Work Text:
Prologue
Walking thru the gate on Atlantis, the team felt something was very wrong. They were dizzy and staggering, holding one another up. Finally they sat down to keep from falling. They were also feeling nauseated, and Rodney threw up, splattering Ronon's boots.
"Thanks," Ronon grumbled, and Rodney threw up again, in the other direction. Everyone had moved away and were safe this time. Gradually the distress passed and they looked around in shock. Atlantis was deserted.
Chapter 1
The city appeared to be long deserted, much covered by dust, some areas damp and moldy, some flooded. Water ran from a broken pipe, and Ronon cleaned off his boots. It was the same everywhere. Gate room, control room, labs, gym, infirmary, and mess hall, where there were trays and utensils with remnants of food and drinks. Living quarters contained clothing and personal items. It appeared that the people had simply left.
"What could have happened?" Rodney asked. Everyone had been too shocked to say a word.
"Don't ask me," John exclaimed. "You're the genius!"
"Looks like everyone disappeared," Ronon said.
"Thank you Mr. Obvious," Rodney said, rolling his eyes.
"Try to be nice," Teyla said.
"Be nice? This is horrible! What if I starve to death? What if we are attacked by who knows what and I get injured? What if there's deadly radiation?" Rodney ranted.
"What if you shut up and join the crowd?" Ronon growled.
"Try and calm yourself," Teyla said gently.
"Let's all try to relax and figure out what's going on," John said. "There has to be an explanation."
After a rest, it was decided Rodney would search the computers and ancient devices for any data that would shed light on what had happened. Teyla would assist him, and try to keep him calm. John and Ronon would continue searching, looking for any signs of what had happened, and anything dangerous.
Rodney finally calmed down and began working. He was soon so absorbed that he forgot his fears, at least for the time being. He noticed lights and all Ancient equipment turned on as John entered. Soon power was reestablished, except for the Stargate. It would start dialing, then abruptly lose power. Searching with life signs detectors showed no other life forms in the city, no radiation, and no apparent danger. Also no clue as to what had happened.
After a meal of MRE's and water, they bedded down in the Gate room and slept.
Chapter 2
After four days of fruitless searching, a discovery was made. John, Ronon, and Teyla were helping Rodney in his search, much to the scientist's consternation. "You three are about useless!" he ranted, but changed his tune when they threatened to leave.
Ronon accidentally pushed a lever, and a screen arose from an unknown device.
"What did you touch now? Probably kill us all!" Rodney cried out. But at first snow appeared on the screen, then a fuzzy image, and unintelligible words were heard. Rodney began making adjustments, then realized he needed to take the device apart, which would take some time. "I need to eat," he whined.
"We all could use a break and some food," John said. They all agreed and headed for the mess hall. They had found some dried rations, which had directions for rehydrating. The food satisfied hunger but that was all they could say for the tasteless mush. There was no date on the cans, but they appeared old. Better than starvation.
Rodney began dismantling the device, with Teyla's help and encouragement, while John and Ronon continued searching the city for any clue to what had happened. They discovered a door which was welded shut. They found some welding equipment and managed to open it, only to find another door with DANGER in large red letters.
Rodney's com beeped and John said," You need to look at this."
"Why? I'm a little busy," Rodney said irritably.
"It is time for a break anyway," Teyla said.
"Whatever is in there might have been the cause of everyone leaving," John said. "Any ideas?"
"It could be a new form of radiation. Or a bacteria or virus. Or an alien creature. I would need a protective suit," said Rodney.
"We found a bunch of hazmat suits but they're falling apart," Ronon said.
"We're doomed!" Rodney cried.
"Don't start!" John replied sharply.
"We've run out of MRE's, and that dried food will run out soon. What will I eat?" Rodney replied.
"At least we have running water," Teyla said.
"Have you attempted to get the Gate working?" John asked.
"I've been too busy working on the device," Rodney answered.
"Maybe we can somehow get to the mainland," Ronon said.
"How can we do that--sprout wings and fly? There are no jumpers or boats," Rodney wailed.
"We need to take one day at a time," Teyla said, trying to calm the scientist.
"Try keeping your mouth shut, McKay," Ronon said.
Teyla gave him a look, and he shrugged.
