XOVER: Going Home Again - part 7 of 7
Dawn341@aol.com
Wed, 6 Nov 2002 21:52:18 EST
Going Home Again - part 7 of 7
For disclaimers and warnings, see part 1.
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"You did what?" John stared at his friend in total shock.
"I showed Jackson how I can come back from the dead," Richie said,
keeping his eyes on his mug of coffee. "Unfortunately, O'Neill crashed
the party, and saw it too."
"Why did you do it? We were all willing to keep your secret."
"Because I couldn't let you suffer because of me."
"Rich... You didn't have to do that."
"Yes, I did. Hopefully, you'll be able to go home now, if you want."
"But you won't be able to," John pointed out.
"I couldn't do that before I told them," Richie replied. "So, I'm in no
worse of a position than I was before."
"Well, if you aren't going home, then I'm not going home, either," John
insisted.
"John, are you crazy? You've spent the last four years, trying to find a
way home. Now you can do that - don't throw it away because of me. I'll
be all right." Richie looked up at John. "And remember, sooner or later,
I'll be alone out here. I can live forever, and you can't. Don't waste
your life on some misguided sense of duty."
John sighed. "This wasn't the way it was supposed to be."
"I know." Richie took another sip of his coffee. "This could all be a
moot discussion. I don't really know for sure what O'Neill will do. He
might promise to drop this whole idea of arresting us, then when we do
go home, ignore that promise."
"They won't be able to do that!" John said. "We have rights."
"And if they wanted to, they could just ignore those rights. Call it a
threat to national security. We could end up locked up in some cell deep
in Cheyenne Mountain, without even having a trial."
"My dad wouldn't let that happen," John insisted. He didn't want to
believe that the military or the government would do such a thing, but
deep inside, he couldn't help but wonder if they would.
"I don't want to be a pessimist, but they could just toss him in with
us," Richie pointed out.
John found himself staring at his friend again. "Are you trying to tell
me that we could be in even deeper trouble because they know about you?"
"I don't know, John. I hope I'm wrong."
"What are you wrong about now, Ryan?" Jack Crichton asked as he entered
the center chamber. "Besides your decision to ruin my son's life?"
"Back off, Dad!" John retorted, rising to his feet. "You don't know
you're talking about!"
"Only because no one will tell me what's going on?" Jack sounded totally
frustrated about the whole thing.
"Tell him," Richie said, calmly.
Once again, John found himself staring at his friend. "What?"
"Tell him. He's in this, too. He'd better know what we're up against."
John sank back down onto his chair, hating the defeated tone of Richie's
voice. Finally, he signaled for his father to sit down, too, then filled
him in. It required a demonstration of immortal healing powers before
Jack Crichton would believe the story, but he finally had to accept it.
"It's so hard to believe, but it explains so much," Jack said when John
was done.
"Such as?" John asked.
"Like why MacLeod was so willing to spend a lot of money backing our
attempt at recreating your trip. He knew that even if the rest of the
Collaroy crew had died, Ryan could be saved And why he went to the
morgue looking for Ryan's body." He thought about it for a moment. "I
suppose it also explains the discrepancies in MacLeod's background
check. I had to pull a lot of strings to get him admitted to the
Stargate project."
"Why would you say that? Just because MacLeod knows about me, doesn't
make him like me," Richie replied, keeping his attention on his coffee.
"I don't think so," Jack said. "Back on the planet, you told John that
there was someone else like you around. That means MacLeod is also an
Immortal, right?"
Richie sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. "I suppose you might as
well know it all. Mac is over four hundred years old." He glared at the
older Crichton. "That's just between us - you can't tell anyone else!"
Jack's mouth had gaped open when Ryan told him MacLeod's age, but he
snapped it shut. "I understand. Knowing that, I find myself wanting to
have a long chat with MacLeod about historical events, but I can see
where the military might think the two of you should be studied."
"The word that comes to my mind is experimented on," Richie retorted.
"So, what are we going to do?" Jack asked. "There's got to be some way
to clear this up without jeopardizing Ryan and MacLeod."
"I already did something," Richie said. "I figured Jackson might be more
open to helping me since he's the only non-military person on the SG-1
crew, but O'Neill followed us, and he knows everything."
"So, John is off the hook?" Jack looked pleased at the idea.
"Probably, but Richie isn't. He still can't go back home," John pointed
out.
"But you're not going to let that stop you from doing it!" Richie stated
firmly. "That's the whole reason I told them my secret. End of
discussion," he added as he stood up.
Jack moved to block his way. "Rich, I said some pretty nasty things to
you last night, and I shouldn't have. I was wrong when I sad you weren't
an honorable man. I'm sorry."
"Thanks." Richie gave him a small smile before leaving the room.
*****
"I'm telling you, Sam, he was dead. And then he healed right before my
eyes!" Daniel said.
"Daniel, people don't come back to life after they're dead," Carter
stated firmly. "You must have been mistaken."
