper over the bridge-"
"And we're supposed to follow him," Mitch added.
"Well, there's no way I'm flying a blackhawk over a bridge with enemy tanks on it-"
"Wait," Mitch interrupted again. "With what on it?"
"Tanks," Dex said laughing.
"You're welcome," Mitch replied and the two of them roared with laughter.
Kai was sitting politely in the chair beside John. He stiffened and it was obvious it was an old joke because he tensed and nodded. He took another swig of beer as his two old friends obnoxiously competed for Kai's attention.
"Yeah," John agreed, "that was ah, priceless."
"But ah, we got that special ops team out of there, didn't we Shep?" Dex asked seriously.
"Yes we did," John agreed.
"Tell you what, that was some flying," Mitch said holding his bottle up to John.
The doorbell rang again and John moved towards it. "Well," he said as the door opened. "Look who's in the pizza delivary business," John said with a wry smile.
"No sir," Aiden Ford said peaking around the pile of a dozen pizza boxes. "Just caught the guy on the walk up."
"You know," John said, motioning to the table for Ford to set them down. "I was just thinking about you..." he trailed off scowling. "It looks like we-" he dragged off as a hot blonde in a bikini leaned in to get a piece of pizza. "are having a party."
John scowled as he suddenly started to feel too warm. He stared at Ford, wondering why he was so uncomfortable. Ford moved off to follow the blonde. The only one who seemed aware something was bothering him was Kai. He paced around the outside of the party. Everyone seemed to be having a good time, but Kai met his gaze. Her own concern mirrored his.
"We didn't know what to think-" Dex was already telling another story. "I mean this guy was supposedly one of the most ruthless warlords in all of Afghanistan, and suddenly he just sits down at our table."
Sheppard walked back into the living room, Kai stayed on the edge of the crowd trying to get a sense of what it was that had the Major pacing like a caged animal.
"Sir, you gotta hear this story," Ford said, the bikini clad woman sitting on his lap.
John cocked his head to the side as he stared at them. "Yeah, I was there Lieutenant," John said frowning at Ford.
"Oh yeah, you remember. Turns out he just wants to practice his english. Shep spent half the night talking to this guy."
Kai nodded but was still only half listening to the story. The two men had been vying for her attention all day, but she was paying attention to the Major who was growing increasingly agitated with each passing minute.
"Yeah that was funny," John agreed, taking a long swig from his beer as he finally figured out what it was that was bothering him so much.
"He wouldn't even let you get up to use the bathroom, remember?" Mitch laughed and so did everyone else.
"Yeah," John agreed. "Then two days later, you guys were killed outside Kabul."
Kai's whole body went into lock down. She looked around at the amassed crowd suddenly realizing what Sheppard had. She moved in long strides towards the Major. "What are you saying?" she hissed in a low voice.
John kept his body facing the crowd but turned to look down at Kai who was only inches away. "Their chopper took an RPG when it touched down for a medevac," his eyes were haunted by the memory as he stared into Kai's. "There was barely enough left to bring back for a military burial."
"What?" Dex demanded.
"You guys have been dead for years. I mean don't get me wrong, it's really nice seeing you. And you too Miss Watson."
"John-" Mitch started to say.
"She was my sixth grade school teacher," John said and he turned to one of the gorgeous woman who had been listening to their war stories in awe. "And I don't even remember your name, but I do know you wouldn't even date me!" And he spun around to face Ford, scowling. "And you're on Atlantis, and can't even work up the courage to ask that girl to have lunch with you!" he yelled pointing at the woman who had been sitting in his lap.
"Shep, maybe we oughta take you to see a doctor," Mitch said.
"Oh really?" John asked, his voice rising with tension.
"Yeah," Dex agreed. "You're acting pretty strange."
John chuckled. "Oh, I'm acting strange? Huh?" he whirled around and snatched the side arm off a man he recognized from basic.