Finally Rodney got the device reassembled and a man's face appeared on the screen. He looked haggard and frightened. The audio was still hard to understand, but he kept rambling about "shadows with red eyes."
"That's no help at all!" Rodney exclaimed. "He looked like he escaped from the psych ward. And after all my work!"
The next day he went to work on the Gate, but to no avail. Something was cutting off the power, but a frustrated Rodney could not figure it out.
"Too bad Zelenka's not here," Ronon said with a smirk.
"Shut up, Conan!" Rodney said angrily, as he ducked behind Teyla.
"Play nice, kids," John replied.
The next day they decided to build a boat to try to get to the mainland, and began searching for items which might work.
Ronon made a makeshift fishing pole and attempted to catch some fish for dinner. A huge creature, which looked like a cross between a shark and a giant squid, grabbed the bait, one of the last energy bars. It dragged Ronon, pole and all, into the water. He barely made it up onto the pier, another creature snapping at his heels.
They decided against building a boat, and were becoming discouraged.
Chapter 3
That night, all were sleeping. They had found a large apartment with four bedrooms, much more comfortable then the Gate room.
Rodney awoke with a start, not sure what had disturbed his sleep. He tossed restlessly, then got up, went to the bathroom, and got a drink of water. He went back to bed but sleep eluded him, so he decided to go for a walk. He felt drawn to the mysterious locked door. There was a key pad and he began trying various codes. A sequence came into his mind and he typed it in. The door began to open, and he saw a dark form with glowing red eyes. Rodney felt overpowering fear, but he was rooted to the spot. Then a loud clap of thunder shocked him and he turned and ran back to their sleeping quarters. He was shaking all over and splashed water on his face, not sure if it had been a dream. More loud claps of thunder and the others came out of their rooms.
"Are you all right, Rodney?" Teyla asked, noticing his agitated state.
"I had a bad dream," Rodney said, his voice sounding shaky. "At least I think it was a dream." He shuddered, thinking of the shadowy red eyed image. "It had to be a dream," he thought to himself. He would never open the door without a protective suit on, or even a weapon. And how would he know the door code?
Ronon had a weird feeling but said nothing.
The storm ended and everyone else went back to sleep. Rodney lay awake, unable to get the dream out of his head. The words of the hologram man haunted him. Eventually he fell into a restless sleep.
The next night Teyla awoke with a start and could not get back to sleep. She decided to go to the gym, where she remembered seeing bantu sticks. Since there was no one to spar with, she did some stretching exercises and began practicing martial arts moves. Suddenly she felt something behind her and turned abruptly. She saw a dark shape with glowing red eyes. It glided toward her and she tripped, falling backwards. Her heart pounded and she was terrified. But as the creature came close, she jumped up and struck out with the bantu stick. It backed away and slowly disappeared.
Chapter 4
Rodney went back to researching the Ancient texts he had discovered. He hadn't been able to shake the uneasy feeling ever since the frightening dream the night before. He found a reference to a journal kept by one of the scientists. After a thorough search of the cabinets and drawers, he found a key taped to the bottom of a drawer. He became obsessed with finding what it would unlock--maybe the journal? He searched until he was exhausted and decided to call it a day. Then he thought of one place he hadn't looked. A small locked box, wrapped in plastic, was in the toilet tank. With shaking hands, Rodney inserted the key in the lock. It stuck, but after gently wiggling it, the box opened. Inside was a book--could it be the journal? It was! Rodney sat down on the toilet lid and began reading.
The rest of the team had resumed looking for materials to build a sturdy boat. They found some explosives which might keep the sea creatures at bay long enough to reach the mainland. It was a long shot but the alternative was to stay there in the deserted city and eventually starve.
But they discovered something troubling. The door labeled DANGER was wide open. John and Ronon went in, guns drawn, while Teyla guarded the door. It could be a trap, but the room was empty. No radiation or anything else.
Rodney woke with a start, nearly falling off the toilet. He had dozed off while reading the journal, which explained a lot. He stood up stiffly, went to his room, and collapsed on the bed, instantly falling back to sleep.
He woke up a few hours later feeling hungry, and headed for the mess hall. The others were there talking and eating their tasteless mush. "I discovered something!" he exclaimed excitedly, waving the book.
