fic: "Genes In A Twist - Part Two" by Tielan [Not Happening challenge]

[tielan]

Okay, due to some stuffing around, this was supposed to go into the flashfic comm, backdated to just after the post containing Part One (which has been changed, so if you read it at first, you should probably go back and read it again).

Unfortunately, communities don't let you backdate entries if you're not the community moderator.

*sigh*
I'm really sorry about this, it's messy, but at least I've learned something:
1. check the comm before trying to post, the challenge may have ended
2. post the whole story at once, even if it has to go in two separate posts due to length.

TITLE: Genes In A Twist - Part Two
AUTHOR: tielan
SUMMARY: Sheppard's team encounter a few difficulties while off world. It's a brand new day in Atlantis. With no mistakes in it. Yet.
CATEGORY: Gen, humour, genderbender.
RATING: PG-13
NOTES: 18,000 words written in a week.

Genes In A Twist - Part One (reposted)

Genes In A Twist - Part Two

Teyla moved briskly from the infirmary, eager for a shower and some clothes that fit her properly.

Her day had begun on cold stone, waking naked and uncomfortable with her hands tied behind her and her ankles bound. Her body ached from the cold and from scrapes she'd incurred while toiling to release herself, and from the weariness that came from a lack of a good night's sleep.

Relief filled her as she started out the infirmary towards her rooms. Even the presence of Sergeant Dachaus didn't dismay her. She would go to her room and collect some fresh clothing, and then shower and return to the conference room before hunting down this person who had taken on her form to deceive the city.

"Teyla?"

She turned at the call and waited as Colonel Sheppard came up to her in the corridor, familiar motion in an unfamiliar form.

He had lost none of his height, but the face that looked back at her looked only vaguely like the man she was accustomed to. It was as though she was looking at a relative, perhaps a sibling.

"Colonel."

"Ah, I have a confession to make..." The Colonel glanced over her shoulder at Sergeant Dachaus, then took Teyla's arm and led her a little further away, out of earshot of the Sergeant. Teyla shot a reassuring smile at the man then looked back at John. "I raided your wardrobe."

She arched a brow. "You took my clothing."

"Not any of your Athosian stuff. But...I needed support."

Support? Teyla was momentarily confused, then followed to where John was looking. On himself, not her. Ah. She bit back a smile as he continued.

"One of the nurses found some stuff for Rodney and Ronon, but the stuff she had for me was...a bit large. And I figured that we were about the...same size and..."

Teyla was tempted to ask how he had estimated that. In female form, he had lost some of the depth of his chest - not counting the addition of breasts, and they were of similar sizes and body shapes, but she would not have expected such a calculation on his part. In the end, she chose not to question it - as Charin had once said, there were things it was better not to know. "Did you find something to suit you?"

"Yeah," John said, and although the voice was very different, there was no mistaking the relief in it. "I'll get it back to you at the end of all this."

He sounded more than a little depressed and Teyla hastened to assure him. "It will not be long. And it is not so bad being a woman, surely?" Her sense of mischief made her add the tail question.

"We're not even going to go there," said John, and this time it took only a little imagination for Teyla to both see and hear him in his male form. "You'll kick my ass, female or not."

"You should be accustomed to me doing that in any case."

"Then this is saving my ass at least one kicking."

Teyla smiled and turned away. "I will see you in the briefing room once I have showered and changed."

She got one step away before she heard him add, "Nice selection of underwear by the way."

Teyla stopped and turned back, knowing that she was flushing and only hoping that her skin was not showing it too clearly. She had forgotten about the other items in that section of her wardrobe. "Those are joke gifts by the other Atlantean women," she explained.

"Oh?"

It would take too long to explain why the tradition had begun, let alone why she kept the highly impractical items. Instead, she took the opportunity to tweak his chain. "You are welcome to borrow any of them if you wish, John," she told him sweetly.

The hazel eyes narrowed and he opened his mouth to say something, then stopped and looked away. "Oh, I don't think that'll be necessary. I'll...ah...I'll see you in the briefing room, later."

He almost ran away, hurrying along with familiar brisk strides in an unfamiliar body.

Teyla shook her head, smiling to herself. John was a handsome man, but the woman was...disconcerting. Or perhaps it was just her perception of it. Sergeant Dachaus had no compunction about watching the swing of John's retreat. She wondered if the Sergeant had yet realised that the body he was admiring might be female, but the mind inside it was male.

She wondered if it made a difference.

Continuing on, she reflected that appearance was one part of attraction, but not the whole of it. In spite of her team-mates' changed appearances, they were still the men they had been before - merely in different packages.

And there were things to think about other than the attractiveness of her team-mates, changed or not.

Once at her room, she looked through her clothing, noting that John had not been neat in rearranging her drawer contents. She was not ordinarily a fussy woman, but seeing the disarray, she felt the urge to neaten it all out.

