Fyd818 – I know that really was a mean cliffie, I think I might actually be one of my worst lol. I'm glad you liked the fight scene and the final scene, they were the scenes that inspired the whole fic so I'm glad they worked out alright. I'm kinda sad this story is ending too but such is the fate of all things lol. Thanks for the review, I hope you enjoy the final chapter.

Suzotchka1 – Thanks for the review, I hope you enjoy the final chapter.

Steph7085 – It was experience, I've been hanging around with you way too long lol. (dodges slap and flying sporks) I know that was a really mean cliff hanger and I do feel slightly guilty about it. Hope this chapter makes up for it, thanks for the review.

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Chapter 19

Sounds.

It was the first thing he became aware of, they were all jumbled together and he couldn't tell what any of them were. Slowly they began to separate and it became easier to distinguish one from the other and figure out what they were. He could here voices and a machines that were all making regular beeping sounds. Opening his eyes slowly he allowed himself to adjust to the level of light in the room. He was disoriented an confused at first but as the haze in his mind disappeared his memories came back to him.

"John," a familiar male voice said and John turned his head to locate the source. It took him a moment for his brain to come up with correct name for the face

"Carson?" he questioned his voice sounding strained as though he hadn't used it in a long time. Carson picked up a glass of water from the table beside his bed and helped him to take a sip before John tried speaking again, this time his voice sounded a little stronger. "What happened?"

"What's the last thing you remember?" another man asked and it took John a moment to recognise him as Marcus and the blonde next to him as Laura.

"We found the weapon… we stopped it?" he questioned knowing that if they were all still there they must have done but it never hurt to be sure.

"You did," Marcus told him "but you all…" Marcus paused as f trying to figure out how to explain the rest of the story. "You all died, we were able to get you to Laura's ship in time to resuscitate you but it's been touch and go ever since. There were times we thought you weren't going to make it."

John closed his eyes as he tried to take in everything he was being told and when he opened them again he only had one question. "The others?"

"They were resuscitated as well though you're the first to wake up," Carson told him stepping aside so John could see the rest of the room for the first time. In the bed next to him was Elizabeth's unconscious form attached to various machines. He strained his neck slightly to see Rodney in the next bed followed by Teyla and Ronon.

"Are they okay?" he asked.

"We won't know for sure until they wake up but all your conditions have being improving over the last week so I'm fairly certain they'll all wake up soon enough," Carson explained.

"How long have we been unconscious?" he questioned and watched as Marcus and Carson exchanged a glance.

"Three months," Marcus replied and John could only nod his head in response as he once again collected his thoughts together.

"Where are we?" he asked.

"The infirmary of Republic headquarters, a lot's changed in the last few months. I won't get into the details now but suffice to say than none of us are under arrest," Marcus informed him. "Just take it easy and concentrate on getting better, we'll explain everything to you later."

- - -

Ronon woke up only a few hours after John and after several failed attempts to get out of bed he grudgingly accepted his fate and laid still. Despite having spent the last three months unconscious John felt tired. He kept glancing at Elizabeth's bed wishing he could go over to her but he knew he didn't have the energy to cross the short distance let alone make it back before Carson found him. Instead he listened to her heat monitor, he'd singled it out from all the others and used it to reassure himself she was okay even if he couldn't go over there and see for himself. His own heart monitor had been removed shortly after he'd woke up for which he was grateful, it was somewhat unsettling to hear the beeps that signified your own heart beat.

When night finally came he forced himself to sleep but it seemed like he had only just closed his eyes when the noise in the infirmary woke him. Marcus, Carson and Laura were stood around Teyla's bed along with a couple of nurses who left after a few moments. He saw Teyla wake up looking just as confused and disoriented as he did though she seemed to take the news of their three month coma without so much as batting an eyelid. He supposed being put to sleep for four years had given her some perspective though.

Once he was sure Teyla was okay and all but a handful of people once again vacated the infirmary John fell easily back to sleep. When he woke up the next morning Ronon was already out of his bed and sitting in the chair next to Teyla's as the two of them conversed quietly. Carson came into the room giving him a disproving look but made no attempt to move him before he walked over to John.

