swficathon | Fic: The Hourglass for melyanna (Reply)

Whew! I made it before the deadline!

I will be x-posting this to my LJ,

john_elizabeth, and probably ffn...so I apologize if you see it several times.

Title: The Hourglass
Author:

msraven929
Rating: PG (or whatever this is now)
Spoilers: Up to "Runner"
Summary: Written for the

swficathon. There are differences in every timeline, but it's what stays the same that matters.
Author's Note: For

melyanna who asked for a time machine (can be functioning or not), John and Elizabeth separated from the rest by time, distance, or locked doors, and Linguist!Lizzie. Special thanks to Shane and

sache8 for being awesome betas!

One Step Forward…

"Colonel, if you wouldn’t mind, I'd like to accompany your team down to the planet."

Everyone in the conference room freezes halfway out of their seats. They turn to look at Elizabeth with mixed looks of suspicion and concern. She typically only gets involved in off-world negotiations after there's been trouble. The team is probably wondering how they've managed to cause a problem without having yet stepped foot on the planet. It takes quite a bit of her willpower not to roll her eyes in response.

"Uh…of course. Why not?" John rubs the back of his neck with a shrug. "Lorne's report said the planet was peaceful. You could be…uh…useful in the treaty negotiations."

Elizabeth can't help but smirk a little.

"Well, I'm glad you think so, Colonel."

She turns her attention to shutting down her laptop as the others file out, knowing that John will hang back.

"Elizabeth? If you don't mind my asking…"

She thinks of maybe pulling rank or questioning his confidence in her usefulness during negotiations, but opts to give him a reassuring smile.

"I just feel like a change of scenery. It's been too long since I've stepped through the gate."

"Really?"

"Yes, really."

"This isn't some sort of audit of my negotiation skills?"

"What negotiation skills?" Elizabeth can't help but fire back.

"Funny."

"I thought so."

Elizabeth stands and grins at John as he follows her out of the conference room and into her office. She quirks an eyebrow at him when he unceremoniously plops himself in a guest chair.

"Shouldn't you be off getting beat up by Ronon or Teyla?"

"Not before a mission."

John's hand instinctively goes to his right shoulder with a wince. A rather brutal sparring session with Ronon a few months back had cancelled his team's mission when John couldn't even hold his P-90 the next morning.

"How's the shoulder?"

"Better. Could use another massage though," he responds with a twinkle in his eye that Elizabeth pointedly ignores.

She busies herself by glancing through the various reports that have been left on her desk during the briefing, automatically putting them in order of importance. When John doesn't make any move to leave after a few minutes of silence, she looks up with a questioning quirk of her eyebrow.

"Was there something else, John?"

"Have you had a chance to read over my proposal?"

Elizabeth can't help but smile. John had put together a very detailed argument in favor of what he called "A request for recreational activities and its impact on morale, health, and general well-being."

"I have."

"And?"

"Your arguments were stated very well."

"So it's a go then?!" A huge grin breaks out on John's face.

"I didn't say that."

"But…"

"Dr. Weir?" Dr. Zelenka appears at her doorway, effectively cutting off the rest of John's argument.

"Yes, Radek?"

"You wanted to meet with the science team looking into alternative energy sources." The scientist waves in the direction of the briefing room where she can see a group already seated around the table.

"Thank you, I'll be right there."

John stands as Zelenka walks away.

"We can talk about this later."

Without waiting for her response, John is out the door and up the stairs to the Jumper bay. She shakes her head with an exasperated, although somewhat amused, sigh as she moves to join the scientists. The man is definitely persistent.

~*~*~*~*~*

Due to a long list of meetings and large stack of reports to review, Elizabeth doesn't see John until the next morning as they are preparing to go through the 'gate.

"Okay. Ronon, Teyla and I will go through first. You two can come through when we give the all clear."

Elizabeth smiles at John's added precaution, but dutifully waits until she and Rodney are given the okay signal to walk through the Stargate. They step onto Archados to find John, Teyla, and Ronon talking to a small group of locals. John turns at the sound of the 'gate shutting down and rewards Elizabeth's patience with a welcoming smile.

It catches them all by surprise when a collective gasp issues from the Archadans and they fall prostrate to their knees.

"Uh…Elizabeth?" asks Rodney. "Is that for me or for you?"