"Indeed," Teal'c intoned.
"Sam, he had a sword through his abdomen. The man was dead. And now he
doesn't even have a wound. Jack saw it, too."
"It looked pretty real to me," O'Neill added, somewhat unhappily.
"And it explains how Ryan was the only crew member to survive," Daniel
continued. "He just came back to life."
Carter turned to the Colonel. "So, what do we do now, sir?"
"Well, unless anyone else has any objections, we just forget this whole
immortality thing, and the Collaroy, and get back to our original
objective - figure out if we can stop this Scorpius person, and see if
we can find any technology to help us stop the Goa'uld."
"You aren't going to tell General Hammond?" Carter asked.
"Nooo... I think this comes under 'need to know'. Can anyone think of a
reason the General needs to know?"
"What about the offer to let Ryan and Crichton join the SGC?" Carter
asked. "Shouldn't the General know then?"
"Okay, so he'll need to know if they do join. If that happens, I'll let
Daniel tell him."
"Me? Why me?" Daniel protested.
******
Richie stared out at the stars, wondering if this would be the last time
he would see such a sight. He had a tough decision to make, and he was
having a hard time with it.
"Rich? You wanted to see all of us?" John's voice interrupted his
thoughts.
He turned to face the others who had just joined him in the control
room. Hopefully, they'd be able to help him. He looked at his mentor,
and took a deep breath before starting.
"Mac, I've told everyone what I am." He held up a hand when the Scot
started to speak. "I had to do it for John. And I told Jack, too. I
didn't tell him about you, but he guessed it anyway. It's over and done
with, so don't bother yelling at me."
"Rich, you know this means you can't go back home, ever," Duncan said,
sadly. "I understand why you felt you had to do it, but you've only made
things worse for yourself."
"I don't know if I have. O'Neill promised that he wouldn't mention it to
anyone else. He says I can go home if I want, or join the SGC. It's up
to me."
"That's great, Rich!" John burst out, smiling broadly.
"But can I trust him? I don't know whether he's lying through his teeth
to get me back through the gate so he can have them haul me away, or
whether he's being truthful." He looked at the other man in the room.
"Jack, you and Mac have spent more time with O'Neill, what do you think?
Can I trust him?"
Jack thought about it for a long time. "I think you can. While your...
immortality is something unusual, I'm sure they've seen even stranger
things in their travels to other worlds. Plus, you'd be a major asset to
their team if you join up with them."
"Mac? You've had a lot of experience at judging people. What do you
think?"
Duncan sighed. "It's a risk, Richie, but O'Neill doesn't strike me as
someone who'd go back on his word. I don't have to tell you what could
happen to you if he does."
"I know. That's why it's so hard to make the decision. There's so much
at stake, and not just for me."
Jack moved to stand in front of Richie. "I promise you that if the
military does try to do something, I will do everything in my power to
stop them. I know a lot of people in high places."
Richie smiled at him. "Thanks." He sighed, then said, "I guess it's
worth the risk. I want to go home, Mac, but first John and I have to
stop Scorpius."
"You're still planning on doing that, Son?" Jack asked, turning to face
John.
"Yes, Dad. It's something we have to do."
"Would you like some company, while you do it?"
John closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them. They glistened with
unshed tears. "I'd love to have you come along, Dad, but you can't. If
Scorpius ever got his hands on you, I would do anything to get you back.
And that could be deadly for the rest of my friends. I need to know that
you're at home, safe and sound, and waiting for me to return."
Jack reached out and pulled his son into a strong hug. "I understand,
son," he choked out, "but it won't be easy saying good-bye again."
Richie felt a strong hand rest on his shoulder, and turned toward it.
"What about me, Rich? Can you use another friend on this trip?" Duncan
asked.
"I'd like nothing better." Richie tried to smile, but it was hard to do
when he felt more like crying. Never in a million years would he have
thought Duncan MacLeod would offer to come along. "But it's up to you,"
he barely managed to add.
"Someone needs to keep you out of trouble," Duncan said lightly, but he
didn't fool Richie. Especially when the Scot wrapped his arms around
Richie and hugged him tightly.
"Well, it looks like we have another crewmember," John said, one of his
father's arms still wrapped around his shoulders.
"Do you mind?" Richie asked.
"Nope." John smiled at his friend.
*****
John looked around the center chamber. It was much fuller than usual,
with all of Moya's crew, Duncan and his father, and the SG-1 team in it.
"It's going to take a while for the military to decide whether they want
to help us. Until then, we can stay here. If you want, you can go down
to the planet, and meet other humans."
Daniel stood up with a nudge from O'Neill. "You're also invited to go
through the Stargate and see what Earth is like. You won't be able to go
off base, but you are welcome."
Over the excited talking of the rest of Moya's crew, John whispered into
Aeryn's ear, "Will you come with me? Will you let me show you my home?"
She smiled at him, then nodded.
He had no idea what the future had in store for them, but for now he
would just take it one day at a time.
The end.