Elizabeth Weir/John Sheppard Appreciation/Ship/Discussion Thread

[Falcon Horus]

You were mentioned personally on the blog of doom? I'm impressed! Sugar for you.

Yeah, I was... not one of my most memorable moments but yeah... I had a starring role in one of the entries.

[Eri13]

Yeah, I was... not one of my most memorable moments but yeah... I had a starring role in one of the entries.

I got a mention, too, though it happened to be in the same blog in which we were told Torri had decided not to return for S5. That was a day of mixed emotions. >8D.

Nice post, 'Nuna. And it looks like it did end well. I like meeting people like that.

[Anuna]

Okayyyyy, I am about to go to sleep, but not without a present. A sneak peak into one of my favorite BoD moments. It's John and Rodney at their best - not that I'm complimenting my own writing (wait, I am! LOL) - but I just like this, and how it simply flef out of me and onto the "paper".

Spoiler:

*

John observed as Rodney paced around the room, typing at the datapad in his hand.

“Any progress?” he asked. Rodney stopped, spinning around, a dissatisfied expression on his face. John must have wanted to snap at him, but at the last moment all that escaped him was an exhausted, frustrated sigh.

“Okay, I think I can safely say what this thing <i>does</i> to you,” he scratched the back of his head, ignoring the irritated look john was giving him. There was a good reason why scientific work shouldn't have been rushed, and he certainly learned how to ignore John's nagging and panic during the years on Atlantis. “It puts you asleep and gains access to your higher brain functions. It appears that the device has some kind of artificial intelligence interface and gains access to your consciousness. I bet you'll find this bit interesting, it even has a name.”

John's eyebrows rose at that. Rodney could see he was worried, but there was even more, he was feeling responsible. He was always feeling responsible when things went sideways.

“A name?”

“Yes. It's called Pandora. Actually it's Pandora – something but my knowledge of Ancient goes only so far, and we could use someone who can -,” Rodney gave John an apologetic look. John's expression didn't change, though.

“Why don't I like this?”

“Because nothing good can come out of a thing called Pandora?”

John took a seat, looking over to the stasis pod. The glassy surface fogged slightly with Teyla's every breath. He was frowning, a perplexed expression on his face.

“She's here... yet she isn't.”

“That's what Jennifer said.”

“And Doctor Foster said her brain is active like she's awake.... but we can't wake her. Which means -”

“The machine is doing something to her brain.”

John looked at Rodney and his eyes widened.

“Then... could it be that this thing is taking her <i>mind</i> on time travel? Didn't Jennifer mention that her brain activity resembles -”

Rodney was about to contradict him, but then suddenly the dots seemed to connect.

“Wait. Wait, wait, you might be onto something. This machine was built to manipulate the mind, but it also has the -”

“- flux capacitor,” added John helpfully.

“That term is so wrong on so many levels, but yes, that's exactly.... what it has. Actually, this is good news. This is very good news.”

John frowned, “It is?”

“We know who've built this. Actually we don't know if he <i>built</i> it but he certainly played with it. Janus, right? We know that he was, obviously, interested in time travel. We know he liked to play with the possibilities that time travel can offer,” he paused, looking at his John tentatively. “We know what he did with the – the other Elizabeth.”

“A stasis pod.”

Rodney spun around, facing the stasis pod where Teyla was locked. “Yes. Exactly, that's right. A stasis pod. It keeps you alive, slows down your body functions, preserves you until specific point of time, or an event at which stasis pod unlocks. Right?”

John gave Rodney a confused look and nodded. “Can't say I'm a huge fan of – uh – those.”

“And it can't be unlocked from this side...”

Both of them were standing in front of the stasis pod, looking at their friend who seemed to be asleep.”Which means it can only be unlocked from in there.”

“Brilliant thinking.”

“Could have been Mensa.”

Rodney snorted. They stared at the pod for several long and quiet moments.

“She would know what to do,” it seemed like John was thinking out loud. “She always keeps a level head.”

“Yeah,” Rodney said, watching John frown.

“That thing is playing with her head. Her -”

Rodney closed his eyes. There was something Carson and Jennifer mentioned, something he didn't pay much attention to, because medicine was after all much like voodoo. Poke something and it hurts.