She isn't given the opportunity to attempt a guess. A second group of Archadans walk into the clearing, led by a handsome man who is, by dress and bearing, clearly a high official of some sort. He looks around, confused, at his people before spotting the team from Atlantis. There is another round of startled gasps and rustling of clothing as this new group of locals also drop to their knees.

"This is getting to be a bad habit," mutters John darkly.

Elizabeth sees him tighten his grip on his P-90, distrust clearly written on his face. In the way of warriors, this tension flows quickly to both Ronon and Teyla. The three form a human barrier between Elizabeth, Rodney, and the Archadans.

"Please stand," Elizabeth says softly from behind John. She doesn't dare walk around him. She may think he's overreacting, but his instincts have saved her more than once. "We're here to discuss a treaty of mutual respect, not for worship."

The official stands, still pale, but attempting to compose himself. He turns to the other Archadans and, with a whispered command from the official, the others start to leave the clearing. More than one give a final look of awe over their shoulder as they leave.

"Please forgive us, Lady Elizabeth. We were unprepared for your arrival."

It's the Atlantis team's turn to be surprised. Elizabeth doesn't realize that she's reached out to John for support until her hand makes contact with his upper arm.

"You were expecting us?" asks Rodney.

"Yes."

"A prophecy?" questions Teyla. It isn't the first time they've encountered humans who foretold the return of the Atlanteans. "We are not the Ancients."

"Not a prophecy, but history," corrects the Archadan. "Our texts are very clear that we are to unearth the Ancient ring and welcome others not of this galaxy. The travelers will bring with them Lady Elizabeth, the same Lady Elizabeth who once traveled back through time and helped our world survive from the onslaught of Wraith cullings."

He turns to Elizabeth with a self-depreciating smile, seeming to see her shock for the first time.

"I'm sorry. I am not handling this properly. My apologies. It seems I am not as prepared to greet you as I believed. My only excuse is that we were not expecting you until the third visit." The official takes a deep breath to calm himself, but his hand is still shaky when he places it over his heart. "I am Lord Rardner, Prime Minister of Archados."

"I don't suppose your history books mention the names of these travelers?" asks Rodney. The physicist is clearly still skeptical, but an uneasy feeling has come over Elizabeth.

"Oh yes!" responds the Prime Minister calmly. "You are Rodney, Teyla, Ford, and, of course, John. Your names have become quite popular on Archados. I am Lord Alan Rardner and my father was named Aiden."

Elizabeth can't help but smile at John's automatic grimace upon hearing the name Alan. She's never understood his profound dislike of his middle name, but isn't beyond using it periodically to tease him.

"I am not Ford," says Ronon.

"But that cannot be. Our history books clearly state…"

"I am not Ford."

"There must be slight differences in our timeline," says Elizabeth softly. John turns to face her and she shrugs, amazed at how calmly and quickly she's accepting the what Lord Alan is telling them. Meeting a ten thousand year old version of herself did wonders for her ability to accept the unimaginable.

"You don't actually believe him?!"

"It's not like it hasn't happened to us before, McKay. Elizabeth seems to have a knack for finding time machines." John's words are light, but she can see the concern in his eyes as he turns back to the Prime Minister. "Lord Alan…how long ago did Lady Elizabeth first appear on Archados?"

"Many, many centuries ago, before the first culling. I'm afraid that some our texts were destroyed by the first Wraith attack, so we do not have the exact date."

"How did I get here?" Elizabeth asks.

"You arrived through the cave of the Ancients. You did not how you came to be here or how to return to your own time. Our history speaks of the countless hours you spent in the cave, reading the walls, to no avail. Even after you taught others the language of the Ancients and our understanding of the technology they left behind grew, we still have no understanding of how the machine works."

"There's a machine?" asks Rodney.

"Of course, within the cave."

"Can you show us this machine?" asks John, cutting off McKay's next question.

"Easily enough. Please follow me."

The Prime Minister leads the way out of the clearing with Teyla by his side, the others following closely behind them. Elizabeth can hear Lord Alan running through a narrative of Archadan history, centered around the part she had played in it.