The whole room went quiet as John lifted the gun. Kai frowned. She should have been able to hear more beyond the room, but there was nothing. She stretched her senses and felt that strange nudge once more. This time she didn't let herself get distracted by it.
When the Major moved so did she. She jerked her knife free of it's sheath, turning so the two of them were back to back. John fired the gun and a body hit the floor. Kai wanted to turn, but she kept her eyes on the people at the Major's back. Everyone was panicked and screaming.
"You shot me!" Dex's voice raged through the house.
"You're already dead!" John retorted.
"Sir!" Ford called from his seat, making like he was going to get up. Kai pointed her black blade at the center of his chest and he raised his hands.
"I'm having serious doubts about you too Lieutenant, I wouldn't put them to the test," John warned, turning his gun back to the room. He lifted the bottle of beer to his lips and took a long drink.
"Now," he demanded. "Someone please explain to me what the hell is going on here!" he demanded swinging his gun back and forth across the room.
There was a flash of power. Behind him Kai cried out and everything went black. In the next heartbeat he was standing on the gate ramp back at Stargate Command. He was still holding his hands like he had a gun and a beer, but his hands were empty. He frowned as he looked around. Kai was still standing at his back. She was still wearing the same clothes they had bought, but her knife was gone. McKay was on his left looking confused. John scowled as Doctor Weir and General Hammond appeared in a white mist in front of them.
"What happened?" he demanded.
The General watched unblinking as Weir stepped closer to the rest of the team. "I drew you together from your fractured realities," he explained.
"No, I'm talking about the beer I had," John said looking down at his hands. He scowled at his hands, trying to will the gun and beer back into existence as he had seemed able to do since the beginning.
General Hammond watched him with interest. "Major Sheppard discovered the truth some time ago," the General told the others with mild curiousity in his voice.
"He did?" McKay asked in dismay.
"Yeah," John said with a shrug. "Home for the last eleven months has been a research base in Antarctica, although, I did dream about a bachelor pad like that, but-"
General Hammond interrupted Sheppard's explanation. "Major Sheppard seemed uniquely capable of manipulating his own fabricated reality."
John grunted. "When I think about the scenario's I could have thought up, I'd kick myself."
"The realities you experienced were fabrications of your own minds," he said looking over Doctor Weir and Doctor McKay. General Hammond turned to Kai. "You are not like them. You were resistant to the psychic link."
"Well I'm not exactly human," she said with a grim smile.
"Correct, it made the process...painful. We do apologize for that. You also had no memories of earth to draw from. Major Sheppard's inclination to protect you fostered a link we were able to use to cause you to share in Major Sheppard's illusion."
Kai turned to John. He swung back around to look at her, nodding as though his words made sense. "I thought that was you."
"It is unfortunate that you all became aware so quickly, however you may now create a fabricated reality of your own choosing in which to live out the remainder of your lives."
"What?" Weir demanded.
"That's not going to work for us," John said stepping towards the General.
"I'm afraid the matter is beyond your control."
Weir stood in stunned silence, but John stepped forward aggressively. "Well, we'll find a way to fight you."
"That would be quite impossible Major. Even now you are simply experiencing a shared fabrication. It would be best if you try to make a life for yourselves."
"This isn't life," John snarled. "What do you expect us to do, just pretend?"
"I'm sorry," General Hammond said grimly. "But that's all I can offer," and he turned to go.
"Wait," Weir called after him. "Why would you do this?"
"To protect ourselves," he replied simply.
"From us?" Weir asked in confusion.
"We weren't trying to hurt anyone," Kai said.
General Hammond's eyes traveled to her. "Unlike you, we exist in a non-corporeal form suseptable to the destructive effects of the stargate on our homeworld."
"What destructive effects?" Weir asked.
McKay started snapping as he came down the ramp. "The energy reading we picked up, they were life signs. You were in the mist."
"We are the mist. And every time the gate is activated lives are lost. Over time explorers have come and gone completely unaware of our existence. Sacrifices are made to ensure our secrecy. But when you came back we grew concerned. To learn your intentions we had no choice but to enter your minds. When we discovered what you were about to do, we were forced to take preventative measures."