“The machine has an interface. Like... like Gameboy. You plug it in, you play with it.”

“Gameboy is so last year.”

“I actually think it's older,” John cocked his head to the side still staring at Teyla.

“Point taken,” Rodney felt like he was missing something, a crucial piece of the puzzle.”Judging by the data I've got from the main console, the interface was activated first, and the -”

“Windows assistance after that.”

“Brilliant but oh-so-wrong metaphor again, but yes. I get what you're thinking and your thinking is right. Remind me to tell you why I hate Windows,” Rodney paced toward the console, “But yeah, you're right on your money with that one. Only this thing is smarter than Windows. Much smarter, trickier...”

“Yeah, and it's called Pandora.”

“Yeah. Anyway, we can assume that Teyla got plugged in and then after this thing scanned her brain Windows assistance got activated. Which is when her brain activity was increased, like -”

“Like Elizabeth's was, when she got infected with the nanites,” John finished off grimly. Rodney gave him a dark look. He hesitated a moment before he asked the next question.

“Did she ever tell you what happened?”

John pressed his lips together, then faced away from him. Rodney watched him wander the room, internally berating himself. They almost lost Elizabeth back then, and John managed to save her life by some dumb luck -- but the nanites remained and everything ended the way it did. Rodney looked down, facing the familiar guilt as he remembered the events from almost two years ago. He didn't look into that memory very often, but when he did, it felt like it was only yesterday.

“I know that it's hard for you to -”

John looked at him. Rodney wasn't speechless very often, and this, this was something they didn't talk about. Ever.

They all made choices.

“Look, I, I'm -”

“She said it felt like living a real life,” John's voice cut his line of thought and it didn't sound as his own.

Rodney still wondered if reactivating the nanites was the right choice.

“That's why you didn't want to -”

“Yes,” whispered John. They stared at each other, with the gleam from the stasis pod flickering between them. “Didn't want someone... take her <i>life</i> away from her. All of – this.”

Take away the life. Rodney stared at his friend, pondering his choice of words and tone of his voice. They took away her reality, everything she built for herself, her friends, her work, her dedication... her choices. The life itself was made of choices, Rodney thought, of decisions and questions and regrets. Sometimes he wished he could go back and -

“Holy -!! How didn't I think of that before? It's so simple I could smack myself – where's Kanaan?”

John gave him a confused, almost angry look, when Rodney literally grabbed him and shook him.

“That thing he told us that, uh, prayer? Didn't you ever wish to go back to your past and fix whatever you did wrong?”

It took him a few moments, but then confusion disappeared from John's eyes.

“Are you saying that this machine -?”

Rodney smiled.

“Janus was a sneaky little bastard. A genius even. Go back to your past and fix whatever was wrong? Except you can never do that if you physically go back to your past, or your future, right McFly?”

John frowned, still seemingly unsure of what was going on.

“Stuff that happened to Marty McFly, remember? Or do you just think mentioning DeLorean is cool?”

“McFly's mom had a a crush on him?”

“Exactly! But there's a way to go around that. Instead of physical time travel, Janus came up with this,” Rodney pointed at the stasis pod and Teyla's unmoving form. “A brilliant, fail safe solution. Everything happens in your <i>head</i>. You don't go back in time, you <i>recreate your past</i>, rewrite your life, it's like on Doctor Who, which you should watch. You're here, and this machine takes your mind wherever it wants to go, your mind TARDIS, and, I assume, to whatever time you want to change. And then you <i>do</i>.”

“And it takes effect?”

“It probably does. It most definitely does. Which begs the question -”

John looked between sleeping Teyla and Rodney.

“Why didn't she wake up yet?”

[Scary Kitty]

Chapter 4 of RTP pt. 2 is now up. I am so excited for everybody to read this one. You are going to be thrilled and surprised.

Spoiler:

There is a space battle to die for and Kanaan mans up in a whole new way. I just love how the Athosian part of this is working out.

We have the best writers in the entire universe.

I concur that chapter 4 has epic visual effects - the whole budget was blown for it - thank you SK!!

*salutes SR and FH*

Hey, if you're gonna blow stuff up, you've got to go all out!