The emotions swirling inside her are indescribable. She had thought it beyond strange to meet the significantly older version of herself on Atlantis, but to know that she had played such a large part in the Archadan's survival is nearly overwhelming. The Minister's oratory of how she had convinced the elders to bury the Stargate and to move a majority of the population underground sounded more like the plot to a movie, not a description of how she had led her life after being stranded back in time.

Stranded. Alone. She suppresses a chill and risks a glance at John, but he seems lost in his own thoughts. His only reaction is a low grunt when Lord John mentions her late marriage into one of their upper houses. It was apparently a marriage of convenience, a way for her to secure a voice in the newly formed Parliament. Elizabeth isn't sure how she feels knowing she spent the rest of her life in a loveless marriage. She can't help but sneak another glance at John.

"And we're here."

They find themselves standing in front of a nondescript cave entrance. Rardner does not hesitate to enter and the others slowly follow him. It's John's hand on her arm that keeps Elizabeth from going in.

"I'd prefer it if you stayed here."

"Why?"

"As much as I'd like to stay true to my DeLorean theory, I think McKay's thoughts on time travel are probably closer to the truth – just don't tell him I said so."

"Meaning that I can't change the Archadan history by not going back this time?"

"Right. So, this time, I'd prefer to keep you out of harm's way."

Elizabeth reaches out to touch his arm with a smile.

"That's sweet, John. But the Prime Minister mentioned Ancient text on the walls and Rodney's translations seem to be limited to geek-speak."

"Geek-speak?"

"You know what I mean."

"Then we'll come back and take all the pictures you want. But you're not going in that cave." John tempers the resolve in his voice by placing his hand over hers. "I'd like to keep you here."

She can only nod her response. John gives her a thankful grin before turning to enter the cave. Her thoughts start to drift to this thing – whatever it is – between them, when his voice echoes out of the cave.

"Rodney! I told you not to touch –"

Then there's a blinding flash of light.

Two Steps Back…

"- anything."

John finds himself looking at an empty cave.

"Damn."

"John?"

He spins at the familiar voice and comes face to face with Elizabeth. At least, he assumes, the alternate timeline version of Elizabeth. Her hair is longer – falling past her shoulders in soft waves. And, maybe not surprisingly, his mind decides to focus on the fact that she's wearing a dress. A dress that flows over her in a way that makes him recall the ancient Greek statues he once saw while stationed in Europe.

Then all rational though leaves him as Elizabeth rushes forward and throws her arms around him. His senses are bombarded with the smell of flowers in her hair and the feeling of silk beneath his fingers.

"John," she says with a sigh that has him wondering their relationship was in her timeline. "I knew you'd find a way."

He flinches at her misplaced trust. She steps back with a question in her eyes.

"I'm not John."

Her questioning look turns suspicious and Elizabeth takes two steps away from him.

"No. I'm John, but I'm not your John. I mean…"

"I know what you mean."

"You do?" He wasn't sure he knew himself.

"You're from a different timeline, aren't you?"

"Yeah."

She walks over and sits on a stool he hadn't noticed before, her shoulders slumping with disappointment.

"I was afraid of that."

"You were?"

Elizabeth makes a wide-sweeping gesture at the cave and John finally takes a good look around. There's a large stone structure in the middle of the room which, to him, looks like a giant keyboard. Every square inch of wall is covered in writing and it takes him a moment to recognize it as Ancient.

"Looks strange to see Ancient scribbling, doesn't it?"

He turns to face Elizabeth, who is now staring at the ceiling. He follows her line of sight and is surprised to see the same scribbling on part of the ceiling.

"I still have no idea how he reached that."

"He?"

"The Ancient who used to live here. The locals called him Dalmacus. I'm fairly sure he started where he could reach, then started standing on the stool to continue his scribbling."

John lets his eyes roam over the walls again. It literally looks like chicken scratch to him.

"Can you read this?" he finally asks.

"Some of it. Dalmacus had pretty messy handwriting."

He watches as she concentrates on a spot of wall across the room, a wrinkle of concentration forming on her forehead.

"You're taking this very well."

"Which part?" she asks with a small smile.

"All of it. You being sent here. My showing up and not knowing how to get back."

"Like I said, I had been worried that someone else would show up accidentally. Although I didn't expect you to be from a different timeline. Plus I've had a lot of time to adjust."