"So did we," John replied, not at all happy. "Are you sure you had a dream or did you somehow open that door?"
"I, uh, I'm not sure," Rodney answered. "I don't really want to talk about it." The thought of the dream, or what ever it had been, gave him a cold chill. Then he began reading an excerpt from the journal.
"I fear we are all going to die unless we can escape this city. The shadow people want us to take them to Earth. They are not able to go on their own, although I don't know why. Maybe because their form is not solid. We will not allow this, even if it means our death. I have disabled the Stargate but the shadow people are growing stronger. They feed off our fear. I feel we are losing our resolve. We had to kill some of our own, who were totally under their control and tried to kill us."
"There is one last entry, dated a week later."
"We were able to trap the shadow people in a shielded room they cannot escape from. Those of us who are left are now leaving the city. I enabled the Gate and have set the self destruct."
"So why isn't the city blown up?" Ronon asked.
"Because when the scientist fixed the Gate, he damaged the self destruct. He also, to dumb it down for all of you, screwed up the Gate, sending us to this alternate reality. Too bad my genius self was not there!" Rodney replied with a smug smile.
Ronon flipped him the finger, Teyla rolled her eyes, and John said,"well genius, how do we kill the shadow people and get the hell out of here?"
"Um, I haven't gotten that far yet," Rodney replied.
Chapter 5
Ronon felt like going for a run to unwind from the day. The plans for a boat and explosives were not going well, and the journal Rodney found explained a lot, but was far from encouraging. "What the hell are shadow people anyway?" Ronon muttered to himself.
He began to feel as if he was being watched. Suddenly a huge shadowy form loomed in front of him. A humanoid shape with no features except two glowing red eyes. Ronon reacted instinctively, drawing and firing his blaster. The thing seemed to shrink. Then he drew his sword and lunged at it, with a loud war cry. The shadow vanished. Ronon momentarily wondered if he had imagined it, after hearing Rodney read the journal. But he was not one for flights of imagination. He continued running, alert for any other dangers.
Back in his quarters, he thought of telling John or Teyla, but decided against it. He finally fell asleep, sword and blaster handy.
The next morning at breakfast, John noticed his team seemed preoccupied and not saying much, even the usually talkative Rodney. John finished his mush and decided some fresh air would improve his mood. He went to the East pier and sat on the edge, staring into the water. He saw a large shape and hastily stood up, backing away from the edge. It was one of the sea monsters that had almost gotten Ronon. It gave him the creeps. "Worse than bugs," he thought. Suddenly he felt something behind him and turned around. A huge dark form with red eyes was almost on top of him. He backed away and fell off the pier, grabbing the edge and hanging precariously. A splash below showed the creature ready to grab him. Talk about a rock and a hard place! With a loud grunt, he pushed himself up and over, and lunged toward the shadow. To his surprise, it backed away, faded, and disappeared.
John headed back to the mess hall, still shocked by his brush with death. Teyla noticed something was wrong, but John at first denied anything had happened. "Why is your pant leg torn?" she asked. John noticed it, as well as a scrape on his knee.
"Um, I fell over the edge of the pier and one of those creatures nearly got me," John answered, not making eye contact.
"How did you manage that?" Ronon asked. He would not have been surprised if it had been Rodney, but John was not usually clumsy.
"How about you guys just leave me alone!" John said angrily, and went to his room. The others were stunned.
"Something is wrong," Ronon said.
"Yes," Teyla replied. "Not Wraith, but something evil here. I cannot explain it."
A chill went thru Rodney, but he said nothing.
"We need to talk, after John calms down," Teyla said, and all agreed.
But they did not talk about their experiences with the shadows. They instead decided something had caused some of the people to lose their minds and the rest had left in fear. Shadow people did not exist.
But the group stayed together, no one venturing off by themselves, and never admitting why. Until one night Rodney woke up and could not get back to sleep because he was hungry. He usually kept some food by his bed in case he needed a snack, but that night he had nothing.
So he went alone to the mess hall and ate some mush, then headed back to bed. He was almost to the room when he felt an overpowering sense of dread. He was suddenly cold and began to shake. Several large forms materialized out of the darkness, red eyes glowing. They surrounded him and he could not move. He managed to cry out once, then collapsed and rolled into a fetal position, holding his head. Then there was a flash of red light and the shadows disappeared."What the hell?" he heard Ronon say, before passing out.