*waves* I hope you don't mind me throwing your name out there. You are sort of our official ambassador and general all around objective source. You'll never know how much we at SGARising appreciate all you do for us. We'll always be positive when it come to our FH.

Absolutely! FH, you are totally our hero in so many ways! *hugs*

She's a star. A lot of people thought I was mentioned once when JM referred to "that doofus from Virginia" but it wasn't me, I swear. Maybe I will spice up the Writers Block on SGARising. *snicker*

Darn, I forgot to get pics of that macaroni and cheese (with bacon!) I made for dinner last night.

[Eri13]

Okayyyyy, I am about to go to sleep, but not without a present. A sneak peak into one of my favorite BoD moments. It's John and Rodney at their best - not that I'm complimenting my own writing (wait, I am! LOL) - but I just like this, and how it simply flef out of me and onto the "paper".

Spoiler:

*

John observed as Rodney paced around the room, typing at the datapad in his hand.

“Any progress?” he asked. Rodney stopped, spinning around, a dissatisfied expression on his face. John must have wanted to snap at him, but at the last moment all that escaped him was an exhausted, frustrated sigh.

“Okay, I think I can safely say what this thing <i>does</i> to you,” he scratched the back of his head, ignoring the irritated look john was giving him. There was a good reason why scientific work shouldn't have been rushed, and he certainly learned how to ignore John's nagging and panic during the years on Atlantis. “It puts you asleep and gains access to your higher brain functions. It appears that the device has some kind of artificial intelligence interface and gains access to your consciousness. I bet you'll find this bit interesting, it even has a name.”

John's eyebrows rose at that. Rodney could see he was worried, but there was even more, he was feeling responsible. He was always feeling responsible when things went sideways.

“A name?”

“Yes. It's called Pandora. Actually it's Pandora – something but my knowledge of Ancient goes only so far, and we could use someone who can -,” Rodney gave John an apologetic look. John's expression didn't change, though.

“Why don't I like this?”

“Because nothing good can come out of a thing called Pandora?”

John took a seat, looking over to the stasis pod. The glassy surface fogged slightly with Teyla's every breath. He was frowning, a perplexed expression on his face.

“She's here... yet she isn't.”

“That's what Jennifer said.”

“And Doctor Foster said her brain is active like she's awake.... but we can't wake her. Which means -”

“The machine is doing something to her brain.”

John looked at Rodney and his eyes widened.

“Then... could it be that this thing is taking her <i>mind</i> on time travel? Didn't Jennifer mention that her brain activity resembles -”

Rodney was about to contradict him, but then suddenly the dots seemed to connect.

“Wait. Wait, wait, you might be onto something. This machine was built to manipulate the mind, but it also has the -”

“- flux capacitor,” added John helpfully.

“That term is so wrong on so many levels, but yes, that's exactly.... what it has. Actually, this is good news. This is very good news.”

John frowned, “It is?”

“We know who've built this. Actually we don't know if he <i>built</i> it but he certainly played with it. Janus, right? We know that he was, obviously, interested in time travel. We know he liked to play with the possibilities that time travel can offer,” he paused, looking at his John tentatively. “We know what he did with the – the other Elizabeth.”

“A stasis pod.”

Rodney spun around, facing the stasis pod where Teyla was locked. “Yes. Exactly, that's right. A stasis pod. It keeps you alive, slows down your body functions, preserves you until specific point of time, or an event at which stasis pod unlocks. Right?”

John gave Rodney a confused look and nodded. “Can't say I'm a huge fan of – uh – those.”

“And it can't be unlocked from this side...”

Both of them were standing in front of the stasis pod, looking at their friend who seemed to be asleep.”Which means it can only be unlocked from in there.”

“Brilliant thinking.”

“Could have been Mensa.”

Rodney snorted. They stared at the pod for several long and quiet moments.

“She would know what to do,” it seemed like John was thinking out loud. “She always keeps a level head.”

“Yeah,” Rodney said, watching John frown.

“That thing is playing with her head. Her -”

Rodney closed his eyes. There was something Carson and Jennifer mentioned, something he didn't pay much attention to, because medicine was after all much like voodoo. Poke something and it hurts.

“The machine has an interface. Like... like Gameboy. You plug it in, you play with it.”

“Gameboy is so last year.”