Elizabeth shrugs and he focuses, again, on the changes in her appearance.

"How long have you been here?"

"Almost a year now."

"I like your hair long, it looks nice with the dress and everything."

She blushes, then gives him a look that he's not sure how to read. Once again, he's forced to wonder what their relationship was in the other timeline. Is it possible that the other version of him had actually gotten his act together and moved them past all the flirting?

"So have you buried the 'gate?" he asks instead.

"You know about that?" She stands, shock and confusion overcoming her features. "How…"

"The Prime Minister who met us at the Stargate told us a bit of your history."

"The Wraith?"

"About a year and a half after you bury the 'gate."

"So little time…" she trails off and sits back down, muttering quietly to herself.

John waits, knowing that she'll start verbalizing her thoughts, using him as a sounding board for her ideas.

"There are mountains…"

"Elizabeth?" a voice asks from the cave opening. "Who are you – oh!"

Elizabeth stands and walks over to a pretty young woman standing just inside the cave. She is clearly shocked to see him, but for a split second, he thinks she looked almost disappointed.

"Melisande, it's okay. This is John Sheppard. John, this is Lady Melisande. She's the one who found me when I first arrived."

"This is your John?" Melisande asks with a surprised, but happy expression.

Elizabeth blushes again and John can't help but smirk.

"Not exactly," he corrects. "But it is nice to meet you, Melisande."

"I do not understand," she says to Elizabeth. "Is this not what you were hoping for?"

"Yes and no. You see, my friends did not find a way to use the machine. John, like myself, is here due to an accident. He's actually from a different timeline."

Melisande's brows knit together in confusion. John can almost see the headache forming.

"It may take us some time to explain…"

"Now is probably not the best time…"

"Of course," Melisande replies with some relief. "It is late in the day and I'm sure you've both received a bit of a shock. I had come to ask Elizabeth if she would like to dine with me tonight, but I think you two have much to talk about."

"Thank you," Elizabeth says with a smile. It's clear to John that the two women have become friends. "I think you're correct. John and I should discuss the information he's brought back."

"He will stay with you?"

"Yes. There's plenty of room in your guesthouse for both of us," Elizabeth responds before turning to John. "If that's okay with you?"

He doesn't let himself dwell too long on the possibilities of living in the same house as Elizabeth.

"I'm sure it'll be fine."

"You say that before you've tasted my cooking."

"Anything's better than field rations, right?"

~*~*~*~*~*

Months later, as he's thinking back on the first time he saw this cave, John realizes that he never got an answer to his question.

It has been a busy four months. With the information John brought with him from his timeline, convincing the Archadan elders to start digging shelters under the mountains had been easy. Designing the caves so that the Wraith don't think to look for them was a little more difficult. That, plus overseeing the training of a small volunteer army, had kept John from spending much time in the cave helping Elizabeth with the translations.

In the beginning, she had tried to teach him to read Ancient, hoping that he would have some insight she did not. As he had become more involved with saving the Archadans, he found less time to devote to visiting the cave. And as he spent more time living in the same small house as Elizabeth, the thought of going home became less and less appealing.

It's guilt, he realizes, that has him sitting in the cave very early this morning. He kissed Elizabeth last night. He knows it would have been inevitable, no matter what the timeline, and his feelings for her are not what sit heavy in his gut. As strange as it had been at first, John had never been afraid of his feelings for Elizabeth – the inexplicable attraction, the importance of earning her trust, the overwhelming need to protect her, and the gut-wrenching fear when he couldn't.

John looks up at the scratches on the walls and can't keep from placing himself in the other John's shoes. What would it have felt like, to watch Elizabeth disappear in front of his eyes? Would he have lashed out at Rodney when the scientist couldn't bring her back? How long would he have fought against the fact that she wasn't coming back?

Then clarity hits him like a bolt of lightning between the eyes.

"I know what this place is!"

"Talking to yourself?"

John spins to find Elizabeth standing just inside the cave. He feels his heart skip a beat at seeing her and knows his conclusion is correct.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to startle you."

"It's okay." He walks over and takes both her hands in his. "Elizabeth, I know what this place is."

"John…I know you've tried, but you really are not very good at reading Ancient. And we haven't been spending much time here lately."

"But you have read most of it to me. And it's beyond what he wrote. The most important thing is how he wrote it."