Rodney woke up on his bed, surrounded by his teammates. He looked around in panic, yelling, "shadows!" until he realized where he was. "They tried to get in my mind," he said with a shudder. "It was worse than the Replicators' mind probing. They said they control the Gate, and we will die."
"We need to talk," Teyla said. "I have also seen a shadow. It tried to get in my mind, stronger than a Wraith queen. I became angry and attacked with a bantu stick. Then it disappeared."
"Me too," Ronon said. "I shot it, then attacked it with my sword. I was furious and wanted to kill it, but it was gone."
"That's why I fell off the pier," John replied. "It appeared behind me. I yelled and jumped at it. Pissed me off that I almost fell in the ocean."
"It seems our anger and aggression drive them away, at least for a time," Teyla said.
"I was too scared to be angry," Rodney said, hanging his head.
"The journal mentioned them feeding off of fear," John said. But it gave no clue what the shadows were or where they came from.
The next day Rodney tried in vain to get the Gate working. It would start to dial, then stop. Each time this happened, he felt pain in his head, which turned into a severe headache. He knew the shadow people were behind it, but he refused to give up, even when John ordered him to go lie down. Finally Ronon dragged him to his room, where he flopped on the bed, soon falling asleep.
Chapter 6
They decided one of them would stay awake on guard duty at night. Ronon was prowling the Gate room, when he heard the Gate engage. The whoosh, then the blue puddle, and a man appeared,. The Gate immediately shut down. Ronon put his blaster on kill, pointing it at him. The man put his hands in the air, saying, "Don't shoot! I'm unarmed and here to help you!"
Ronon tapped his com and soon the others joined him. "Who are you?" John asked.
"You are Lt. Col. John Sheppard, Specialist Ronon Dex, Teyla Emmagan, and Dr. Rodney McKay," the man replied.
"How the hell do you know who we are?" Ronon said.
"We have been monitoring you, and finally figured out how to get here," he answered. "Please, may I put my hands down? I mean you no harm. Just hear me out."
"Go ahead and put your hands down, but keep them in sight," John said. He and Teyla also had guns drawn.
"I don't trust him," Ronon said.
"I'll ask again, who are you?" John said.
"Call me Giorgio," he replied. Then a radio squawked. "May I get my radio from my pocket?"
"Go ahead, but no funny business," John said.
"Go ahead, David," said Giorgio. He listened, then replied. "I need to talk to them."
Giorgio was medium height, with a receding hairline, and dark hair which stuck straight up from a high domed forehead. He had a pleasant but slightly goofy look.
"David, my coworker, and I have been working to get the Stargate powered and help you, without tearing a hole in space/time. Our group is studying the shadow people in our reality."
Rodney began babbling scientific questions, and John interrupted, "you are from another reality?"
"Yes," Giorgio replied. "A different reality than you are from. The gate malfunction brought you here, and the shadow people disrupt the power. They have reached Earth in your reality, but have not yet taken over. They have not reached Earth in my reality, and that is what we are trying to avoid."
"What the hell are they?" Ronon asked.
"We don't know," Giorgio replied.
"Why do they want to go to your reality?" John asked.
"Because conditions on my Earth are such that they will be able to take over. People there have become weak, easy prey for them to enter their minds," Giorgio said sadly. "Your Earth is heading that way."
"So is this Atlantis in your reality?" Ronon asked.
"Yes," Giorgio said.
"Too confusing for me!" Ronon said, shaking his head.
"I must be weak," Rodney said, looking embarrassed. "The others fought them off."
"You let your fear control you," Ronon said, and Teyla nodded.
"Only a fool has no fear," she replied. " You must control your fear rather than let it control you."
"Getting angry helps," Ronon said. "You get angry a lot, use it when you get scared."
"I agree," John said.
Rodney hung his head even further.
"You can do it!" Giorgio exclaimed. "Believe in yourself!"
Rodney looked at him, and began snapping his fingers. "I've seen you somewhere--on TV!"
"The TV show is a front for serious work. More so in my reality," Giorgio answered.
Rodney laughed and said, "your hair is being slowly abducted, like mine!"