“I actually think it's older,” John cocked his head to the side still staring at Teyla.

“Point taken,” Rodney felt like he was missing something, a crucial piece of the puzzle.”Judging by the data I've got from the main console, the interface was activated first, and the -”

“Windows assistance after that.”

“Brilliant but oh-so-wrong metaphor again, but yes. I get what you're thinking and your thinking is right. Remind me to tell you why I hate Windows,” Rodney paced toward the console, “But yeah, you're right on your money with that one. Only this thing is smarter than Windows. Much smarter, trickier...”

“Yeah, and it's called Pandora.”

“Yeah. Anyway, we can assume that Teyla got plugged in and then after this thing scanned her brain Windows assistance got activated. Which is when her brain activity was increased, like -”

“Like Elizabeth's was, when she got infected with the nanites,” John finished off grimly. Rodney gave him a dark look. He hesitated a moment before he asked the next question.

“Did she ever tell you what happened?”

John pressed his lips together, then faced away from him. Rodney watched him wander the room, internally berating himself. They almost lost Elizabeth back then, and John managed to save her life by some dumb luck -- but the nanites remained and everything ended the way it did. Rodney looked down, facing the familiar guilt as he remembered the events from almost two years ago. He didn't look into that memory very often, but when he did, it felt like it was only yesterday.

“I know that it's hard for you to -”

John looked at him. Rodney wasn't speechless very often, and this, this was something they didn't talk about. Ever.

They all made choices.

“Look, I, I'm -”

“She said it felt like living a real life,” John's voice cut his line of thought and it didn't sound as his own.

Rodney still wondered if reactivating the nanites was the right choice.

“That's why you didn't want to -”

“Yes,” whispered John. They stared at each other, with the gleam from the stasis pod flickering between them. “Didn't want someone... take her <i>life</i> away from her. All of – this.”

Take away the life. Rodney stared at his friend, pondering his choice of words and tone of his voice. They took away her reality, everything she built for herself, her friends, her work, her dedication... her choices. The life itself was made of choices, Rodney thought, of decisions and questions and regrets. Sometimes he wished he could go back and -

“Holy -!! How didn't I think of that before? It's so simple I could smack myself – where's Kanaan?”

John gave him a confused, almost angry look, when Rodney literally grabbed him and shook him.

“That thing he told us that, uh, prayer? Didn't you ever wish to go back to your past and fix whatever you did wrong?”

It took him a few moments, but then confusion disappeared from John's eyes.

“Are you saying that this machine -?”

Rodney smiled.

“Janus was a sneaky little bastard. A genius even. Go back to your past and fix whatever was wrong? Except you can never do that if you physically go back to your past, or your future, right McFly?”

John frowned, still seemingly unsure of what was going on.

“Stuff that happened to Marty McFly, remember? Or do you just think mentioning DeLorean is cool?”

“McFly's mom had a a crush on him?”

“Exactly! But there's a way to go around that. Instead of physical time travel, Janus came up with this,” Rodney pointed at the stasis pod and Teyla's unmoving form. “A brilliant, fail safe solution. Everything happens in your <i>head</i>. You don't go back in time, you <i>recreate your past</i>, rewrite your life, it's like on Doctor Who, which you should watch. You're here, and this machine takes your mind wherever it wants to go, your mind TARDIS, and, I assume, to whatever time you want to change. And then you <i>do</i>.”

“And it takes effect?”

“It probably does. It most definitely does. Which begs the question -”

John looked between sleeping Teyla and Rodney.

“Why didn't she wake up yet?”

AHHHHHHHHH! *runs around screaming* That is awesome! Such good J&E and such a cool plot! *SQUISHES DEM*

[Anuna]

ahhhhhhhhh! *runs around screaming* that is awesome! Such good j&e and such a cool plot! *squishes dem*

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee omg omg omg omg you like eeeeet!!!!! *flails around the room*

[Scary Kitty]

Okayyyyy, I am about to go to sleep, but not without a present. A sneak peak into one of my favorite BoD moments. It's John and Rodney at their best - not that I'm complimenting my own writing (wait, I am! LOL) - but I just like this, and how it simply flef out of me and onto the "paper".

Spoiler:

*

John observed as Rodney paced around the room, typing at the datapad in his hand.

