Title: Found
Rating:K+ for now
Disclaimer: I own not Atlantis, if I did well it'd sparkle ;-)
Season: future fic
Spoilers: Could be present for upto and including whole of Season Two and rumours for Season Three.
Summary: They're about to rediscover what they thought they'd lost…
A/N: Two Atlantis firsts for me: 1) first non-post-ep fic and 2) first multi-chapter really long fic. I'm posting this to 'encourage' me to write the rest down instead of just playing it out in my head.

Prologue

Turning around, Elizabeth immediately saw spikes of black hair peeping from behind a pillar. Smiling to herself, she moved in the opposite direction and made a show of looking behind the Stargate.

"No, not behind here," she said aloud, turning and looking exaggeratedly round the room.

She walked over to a nearby cargo crate and mimed sneaking up on it. "A-ha!" she shouted, jumping to look over the crate.

There was distinct giggling from the vicinity of the pillar and she smiled to herself again. "Oh, I heard laughing…" she said, straightening up and stepping away from the crate.

The giggling was heard again.

"Now, where could he be?" she said – one word with each step as she walked slowly to the centre of the room.

The giggling was muffled this time.

She crept towards the pillar, moving round to the side where the end of two little feet could be seen. Crouching down, she took hold of the feet as she exclaimed, "Gotcha!"

The curled up child screamed and squirmed under her grip, rolling over onto his back.

She ran her fingers up to his hips and tickled, inciting more wriggling.

"Aaah!… Aunty Lizbeth, stop it!" he squealed.

"But this is the name of the game," she grinned, continuing the torment. "Hide then get tickled."

"No… It… Isn't!" he insisted between laughter-filled breaths. "It's hide and seek!"

She stopped tickling and looked down at his reddened face. "Oh I'm sorry. I got confused," she smirked.

He narrowed his eyes at her. "You don't get confused!" he declared.

"Sometimes I do," she admitted.

"But you're the boss," he said, sitting up, showing his interest in the conversation.

"Yes but I can still get confused… Sometimes Uncle Rodney doesn't make any sense at all if he's excited."

The boy chuckled. "He's funny!"

Elizabeth smiled fondly. "Yes he is."

"And he likes blue jello," he added.

She nodded and smiled at the not-so-subtle hint. "He does… Do you want – "

She was interrupted by the activation of the 'gate. Knowing no teams were due back, she said: "Okay, Honey, you know the drill," and the boy jumped to his feet, gave her a tight hug and ran from the 'gate room.

As the chevrons continued to engage she ascended the steps to the control room.

"Receiving Colonel Lorne's IDC, Ma'am," Jordan Philips, the technician on duty, informed her as she stopped beside him.

"Let him in," she said, turning back the way she came to return to the 'gate.

Colonel Lorne stepped through the open wormhole alone, and the 'gate disengaged behind him.

"Colonel – " Elizabeth began as she walked to meet him.

He smiled and interrupted her concerned query. "Everything is fine!" he assured her.

"Then why are you back early?… And alone?" she asked, eyebrow raised.

"We should talk in your office," he said, and he was still smiling. It was becoming suspicious now.

He was already past her and heading in that direction but she didn't follow, a familiar feeling of dread fixing her to the spot.

"We can talk here, Marcus," she stated, folding her arms both for effect and to hold her anxiety.

"I was thinking more privacy – " he said, his smile slipping a little as he stopped, feet on different steps.

"You said everything's fine."

He returned to her level. "Everything is fine. My team's fine. The people of Melera are lovely folk – "

Her concern was growing and his assurances were failing to get through. "Marc!"

His face fell to a serious expression and he stepped close to her so he could lower his voice; positioning his body to shield her expression from the control room so the curious faces up there wouldn't see the effect of what he was about to tell her.

Elizabeth frowned at his proximity and looked at him expectantly as he seemed to search for the words to explain.

"Elizabeth," he finally began, voice quiet. "I think we may have found Colonel Sheppard."

TBC…