Giorgio laughed, then his radio crackled. He listened, his face becoming serious. "I need to leave right now, but I will be in touch. Be strong, Rodney!"
"So what do we do now?" John asked. But the Gate dialed, and Giorgio was gone, the Gate immediately shutting down.
Chapter 7
After that, the shadows became more numerous. They haunted the team awake and in their dreams. Rodney was paralyzed by fear, the others were constantly on guard. Stress and lack of sleep made it harder and harder to fight the shadows off. All suffered headaches, especially Rodney. The only encouragement was an occasional message from Giorgio. His people were working to correct the power disruption to the Gate.
Nearly a week went by. The team was eating in the mess hall, trying to keep their spirits up. To make matters worse, food was getting low. The shadows were now constantly in their peripheral vision, which was unnerving. Rodney looked like he was near to collapse.
They had built a boat and tried to make a run for it, but the explosives did not stop the sea creatures, who seemed to be waiting for them. After throwing explosives in the water, they hurriedly boarded the small boat, and began rowing. The creatures stayed away but followed. Then they began coming closer, realizing they could avoid the explosions. They reluctantly turned the boat around. The creatures followed and the team barely escaped with their lives, using the last of the explosives. The shadows were gathered on the pier watching. It appeared they had some control over the sea creatures.
John, Ronon, and Teyla talked about their battles with the Wraith and Replicators.
"I survived being a runner and being fed on. I will survive this," Ronon said.
"I survived Afghanistan and almost turning into a bug," John said. "I will survive the shadows."
"My people survived cullings for millenia, and I survived being turned into a Wraith queen," Teyla said. "I will not be defeated."
Rodney had little to say, which was not a good sign. He had to be almost force fed his ration of mush.
Giorgio had told them to keep their coms on, and be prepared to leave at a moment's notice. They had moved back to the Gate room. The shadows had become agitated, milling about, just outside their line of vision. Rodney tried his best not to look at them, but he could feel them trying to get in his mind, and his headache worsened.
John's com crackled, and Giorgio's voice could be heard over the static. "We have managed to get the Gate working long enough for you to escape. The shadows are fighting hard to prevent it. When it opens, you will have just a few minutes to get thru. Very shortly the self destruct will activate."
"How long is a few minutes and very shortly?" Rodney asked, sounding panicky.
"Can't say for sure, just move your butts as fast as you can. Don't let fear control you or the shadows will win!" he shouted as the com went dead.
The Gate began making sounds like a car with a bad starter. Ronon, John, and Teyla had guns at the ready. Rodney trembled in fear, clutching his laptop, and looking like he might pass out any minute.
The whoosh, and the blue puddle. But before they could get going, it wavered. Rodney felt the worst pain in his head he had ever felt as the shadows began to enter his mind. But instead of giving up, he suddenly became angry. Not just angry, furious! He screamed out every curse word he knew, including some Czech words he learned from Zelenka, and lunged at the shadows, swinging his laptop. The blue puddle stabilized. John and Teyla jumped thru, as Ronon picked Rodney up by his collar and tossed him, then leaped. As the Gate shut down, they heard an explosion.
Chapter 8
Looking around, the team realized they were at this reality's version of Stargate Command, surrounded by their doubles. The two teams stared at each other, then the 'home team' turned and left. After a few moments of silence, John said, "Well, that was disturbing!"
"There's only one me!" Ronon and Rodney said, nearly simultaneously.
"I will fight him and win," Ronon growled.
"I am the smartest!" Rodney exclaimed.
"Settle down, you two, that's an order!" John replied.
Teyla just shook her head.
General O'Neill, followed by Giorgio, remained.
"They insisted on seeing you. Now they wish they hadn't," O'Neill said with a smirk. "I'll turn you over to Giorgio now," then he left.
"We're still working on getting you back to your own reality. Dr. Zelenka and his team are making progress," Giorgio said.
"Zelenka's in charge?" Rodney said, shocked.
"Dr. McKay was, but he got demoted in disgrace after he blew up 3/4 of a solar system," Giorgio replied.
Rodney rolled his eyes, John and Ronon laughed, and Teyla said, "be nice!" But she fought laughing too, then she felt guilty. No one had congratulated Rodney for finally standing up to the shadows.