“Any progress?” he asked. Rodney stopped, spinning around, a dissatisfied expression on his face. John must have wanted to snap at him, but at the last moment all that escaped him was an exhausted, frustrated sigh.

“Okay, I think I can safely say what this thing <i>does</i> to you,” he scratched the back of his head, ignoring the irritated look john was giving him. There was a good reason why scientific work shouldn't have been rushed, and he certainly learned how to ignore John's nagging and panic during the years on Atlantis. “It puts you asleep and gains access to your higher brain functions. It appears that the device has some kind of artificial intelligence interface and gains access to your consciousness. I bet you'll find this bit interesting, it even has a name.”

John's eyebrows rose at that. Rodney could see he was worried, but there was even more, he was feeling responsible. He was always feeling responsible when things went sideways.

“A name?”

“Yes. It's called Pandora. Actually it's Pandora – something but my knowledge of Ancient goes only so far, and we could use someone who can -,” Rodney gave John an apologetic look. John's expression didn't change, though.

“Why don't I like this?”

“Because nothing good can come out of a thing called Pandora?”

John took a seat, looking over to the stasis pod. The glassy surface fogged slightly with Teyla's every breath. He was frowning, a perplexed expression on his face.

“She's here... yet she isn't.”

“That's what Jennifer said.”

“And Doctor Foster said her brain is active like she's awake.... but we can't wake her. Which means -”

“The machine is doing something to her brain.”

John looked at Rodney and his eyes widened.

“Then... could it be that this thing is taking her <i>mind</i> on time travel? Didn't Jennifer mention that her brain activity resembles -”

Rodney was about to contradict him, but then suddenly the dots seemed to connect.

“Wait. Wait, wait, you might be onto something. This machine was built to manipulate the mind, but it also has the -”

“- flux capacitor,” added John helpfully.

“That term is so wrong on so many levels, but yes, that's exactly.... what it has. Actually, this is good news. This is very good news.”

John frowned, “It is?”

“We know who've built this. Actually we don't know if he <i>built</i> it but he certainly played with it. Janus, right? We know that he was, obviously, interested in time travel. We know he liked to play with the possibilities that time travel can offer,” he paused, looking at his John tentatively. “We know what he did with the – the other Elizabeth.”

“A stasis pod.”

Rodney spun around, facing the stasis pod where Teyla was locked. “Yes. Exactly, that's right. A stasis pod. It keeps you alive, slows down your body functions, preserves you until specific point of time, or an event at which stasis pod unlocks. Right?”

John gave Rodney a confused look and nodded. “Can't say I'm a huge fan of – uh – those.”

“And it can't be unlocked from this side...”

Both of them were standing in front of the stasis pod, looking at their friend who seemed to be asleep.”Which means it can only be unlocked from in there.”

“Brilliant thinking.”

“Could have been Mensa.”

Rodney snorted. They stared at the pod for several long and quiet moments.

“She would know what to do,” it seemed like John was thinking out loud. “She always keeps a level head.”

“Yeah,” Rodney said, watching John frown.

“That thing is playing with her head. Her -”

Rodney closed his eyes. There was something Carson and Jennifer mentioned, something he didn't pay much attention to, because medicine was after all much like voodoo. Poke something and it hurts.

“The machine has an interface. Like... like Gameboy. You plug it in, you play with it.”

“Gameboy is so last year.”

“I actually think it's older,” John cocked his head to the side still staring at Teyla.

“Point taken,” Rodney felt like he was missing something, a crucial piece of the puzzle.”Judging by the data I've got from the main console, the interface was activated first, and the -”

“Windows assistance after that.”

“Brilliant but oh-so-wrong metaphor again, but yes. I get what you're thinking and your thinking is right. Remind me to tell you why I hate Windows,” Rodney paced toward the console, “But yeah, you're right on your money with that one. Only this thing is smarter than Windows. Much smarter, trickier...”

“Yeah, and it's called Pandora.”

“Yeah. Anyway, we can assume that Teyla got plugged in and then after this thing scanned her brain Windows assistance got activated. Which is when her brain activity was increased, like -”

“Like Elizabeth's was, when she got infected with the nanites,” John finished off grimly. Rodney gave him a dark look. He hesitated a moment before he asked the next question.