"I don't understand."

"I was sitting here, thinking about how the other me must have felt. Knowing that, as each day passed, I may never get you back."

He sees a flash of guilt cross her eyes and knows she's also been thinking of the other version of herself. The other Elizabeth who watched him walk into the cave in an attempt to protect her.

"Elizabeth," he says with certainty, "I'd be scared and, as time went by, I'd be frantic."

"I'd feel the same way, but I still don't understand how…"

"Look at how the writing goes from a precise series of markings to just barely more than scratches. There are more mistakes towards the end. See how words are scratched out and re-written?"

Elizabeth's brow furrows as she tries to catch up to the conclusions he's already made.

"It looks a little like the scribbling Radek and Rodney call brainstorming."

"Exactly!"

"So Dalmacus was trying to solve a problem?"

"Yes," John says with a smile. "And it looks like he was running out of time. He got messy and careless."

"You think he was being called back to Atlantis, but didn't want to leave?"

"No, I think he knew had no choice about leaving, but wanted to make sure he had a way to come back – to this specific place and time. That's why you haven't found any references to moving forward in time, only back."

"What do you think was so important about here and now?"

"Not what, but who." He gives her hands a little squeeze. "It may seems like a big jump, but there's a certain level of desperation I feel in this room. I've only felt that kind of desperation twice in my life and for a very specific reason."

"I've lost count." Elizabeth is smiling, but he can hear the slight accusation. He hasn't been living up to his end of their agreement to avoid near-death situations. "So who do you think he was coming back for?"

"That, I don't know."

"Melisande!" Elizabeth gasps. "It has to be her. That's why she was here when I arrived. Why she's so interested in what we learn about the cave."

"Damalcus must have told her he was coming back."

Elizabeth's eyes close in pain for her friend. "But he never did."

She steps closer and places her cheek against his chest. He wraps his arms around her, laying his own cheek against the top of her head.

"So there's no going back for us?" she asks softly.

"You mean forward."

He can feel her smile before she pulls back to look up at him.

"So this is home, then?"

John runs his knuckles down Elizabeth's cheek and leans forward to place a soft kiss against her lips.

"This has always been home."

And back around again…

"Dial it up."

Elizabeth looks down at Major Lorne's team as they start the MALP lumbering forward slowly. She feels John stroll up to her side on the balcony and gives him a sideways glance.

"Another planet from the Ancient database?" he asks.

"A planet the Ancients called Archados. According to Rodney, it's a on the outer rim of the galaxy."

"So we're hoping they were able to escape some part of the Wraith cullings?"

They watch as the seventh chevron engages and nothing happens. The MALP shudders to a stop.

"Give it one more try," Elizabeth orders the technician.

"You think they're not there anymore?"

"I don't know. They may have just been smart enough to disable their gate when the cullings began."

After another dialing sequence with no connection, she decides to let the team go.

"Guess you're off the hook until tomorrow, Major Lorne. You can stand down."

She knows John is smirking before she even turns her head.

"You sound almost military," he teases.

"I could say the same for you."

"You've been waiting to use that one, haven't you?"

She shrugs and grins, then notices that he's got something in his hand. She reaches out in surprise.

"You actually finished your reports?"

He pulls the pad out her reach.

"Not quite."

"So what's that?"

"A proposal, but I'm thinking it was a bad idea."

John looks almost embarrassed and Elizabeth tries to give him a reassuring smile.

"Will you have dinner with me?" he blurts out suddenly before looking around as if to see if anyone else might have heard him.

She knows that her mouth is hanging open in surprise, so she makes a point of closing it. She opens it again, prepared to list off reasons of why they shouldn't get involved, but finds that she can't. It would only be putting off the inevitable.

"I'd love to, John."

"Really?"

"Yes, really."

"Um, okay. Not tonight, but tomorrow. Does that work for you?"

"I'm sure it will."

They smile at each other like teenagers for a minute until they realize that the others in the control room are starting to stare. John starts to walk away, but Elizabeth stops him.

"John?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I read your proposal?"

"Sure. Why not?"

He hands her the pad with a shrug. She looks down at the title and can't keep a slow grin from spreading across her face.

"A request for recreational activities and its impact on morale, health, and general well-being."

~The End~