There will be time for that later.

She wished to be clean - and to be rid of this clothing. The colonel's fatigues did not fit her with any degree of comfort and smelled of him in a manner she was finding both distracting and attractive. She would be very glad of her own clothing again.

Briskly selecting clothes, her muslin bag of toiletries, and her towel, Teyla strode from her room, wondering at the kind of person who would create such a situation as this and then watch it in amusement.

One of the Ancestors, she thought as she turned beneath the hot shower spray, ruthlessly scrubbing down her skin and ignoring the ache of fresh scrapes and scratches. I would not have thought it possible that one of the Ancestors might do such a thing in malice. And yet what else could it be? What reason would there be for causing such confusion in Teyla's team-mates and impersonating Teyla?

The ways of the Ancestors are not ours, said a little voice in the back of her head. Their reasons are mysterious and beyond our understanding.

As she held her wrists under the spray, enduring the sting of the faintly salt water, Teyla reflected that she'd come a long way from the woman who'd met the strangers arriving with Halling that morning on Athos. While many of her people still revered the Ancestors, she could not. Their knowledge had produced this city and many other wondrous things, but they had also created the Wraith. Unable to fight the Wraith, they had fled elsewhere, leaving their followers prey to the enemy.

She rinsed out her hair. In the end, the Ancients were no more than men or women - wiser, perhaps, more knowledgeable, perhaps, but still prey to the faults and failings of lesser beings - of the Atlanteans, of the Gennii, of the Satedans, of the Athosians.

And she must hunt one of them down in Atlantis, capture her - or him - and persuade her to return her friends to their former state.

What was it that Laura Cadman said at times like these? Would you like fries and a coke with that?

She refrained from such a comment in the briefing room when Elizabeth asked if there were any questions. "There'll be several other teams looking for the other Teyla," she said, handing Teyla a length of scarlet cloth. "They have stun weapons with them and orders to shoot if you're not wearing this."

Teyla nodded. It was a sensible precaution. "The detector is working?" She asked as she tied the cloth around her hair, slipping it under the elastic so it wouldn't fall out, even if she was fighting.

"Of course it's working." Rodney said. It was strange to see and hear his petulance coming from a woman. Stranger still to see Rodney with hair - short and slightly fluffy, but far more of it than he was wont to have in male form. "It's showing the strongest Ancient genes in the city - which is the Ancient, Sheppard, and Dr. Ibsen, but she's been called to the infirmary for the duration of your hunt, so don't head for the infirmary."

Major Lorne was studying the detector Rodney had handed to him. As Rodney directed his comments at the Major, Teyla bit back a smile. In his eagerness to point out the details of what he had done, Rodney's breast pressed against the Major's shoulder and the Major shifted away while the other man - now female - chattered on.

A glance at Elizabeth showed a similar twinkle in green eyes at Rodney's oblivion. They would laugh over this later, in private - a shared moment of amusement at the cost of their colleagues.

"You will be watching from here or the control room?"

"Here," said Elizabeth. "As I understand it, there's a fair bit of gossip, but nobody's yet gotten hold of the whole story."

"And shouldn't until after we're back to normal," the Colonel said, her voice firm and clear. "We'll be watching, though - Miller's patched the city's life-signs detector through to this conference room so we'll be in contact." He tapped his earpiece.

Teyla nodded as she tucked back a strand of hair, checking that her earpiece was firmly fixed and looked at Major Lorne who was looking slightly overloaded with all Rodney's instructions. "Major?"

He shrugged. "I'll work it out as we go along."

With his guidance, they moved swiftly through the city, headed directly for the strongest signal on the detector. Teyla met a few marines also moving through the city, although they seemed content to let her and Major Lorne take the lead.

"They're co-ordinating the marines to act as a perimeter guard," said the Major at her query when another set of marines intercepted them and fell into line behind them. "They'll keep an eye on the bottlenecks for us."

But it was up to her to capture this Ancient.

She wondered what her people would say if they knew she was intending to capture one of the Ancestors. Was it even possible to capture one of the Ancestors? Perhaps she would be struck down dead the instant she touched her. Or him.

Lorne indicated a specific corridor and she moved towards it on wary feet, he and the marines following behind. She blocked them out of her consciousness, stretching her senses ahead, ready for whatever might come.

Behind her, she heard Lorne speaking into his headset, the words audible both in her headset and behind her. "Can we close off rooms ahead of the subject - or seal off the corridors behind us so she can't double-back?"

"We should be able to--" It took a moment for Teyla to recognise the unfamiliar voice: Rodney, working on something.

"She's a few rooms ahead of you, Teyla." That was Colonel Sheppard. He - or she - paused as a lower voice - still female - commented from further out in the room. "Ronon says we can do a 'Rangoon Triad' - whatever the hell that is..."