"I suppose you'll be wanting to get up too," he stated and John didn't have to answer the question before Carson helped him to get up and move over to Elizabeth's bed. His legs seemed to have forgotten how to move though and the task was more difficult than it ought to have been. John was immensely relieved when he was able to reach out and hold Elizabeth's hand.

Marcus and Laura arrived a few hours later, Marcus took up a position next to Rodney whilst Laura went to talk to Carson. He didn't fail to notice the affectionate looks or touches they shared and he turned questioningly to Marcus. "I take it they figured things out," he stated and Marcus shrugged.

"They've been virtually inseparable since we got here," he told him and Marcus nodded.

"Why are we here and why aren't we under arrest?" Ronon questioned and Marcus turned his head to look at the tall Satedan.

"We're here because they had the facilities we needed to help you and you're not under arrest because Laura convinced her superiors of what happened on Atlantis," Marcus explained, his tone making it clear that he wasn't going to explain further.

The rest of the day passed slowly with neither Rodney or Elizabeth waking up and John was forced, by a very insistent Carson, to leave Elizabeth's side and return to his own bed. Ronon took a little longer to persuade but he too returned to his bed.

When John woke the next morning he felt better than he had since he'd woke up from his coma. He was able to move to Elizabeth's bed without help though it still proved to be a difficult task. An hour later Elizabeth finally woke up, her hand tightened unconsciously around John's and clung to it whilst Marcus and Carson explained the situation to her. When they finally left her alone she turned onto her side to face John and a small smile spread across her face.

"Hey," she whispered and John returned her smile as he tucked her hair behind her ear.

"Hey," he replied and looked over her shoulder to where Marcus, Carson and Laura had gone through to an office attached to the ward and Ronon and Teyla were pointedly giving them their privacy.

"When did you wake up?" she asked him.

"About two days ago, Ronon woke up a few after me and Teyla a few hours after him and you know Rodney, man likes his sleep so we could be here a while waiting for him," he joked eliciting the smile he'd been aiming for.

"I heard that Sheppard," a croaky male voice stated and his head snapped up to see Rodney waking. Elizabeth turned around on her bed so she could see him and John heard Ronon shouting for Carson who came running into the room with Marcus and Laura.

After being reassured he wasn't dead or injured in anyway Rodney finally settled back down just in time to freak out about being in a coma for three months. John barely moved from Elizabeth side for the rest of the day despite Carson's protests that he need to be in his bed. By the time John finally decided he needed to sleep Ronon, Teyla and Rodney were asleep and Carson and the others had left for the night. He brushed a gentle kiss over Elizabeth's lips before standing and returning to his own bed. John stayed awake until he heard Elizabeth breathing even out indicating she was asleep before he allowed himself to sleep.

- - -

The following few days were a blur as the elementals recovered from their coma, it took their bodies a while to return to full working order and even then none of them were in the same physical shape they had been. They were finally released from the infirmary and given temporary quarters in Republic Headquarters. They'd barely had time to settle in before they'd been dragged back out again and taken to what looked like a briefing room.

Marcus and Carson were both there along with two other people who gestured for the elementals to sit down.

"Guys, this is Councillor Jack O'Neill and Councillor Samantha Carter of the Secret Council," Marcus introduced.

"First of all," Jack began "I want to say thank you and well done, you all saved the universe. Secondly, Carson, you'll be glad to know you're no longer dead."

"That's nice," Carson replied be fore Jack continued.

"Now I know Marcus has explained part of the situation to you all but we wanted to wait until you were all awake and on the road to recovery before we got into all the details with you," Jack explained. "Captain Cadman was able to convince the Republic of the events that occurred on Atlantis. Her story was backed up by statements from other Republic officers who saw the light from the weapon and can I just say, it looked pretty from space too. The Secret Council and the Republic spent two months in talks over… well we talked about a lot of things so I won't bore you with them all and to be honest I don't even know half of what was said cause I was sleeping. The main point is that the SC are no longer branded as traitors, we're now actually a secret branch of the Republic which means we can continue are work with the co-operation of the Republic instead of their interference," Jack explained.