"Would you like a jumper ride while we're waiting? You might regret it, but better than just waiting around doing nothing," Giorgio replied.
"Why would we regret it?" John asked, as the jumper rose out of the open roof. He had asked to fly them but a young Airman was the pilot.
"Where is your double in our reality?" Rodney asked him.
He shrugged, and said, "don't know."
"I believe he joined your Army," Giorgio answered.
They soon realized why Giorgio had said they might regret the ride. Below was farmland overgrown by weeds. Farm houses and barns falling into disrepair. Then the outskirts of a city with more ramshackle houses, most just shacks. The city was the worst. Roads full of large holes, rusted out vehicles, and garbage. People wandering aimlessly, many sitting or lying in the street. The buildings were decayed or burned out. A long line of people filled several blocks.
"What's going on there?" John asked.
"That's the line for free stuff from the government," Giorgio said sadly.
Rodney looked shocked, Ronon and Teyla looked confused.
"Remember what I said about people becoming weak?" Giorgio replied. "Some of us still have hope but if the shadows had come here, there would be none."
"Good luck with that," said John.
"They need some Satedans to kick their butts in shape!" Ronon said. Then he looked sad, thinking of how few of his people were left.
Back at Stargate Command, the team felt in better spirits after showers and food. Military food, but it tasted wonderful compared to the mush.
They were disappointed on hearing news that it would be a while before they could return home. Zelenka had run into more problems.
Rodney seemed depressed since their arrival in the alternate reality. He avoided the team, spending most of his time in his quarters.
"What's wrong with McKay?" Ronon asked.
"Who knows?" John replied. "He checked out OK in the infirmary."
"I believe he feels bad about himself," Teyla said. "Think about it. He was terrified and behaved in a cowardly manner. Then he 'grew a set,' as you men would say. Do you realize he saved our lives? But no one has acknowledged it. Then he finds out his double here is disgraced. He is having trouble dealing with it all."
"Maybe he needs to talk to the head doctor here," Ronon said.
"He will probably refuse," John said.
"I can drag him there, let's go," Ronon replied.
Teyla interrupted, "no, we should go to his quarters and speak with him. He needs to know we support him."
When they knocked on Rodney's door, he said loudly,"go away!"
"We will be back later," Teyla said.
"If you don't let us in, I'll kick your door in!" Ronon yelled, then muttered, "what a puss."
John nodded in agreement.
"Remember," Teyla said. "Rodney is not a soldier. We are used to dealing with fear, he is not."
Back in the mess hall, they waited to give Rodney some time.
"I'm putting you in charge of this op," John told Teyla. "How can we help Rodney?"
Teyla thought for a few minutes, then came up with an idea. "I will be right back."
A few minutes later she came back carrying a small box.
"What's in there?" John asked. But Teyla just smiled.
They expected more resistance, but Rodney opened the door, looking disheveled and anxious. "Let's get this over, with no broken doors, OK?"
Clearing his throat, John said,"Teyla wants to talk to you."
Giving him a dirty look, Teyla replied, "we all want to talk to you."
"Start talking, then go," Rodney said. "I know I'm a chicken shit loser, just leave me alone!"
"You saved us from the shadow people," Teyla replied. "And also saved this reality. They would have taken over if not for your bravery. We are remiss in not thanking you."
"You're useless in a fight, McKay, but I'm just as useless with science stuff. We need John to lead us, and we need Teyla's wisdom," Ronon said. Then he looked surprised at himself, as expressing his thoughts in words was not easy.
John looked surprised too, and nodded in agreement.
Teyla smiled and handed the box to Rodney. He hesitated, then opened it.
"A cake?" he said, mouth open in surprise.
"I have observed your custom of honoring people with cakes. We honor you Rodney!" Teyla said with a warm smile.
Rodney looked at the ceiling, then back at his team. There were tears in his eyes.
"Let's eat!" Ronon said.
"Got anything to drink with it?" John asked.
"Just beer," Rodney replied.
"Coffee goes better with cake. I'll go get some, "John said, as he headed for the mess hall.
"Why does the cake read congratulations on your new baby," Rodney asked.
"That was the only one they had on short notice," Teyla answered.