"I understand," she said. "If you allow it, ask him to set it up."

During their times on missions and off, Ronon had told her quite a bit about Sateda - his people's way of life, the procedures in his fighting squadron, the hunts and tactics they'd developed when the Wraith came to Sateda and began hunting down Ronon and his people. Teyla was surprised he had not discussed such things with Colonel Sheppard, whom she had imagined would be interested in such things. Then again, among her own people, she had observed it was often easier for boys to relate things of pride to older sisters than older brothers.

A Rangoon Triad was nothing more than bringing an enemy to you by making their alternative exits less enticing.

The Ancient they were hunting appeared to be remaining where she was. That would change once they had her in their grasp--

Something slammed into her with powerful force - harder than a Wraith stunner and twice as painful. Teyla screamed as every cell protested, agony throughout her body; then there was only silence.

--

Teyla woke on cold stone again.

The rough-hewn face of the stone scraped against her cheek as she rolled over, opening her eyes. Then she sat up, alarmed as her eyes took in her surroundings.

She was back in the ruins, in the same room where she'd woken up this morning.

Her head was spinning - she had sat up too fast - and she put a hand out to steady herself, then realised that this time, at least, her hands were not bound and she was clothed. That indignity had been spared her.

There were noises in the other room and no sign of the pile of clothing and vests. Her head felt muzzy, heavy, as though some great weight was pressing on her mind. Why was she here, back on the planet, in the ruins where she'd woken up alone this morning?

As she climbed to her feet, she felt something prodding at her mind. Alarmed, she groped for the stunner she'd had in Atlantis, only to find it gone.

It wouldn't help you anyway.

Teyla whirled around, looking for the speaker before she realised she wasn't hearing the voice with her ears. "Who is there?"

She saw the shadows beyond the doorway shift and move, coalescing into the form of a man.

Teyla recognised him.

They'd arrived on the planet and walked to the ruins, only to find an elderly man camped in the aged structure. While Rodney sniffed in disgust - then gagged in distaste at the scent of the man - the Colonel and Teyla had attempted to communicate with the stranger. He had capered and cavorted, chattering much like a hairy little creature Teyla had once seen kept in a cage - the Atlanteans called them 'monkeys'.

The man before her was as like to that eccentric elder as a face to the reflection it made in a dark pool. He stood straight and tall, in the prime of his life, not the sunset of his years, and the dark eyes rested on her with a disconcerting clarity.

I'm no more a monkey than you, my dear. The rich, resonant tones of his voice echoed in her mind. And you already know what I am.

One of her people's beloved 'Ancestors' - and yet not the kind of Ancestor that Teyla had been taught to revere and admire. This one had taken on her face and form in order to deceive her friends, had put them into stranger bodies, leaving them there.

"Why?"

He shrugged, and she noticed he was dressed in something that resembled the fatigues worn by the Atlanteans. Because.

She had heard such answers to questions in Atlantis - usually between friends and when a longer answer was either not practical or could not be explained.

"That is no answer."

No, he agreed pleasantly. But I have been here for a long time, and reasons have come to matter less and less.

Teyla heard the bitterness in his voice - or sensed it. She also sensed that this place - these ruins in which they stood - were not quite what it seemed. While the dirty stone and bone-chilling cold was familiar, there was something different about the place - something she could not quite sense, but was aware of all the same.

Were you one of us, you'd feel it, the Ancestor said, amused. Although you have remarkable instincts. We're still in Atlantis. I've just brought you here for the moment.
"And my body?"

He tilted his head as though listening for something. Teyla tried to listen, but could hear nothing at all.

They are tending to it now, he replied after a moment. You will come to no harm, but I wished speech with one of you, and you were both close and open. Your Sheppard would have been a more obvious choice, but he is...discomfited by his bodily state.

"You changed him - and the others - because you wished to enjoy their discomfort." She wasn't sure how she knew that, only that she did. "You took on my body--"

Why create a show that one cannot watch? One hand made a gesture of dismissal. But I did not realise you came from Atlantis.

"Would it have made a difference in your actions?"

A hesitation, so slight that it was barely noticeable. I do not know. But it makes a difference now. I brought you here because I have a bargain to make.

Teyla regarded him squarely. "It is not I with whom you must bargain. The choice is not up to me."

I know. But you will be my messenger to them. They will trust you as they would not trust me.

A part of her was pleased that he should think she had such weight in the expedition, but Teyla was still wary. "And why should I trust you now, given what you have done to my friends?"

Because I will show you how to change them back, he said.

"And I can trust you in this?"

We are in your mind, he said. Here, I cannot lie to you. I swear by my people - the Ancestors whom you have revered so long.

"I do not revere them anymore."

Not as the rest of your people. But you still have respect for them and all they have done, don't you? The Ancestor smiled.