Weir scowled. "But you just said, you let others come and go. Why not allow us to do the same?"
General Hammond turned so he was fully facing Doctor Weir. "Your desire to return to your homeworld was too strong. The amount of energy required to gate to another galaxy would have killed millions of our kind."
McKay frowned. "So when we dialed the gate-"
"You never dialed the gate. You just imagined you did. You're unconscious even now on the planet's surface."
McKay groaned. "So none of this is real. The cute brunette, of course I should have known. I mean how do you go from 'you're a pig but I like your cat' to 'I missed you'?"
The General was apologetic. "We lacked a sophisticated understanding of your world. As a result the illusions we created from your thoughts were ultimately flawed."
"Well the dead people were a dead give away," John said sarcastically.
"Dead people?" McKay asked frowning. His gaze ran to Kai and back to Sheppard. "What were you doing?"
Weir's forehead was wrinkled with concern as she stepped toward General Hammond. "If you had just told us, I mean maybe we could-"
"Whoa, whoa whoa, wait," McKay called interrupting. "I just realized something. You're saying our unconscious bodies are still on the planet."
"Yes."
McKay's eyes widened in panic. "Yeah well, so we need food, we need water, I mean we need food. Kai and I skipped lunch to keep working, and only had a power bar. How long have we been there?"
"What he's saying," John said stepping forward and holding a hand out to quiet Rodney. "Is that we won't live long in that state."
"Then I suggest you make the most of the time you have left," General Hammond said simply.
"You're killing us in order to save yourselves," Weir said.
"In order to save millions of our kind," Hammond agreed nodding. "I believe you would do the same," he said his gaze landing on Sheppard in particular.
"If we don't make it back in a certain time frame, our people will come looking for us," Kai warned striding down the ramp.
"Others of your kind?" he clarified.
Kai nodded.
"They'll show up, what are you going to do? Kill them too?" Sheppard challenged.
"More will come," Kai promised.
John crossed his arms over his chest. "Sooner or later they'll figure out how to access the gate. Then millions of your kind will die. We don't leave people behind, and if you were really General Hammond you would know that."
Weir immediately jumped in, seeing the strength in their position. "But if you allow us to leave here, we promise we will never return, ever. You will not have to fear us ever again," she said fiercely. "I give you my word."
"How can you make such a promise when you so desire to return home?" Hammond asked, baffled.
John scoffed. "Sure, we'd like to go home. But we aren't willing to kill millions of your kind to do it. You've been in our heads, hell, you're in our heads right now. You should know we mean that."
General Hammond looked over each of them in turn before finally nodding. "I understand," he agreed. They disappeared from the gateroom in a white mist.
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They all groaned as they woke up on the planets surface. Kai shoved herself to her feet. Her stomach rolled and her head pounded at the sudden movement but she forced herself to move. Major Sheppard was right beside her, his gun raised and swinging around.
"I don't mean to sound negative," McKay said, groaning. "Because you know, that is so not me, but how do we know this isn't a double fake out? I mean how do we know that this is our reality?"
"This is your reality," the disembodied voice of General Hammond echoed through the mist. "You have my word."
"I'm starving,"
McKay whined. "He's gotta be right."
"I wonder how long we've been out," John asked.
"I need to get the control crystal out of the DHD shouldn't take more than a few minutes," Mckay said moving towards the control panel.
"I'll give you a hand," Kai offered.
"Thank you, for trusting us," Weir called into the mist. She turned to the control panel. "Rodney be careful with that. I want to make sure we can get back home."
"You mean Atlantis," McKay said, grunting as he pulled the control panel open.
"I think that's what she meant," Sheppard replied sardonically.
"How was I supposed to know that she wasn't proposing we pull a double fake and dial earth?"
John groaned. "Forget the double fake out and get the damn crystal. Let's get home."
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I hope you enjoyed this update! I've already started writing the next one and can't wait! It's The Storm!