"There are jobs within the SC for all of you," Sam told them "If you want them, take your time to decide."

The meeting ended and the elementals all headed for their rooms, without a word Elizabeth and John went to the same room and Ronon smirked as he watched them go. He then hurried after Teyla so he could talk to her catching up with her just outside her room. She smiled in acknowledgement before entering her room and he followed her in.

"What can I do for you Ronon?" she questioned and now that the moment was here Ronon suddenly felt nervous. It wasn't the same nervousness he'd felt before they had stopped the weapon, this one was worse. He stood still for a moment trying to figure out how to say what he wanted to say and not coming up with the right words he decided on a different approach.

He kissed her, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her flush against him, he kissed her. He had expected her to push him away so he was completely surprised when she kissed him back, he was so surprised that he pulled away from the kiss but didn't move far. He looked at her questioningly and read her answer in her eyes before she leaned up and kissed him again. This time he didn't pull back but instead he deepened the kiss and allowed his hands to find the skin beneath her top. She moaned softly at the small amount of contact and it was all the reassurance he needed that this was what she wanted. Their entire journey and every bad thing that had happened to them all over the last few months suddenly seemed completely worth it, as he edged them closer to the bed he realised it had all led him to this moment.

- - -

John's decision had been an easy one, after all what did he have to go back to? A pointless war that he probably never should have got involved in to begin with. The only deciding factor in his decision was Elizabeth but when she had informed him that she too was going to take up the SC's job offer his decision had been sealed. Rodney had agreed to stick around if they promised not to throw him into quite so many life threatening situations. Ronon had decided to take the job too but Teyla had been the reluctant one, they had locked her in a stasis pod for four years and now she was considering working for them.

She'd had a long talk with Jack though and something he'd said must have convinced her because she announced she too was going to accept the job offer. Laura was made the liaison between the Republic and the Secret Council which meant she'd be able to see Carson regularly. Rodney was placed on the SC science team which meant he'd mostly stay at SC headquarters unless his powers were needed elsewhere. The rest of them were made SC field agents with the promise they would be able to do most of their work together.

Ronon and Teyla had started sparring again in an effort to regain their strength, John preferred to just use the gym with Elizabeth and occasionally Rodney who wouldn't stay there more than fifteen minutes anyway.

John was currently lying in bed in his and Elizabeth's room at SC Headquarters watching as Elizabeth slept beside him. It was only just dawn and the first tendrils of light were coming through the window and landing on her face. She was laid on her side facing him and he mirrored her position so that he could simply watch her because she always looked so peaceful and content when she was sleeping.

He reached across to brush her hair behind her ear an action which had become a habit for him. He allowed his fingers to linger on her face gently caressing her cheek before tracing the line of her jaw and finally brushing across her lips. She began to stir slightly and he moved his hand to play with the curl of her hair below her ear. She opened her eyes slowly and smiled sleepily at him as she snuggled closer to him until her face was buried in his chest.

"What time is it?" she mumbled.

"6.30," he told her and she shifted backwards slightly so she could look up at him.

"And you felt the need to wake me up?" she questioned humorously and he smiled at her.

"No, I felt the need to do this," he told her capturing her lips with his own and even half asleep Elizabeth responded immediately. They were interrupted though when the radio on the nightstand crackled to life.

"John, you there?" Marcus's voice questioned and John momentarily considered ignoring it but instead he broke the kiss and reached across to grab the currently hated device.

"I'm here," he answered.

"We've got work to do so get your assess down here," Marcus's voice instructed and John sighed muttering a sarcastic and bitter 'yes sir' before throwing the radio back on the nightstand.

"I guess we'd better get up," Elizabeth stated and John kissed her deeply before getting out bed.

"If this is about paperwork again I'm gonna kill him," he muttered as he headed for the bathroom followed by Elizabeth.

The End

Authors Note: Thanks to all my fantastic reviewers, you all keep me inspired and thanks to Steph for the beta. I hope you all enjoyed this story!