“Did she ever tell you what happened?”

John pressed his lips together, then faced away from him. Rodney watched him wander the room, internally berating himself. They almost lost Elizabeth back then, and John managed to save her life by some dumb luck -- but the nanites remained and everything ended the way it did. Rodney looked down, facing the familiar guilt as he remembered the events from almost two years ago. He didn't look into that memory very often, but when he did, it felt like it was only yesterday.

“I know that it's hard for you to -”

John looked at him. Rodney wasn't speechless very often, and this, this was something they didn't talk about. Ever.

They all made choices.

“Look, I, I'm -”

“She said it felt like living a real life,” John's voice cut his line of thought and it didn't sound as his own.

Rodney still wondered if reactivating the nanites was the right choice.

“That's why you didn't want to -”

“Yes,” whispered John. They stared at each other, with the gleam from the stasis pod flickering between them. “Didn't want someone... take her <i>life</i> away from her. All of – this.”

Take away the life. Rodney stared at his friend, pondering his choice of words and tone of his voice. They took away her reality, everything she built for herself, her friends, her work, her dedication... her choices. The life itself was made of choices, Rodney thought, of decisions and questions and regrets. Sometimes he wished he could go back and -

“Holy -!! How didn't I think of that before? It's so simple I could smack myself – where's Kanaan?”

John gave him a confused, almost angry look, when Rodney literally grabbed him and shook him.

“That thing he told us that, uh, prayer? Didn't you ever wish to go back to your past and fix whatever you did wrong?”

It took him a few moments, but then confusion disappeared from John's eyes.

“Are you saying that this machine -?”

Rodney smiled.

“Janus was a sneaky little bastard. A genius even. Go back to your past and fix whatever was wrong? Except you can never do that if you physically go back to your past, or your future, right McFly?”

John frowned, still seemingly unsure of what was going on.

“Stuff that happened to Marty McFly, remember? Or do you just think mentioning DeLorean is cool?”

“McFly's mom had a a crush on him?”

“Exactly! But there's a way to go around that. Instead of physical time travel, Janus came up with this,” Rodney pointed at the stasis pod and Teyla's unmoving form. “A brilliant, fail safe solution. Everything happens in your <i>head</i>. You don't go back in time, you <i>recreate your past</i>, rewrite your life, it's like on Doctor Who, which you should watch. You're here, and this machine takes your mind wherever it wants to go, your mind TARDIS, and, I assume, to whatever time you want to change. And then you <i>do</i>.”

“And it takes effect?”

“It probably does. It most definitely does. Which begs the question -”

John looked between sleeping Teyla and Rodney.

“Why didn't she wake up yet?”

ZOMFGWTFBBQ!!!!!!!!! 'Nuna, this is AWESOME!!!!! I am in love with that sad little mention of Elizabeth, and ZOMG, KANAAN! and John being his genius-in-the-closet self! SQUEEEEEEE!!!!!

[Falcon Horus]

I got a mention, too, though it happened to be in the same blog in which we were told Torri had decided not to return for S5. That was a day of mixed emotions. >8D.

I bestow upon you the "I survived the Blog of Doom"-batch. Wear it proud and with honor.

Hey, if you're gonna blow stuff up, you've got to go all out!

Hell yeah - makes for good trailers (just watch the trailer for the last Potter-film).

Absolutely! FH, you are totally our hero in so many ways! *hugs*

I try my best...

Darn, I forgot to get pics of that macaroni and cheese (with bacon!) I made for dinner last night.

I have some left-over pizza in the fridge - if I'm quick I can still have a picture of it before my dad finishes it off.

[Eri13]

I bestow upon you the "I survived the Blog of Doom"-batch. Wear it proud and with honor.

Hell yeah - makes for good trailers (just watch the trailer for the last Potter-film).

I try my best...

I have some left-over pizza in the fridge - if I'm quick I can still have a picture of it before my dad finishes it off.

In company with you? Wear it I shall, lassie, wear it I shall...with PRIDE. *displays*

[Falcon Horus]

In company with you? Wear it I shall, lassie, wear it I shall...with PRIDE. *displays*

*grin*

[JT-2]

She's a star. A lot of people thought I was mentioned once when JM referred to "that doofus from Virginia" but it wasn't me, I swear. Maybe I will spice up the Writers Block on SGARising. *snicker*

Yeah, I was... not one of my most memorable moments but yeah... I had a starring role in one of the entries.