Chapter 9
A few days went by, then Giorgio notified the team to get ready to leave this reality. A large circular chamber had been invented by Dr. Zelenka to bridge between realities. It resembled the one Rodney's double Rod had traveled in, but with improvements. It was safe to travel to certain other realities. The team hoped Giorgio was right about that.
They were happy until he told them it would be impossible to go straight home, but Zelenka had figured a round about way to do it. Next they would go to yet another reality of Earth. Rodney was full of questions but Zelenka would not discuss it with him.
"I don't care about the science, just get us home," Ronon said.
John and Teyla agreed. Rodney looked disappointed, but his mood had improved greatly.
As they prepared to leave, Giorgio told them what to expect. "This reality is in many ways a mirror image of yours. I think you will be entertained by what you see," Giorgio said with a sly smile.
They climbed into the chamber, there was a flash of light, and they were in an identical room in another reality.
Climbing out first, Giorgio spoke to his double. "Our guests have arrived."
"We must wait twenty-four hours to travel to your home. The Stargate here has been adapted for limited inter-dimensional travel. I will take you on a tour. I think you will enjoy seeing what your doubles are doing in this reality," he told them. "Anyone hungry?"
They headed down the street of a large city. Massive lighted billboards covered the sides of the buildings, flashing advertisements for businesses and entertainment. One on a restaurant read, 'meet Teyla Emmagan, celebrity chef.' The team looked shocked, then began to laugh, Teyla included. She was known for her lack of cooking skills.
"We need to stop here first," Giorgio said, turning into a department store.
"Why-for Pepto Bismol?" Rodney blurted out, then said,"Sorry."
They all remembered the last time they had tried Teyla's cooking.
Giorgio bought a hat and glasses for Teyla to wear in the restaurant. But they need not have worried. Teyla's double sat at a table signing copies of her latest cook book. She had an elaborate hair style, streaked with shades of blonde and bright red, heavy makeup, and some extra pounds. The food was excellent.
Continuing down the street, the came to a large hall with a billboard reading, "Ronon Dex, meditation guru. Speaking on Meditation for Peace." A crowd stood by the entrance, many holding flowers, and signs reading "No Weapons." When the doors opened, Giorgio led the team inside. It was standing room only, and they stood in the back. Then the stage lights went on and Ronon's double walked on stage. He wore a long white robe, with flowers woven into his dreds and long beard. People threw flowers onto the stage, as he began to speak about peace, love, and an end to war. Then a man approached them asking for tickets, which were very expensive, and they left. "Shit!" was all Ronon could say. John and Rodney were holding their sides, laughing. Teyla was trying her best not to laugh.
"I keep seeing 'Shep Enterprises' on the bill boards. What's that about?" John asked. They had come to a massive building which read 'Sheppard Tower.'
"That's you, CEO of Sheppard Enterprises, the richest man in the city," Giorgio replied.
John rolled his eyes, thinking how he would much rather be flying.
"What about me?" Rodney asked, sounding a bit whiny.
"Just keep walking," Giorgio replied.
Soon they came to a large sports arena. The brightly lit marquee read "Rodney 'The Rod' McKay, Pro Wrestler of the Year." A crowd, including many photographers, milled around the entrance. Then a long black limo pulled up to the curb, and Rodney's double emerged, amid cheers and screams from the crowd. Security men held them back. He wore a long spangled cape, with matching boots and trunks, and a very large codpiece. His spiky hair was platinum blond. He waved and flexed his impressive muscles, which made the crowd yell even louder.
John and Ronon were laughing loudly and slapping each other on the back. Teyla could not hide her laughter, and Rodney stood open mouthed.
"I thought you would enjoy that," Giorgio said. Then his radio beeped and he announced it was time to start back.
Epilogue
They arrived home after midnight, much relieved to be back in their own reality. Post off world checkups showed no problems, and they headed to their quarters for much needed sleep.
Later they met for dinner, then off to see the movie being shown that night.
Jennifer snuggled up to Rodney, and he put his arm around her, his face a little red.
Ronon and Amelia arrived as the movie was starting, both with big smiles.
John and Teyla looked at each other, then he took her hand. "We have an anouncment to make," he said. "We are, um, a couple now."
"I always knew it," Ronon said.