Aww! Well, we love you!

Okayyyyy, I am about to go to sleep, but not without a present. A sneak peak into one of my favorite BoD moments. It's John and Rodney at their best - not that I'm complimenting my own writing (wait, I am! LOL) - but I just like this, and how it simply flef out of me and onto the "paper".

Spoiler:

*

John observed as Rodney paced around the room, typing at the datapad in his hand.

“Any progress?” he asked. Rodney stopped, spinning around, a dissatisfied expression on his face. John must have wanted to snap at him, but at the last moment all that escaped him was an exhausted, frustrated sigh.

“Okay, I think I can safely say what this thing <i>does</i> to you,” he scratched the back of his head, ignoring the irritated look john was giving him. There was a good reason why scientific work shouldn't have been rushed, and he certainly learned how to ignore John's nagging and panic during the years on Atlantis. “It puts you asleep and gains access to your higher brain functions. It appears that the device has some kind of artificial intelligence interface and gains access to your consciousness. I bet you'll find this bit interesting, it even has a name.”

John's eyebrows rose at that. Rodney could see he was worried, but there was even more, he was feeling responsible. He was always feeling responsible when things went sideways.

“A name?”

“Yes. It's called Pandora. Actually it's Pandora – something but my knowledge of Ancient goes only so far, and we could use someone who can -,” Rodney gave John an apologetic look. John's expression didn't change, though.

“Why don't I like this?”

“Because nothing good can come out of a thing called Pandora?”

John took a seat, looking over to the stasis pod. The glassy surface fogged slightly with Teyla's every breath. He was frowning, a perplexed expression on his face.

“She's here... yet she isn't.”

“That's what Jennifer said.”

“And Doctor Foster said her brain is active like she's awake.... but we can't wake her. Which means -”

“The machine is doing something to her brain.”

John looked at Rodney and his eyes widened.

“Then... could it be that this thing is taking her <i>mind</i> on time travel? Didn't Jennifer mention that her brain activity resembles -”

Rodney was about to contradict him, but then suddenly the dots seemed to connect.

“Wait. Wait, wait, you might be onto something. This machine was built to manipulate the mind, but it also has the -”

“- flux capacitor,” added John helpfully.

“That term is so wrong on so many levels, but yes, that's exactly.... what it has. Actually, this is good news. This is very good news.”

John frowned, “It is?”

“We know who've built this. Actually we don't know if he <i>built</i> it but he certainly played with it. Janus, right? We know that he was, obviously, interested in time travel. We know he liked to play with the possibilities that time travel can offer,” he paused, looking at his John tentatively. “We know what he did with the – the other Elizabeth.”

“A stasis pod.”

Rodney spun around, facing the stasis pod where Teyla was locked. “Yes. Exactly, that's right. A stasis pod. It keeps you alive, slows down your body functions, preserves you until specific point of time, or an event at which stasis pod unlocks. Right?”

John gave Rodney a confused look and nodded. “Can't say I'm a huge fan of – uh – those.”

“And it can't be unlocked from this side...”

Both of them were standing in front of the stasis pod, looking at their friend who seemed to be asleep.”Which means it can only be unlocked from in there.”

“Brilliant thinking.”

“Could have been Mensa.”

Rodney snorted. They stared at the pod for several long and quiet moments.

“She would know what to do,” it seemed like John was thinking out loud. “She always keeps a level head.”

“Yeah,” Rodney said, watching John frown.

“That thing is playing with her head. Her -”

Rodney closed his eyes. There was something Carson and Jennifer mentioned, something he didn't pay much attention to, because medicine was after all much like voodoo. Poke something and it hurts.

“The machine has an interface. Like... like Gameboy. You plug it in, you play with it.”

“Gameboy is so last year.”

“I actually think it's older,” John cocked his head to the side still staring at Teyla.

“Point taken,” Rodney felt like he was missing something, a crucial piece of the puzzle.”Judging by the data I've got from the main console, the interface was activated first, and the -”

“Windows assistance after that.”

“Brilliant but oh-so-wrong metaphor again, but yes. I get what you're thinking and your thinking is right. Remind me to tell you why I hate Windows,” Rodney paced toward the console, “But yeah, you're right on your money with that one. Only this thing is smarter than Windows. Much smarter, trickier...”

“Yeah, and it's called Pandora.”

“Yeah. Anyway, we can assume that Teyla got plugged in and then after this thing scanned her brain Windows assistance got activated. Which is when her brain activity was increased, like -”

“Like Elizabeth's was, when she got infected with the nanites,” John finished off grimly. Rodney gave him a dark look. He hesitated a moment before he asked the next question.

“Did she ever tell you what happened?”

John pressed his lips together, then faced away from him. Rodney watched him wander the room, internally berating himself. They almost lost Elizabeth back then, and John managed to save her life by some dumb luck -- but the nanites remained and everything ended the way it did. Rodney looked down, facing the familiar guilt as he remembered the events from almost two years ago. He didn't look into that memory very often, but when he did, it felt like it was only yesterday.

“I know that it's hard for you to -”

John looked at him. Rodney wasn't speechless very often, and this, this was something they didn't talk about. Ever.

They all made choices.

“Look, I, I'm -”

“She said it felt like living a real life,” John's voice cut his line of thought and it didn't sound as his own.

Rodney still wondered if reactivating the nanites was the right choice.

“That's why you didn't want to -”

“Yes,” whispered John. They stared at each other, with the gleam from the stasis pod flickering between them. “Didn't want someone... take her <i>life</i> away from her. All of – this.”

Take away the life. Rodney stared at his friend, pondering his choice of words and tone of his voice. They took away her reality, everything she built for herself, her friends, her work, her dedication... her choices. The life itself was made of choices, Rodney thought, of decisions and questions and regrets. Sometimes he wished he could go back and -

“Holy -!! How didn't I think of that before? It's so simple I could smack myself – where's Kanaan?”

John gave him a confused, almost angry look, when Rodney literally grabbed him and shook him.

“That thing he told us that, uh, prayer? Didn't you ever wish to go back to your past and fix whatever you did wrong?”

It took him a few moments, but then confusion disappeared from John's eyes.

“Are you saying that this machine -?”

Rodney smiled.

“Janus was a sneaky little bastard. A genius even. Go back to your past and fix whatever was wrong? Except you can never do that if you physically go back to your past, or your future, right McFly?”

John frowned, still seemingly unsure of what was going on.

“Stuff that happened to Marty McFly, remember? Or do you just think mentioning DeLorean is cool?”

“McFly's mom had a a crush on him?”

“Exactly! But there's a way to go around that. Instead of physical time travel, Janus came up with this,” Rodney pointed at the stasis pod and Teyla's unmoving form. “A brilliant, fail safe solution. Everything happens in your <i>head</i>. You don't go back in time, you <i>recreate your past</i>, rewrite your life, it's like on Doctor Who, which you should watch. You're here, and this machine takes your mind wherever it wants to go, your mind TARDIS, and, I assume, to whatever time you want to change. And then you <i>do</i>.”

“And it takes effect?”

“It probably does. It most definitely does. Which begs the question -”

John looked between sleeping Teyla and Rodney.

“Why didn't she wake up yet?”

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That is AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!

And hi lurkers! You can come out. We don't bite. Much.

[Falcon Horus]

Aww! Well, we love you!

And I'm just extremely happy to be part of such an amazing group of people - you guys totally rock it!

[Scary Kitty]

And hi lurkers! You can come out. We don't bite. Much.

And I'm just extremely happy to be part of such an amazing group of people - you guys totally rock it!

We couldn't do it without people like you. You help to keep us all real.

[JT-2]

Just finished the latest chapter....

Spoiler:

“Been there, done that, didn’t buy the t-shirt ‘cause it looked cheap.”

LMFAO!!!

Really liked the UST with Mayel and John. I was afraid it was going to squick me out, as reading about John with anyone else tends to do. But it was good!

And you go, Kanaan!!! So he's kinda like Teyla... quiet but strong when he needs to be. I can totally see the two of them as soulmates.

[TheLadyMore]

Oh my I am away for an hour and this place exploded....must be the Sparky Effect.