She did. That did not mean she trusted this one. "Why will you not change them back yourself?"

His expression changed. Subtly, but the effect was startling. Teyla felt his delight in Atlantis, even here in this perception of her mind.

Without needing to be told, she knew of his studies in Atlantis, thousands of years past. Before the city had been sunk beneath the waves to protect it from the Wraith, he had been banished from his people for the pranks he played. They had forbidden his return and he had settled here, to tinker with his projects and gain what amusement he might from those who came seeking the 'madman of the devices'.

She could feel his wonder, his yearning for a place that had once been as familiar to him as the wilds of Athos had been to her. Both had been lost - his place in Atlantis to banishment, her time in Athos to the invasion of the Wraith and the vicious destruction of the land she'd known.

He wanted to return to Atlantis - or, rather, to remain in Atlantis now that he was there. And what was impossible for her was possible for him.

I have been alone for too long, he said. And though I was banished from among my people, they are long gone from Atlantis. I am free to return if your friends will allow it.

Teyla regarded him. His yearning was a palpable thing to her. The lonely ache penetrated her animosity towards him for the trick he'd perpetrated on her friends - and for the theft of her body and the deception he'd then practised upon those in the city. She understood what it was to live apart from her people.

Still, the reason she had been hunting him was the reason he had been banished from Atlantis once before.

"Return and continue the tricks that had you banished from the others?"

He shook his head. No more tricks, he said, and again, Teyla felt the ache. I only wish to return home.

She was not wholly convinced that he was trustworthy, especially once his time 'at home' palled and grew tiresome. But against the balance of her team-mates' health and sanity, she had little choice.

"You will return them to their true forms?"

I will show you how to do it.

"Then I will take your proposal to them."

--

Carson wasn't convinced Teyla was as fine as she claimed she was, but he let it pass for the moment. Her news was certainly exciting.

"An Ancient in the city?" Elizabeth asked, looking like someone had given her a right good whack upside her head.

"One that we get to keep," said Rodney with a filthy look in Sheppard's direction.

Sheppard returned the look right back. "She's not a pet, Rodney."

"He is not a pet," Teyla corrected, resting her hands on the table. "He thinks of himself as male, whatever the body he is in."

The body the Ancient was presently in was Teyla's.

She'd been oddly serene since she 'woke up' from the trance into which she'd collapsed during the hunt. According to her, the Ancient had 'hit' her with what sounded like a mental blackout, transporting her mind to somewhere he could make his offer. From the point of view of Major Lorne and the marines, she'd just folded up, neat as an accordion.

"And he showed you how to change them back?" Elizabeth asked. "Doesn't he want to...change back himself?"

Teyla shrugged. "He said that the form in which he resides makes little difference."

"Even with the trace Wraith gene?" Carson asked. It would be easy to get diverted from the main topic of conversation - namely the bargain the Ancient was offering, but he was curious about this one thing.

"He did not seem to feel it was something about which he should be concerned," said Teyla. "I did not ask further."

Elizabeth glanced first at Sheppard, then back to Teyla. "An Ancient in the city would be more than welcome, but, Teyla, he's...well..."

"He looks like you," Carson said simply. "Down to the genetic level with the exception of the Ancient gene. Which is going to more than a little confusion if we have someone who looks like you wandering through the city."

Teyla's voice rang out. "You are a verbose bunch, aren't you?"

It wasn't Teyla speaking.

They all swivelled in their chairs, looking at the now-opened door of the briefing room and the Ancient who stood framed in the doorway, still aping Teyla's form.

Carson dared a quick look from Teyla to the Ancient. Apart from the clothing they wore - Teyla still had the scarlet bandanna tied in her hair - there was no visible difference between the two women. An exact replication, all the way down to the genetic level.

Carson felt a moment of purest avarice. To have a machine that could create or change genetic patterns, capable of such delicate changes in the space of hours! To completely rewrite a person's DNA - it was a find beyond their wildest dreams. He'd never thought of himself as a covetous man, but the possibilities of such a device...

Elizabeth was the first to recover, standing to welcome their guest. "Welcome to Atlantis. I'm Elizabeth Weir--"

"I know who you are," the Ancient said, her eyes taking in the briefing room. "And it's not my first time here."

"Right," Sheppard said, and his wary scepticism rang through in the higher tones of his female voice. "So, you want to stick around Atlantis?"

The Ancient didn't look at him, instead, crossing the room to poke at one of the consoles. Carson saw the marines behind her move to restrain her, saw Elizabeth's shake of the head to negate their action.

The console lit up and the Ancient grinned broadly. It was a decidedly strange expression on Teyla's face "You want me here," she said, looking up at them. "I merely sweetened the deal by offering to give you back your usual forms."

"But you want to look like Teyla," said Sheppard.

Ancient!Teyla glanced over at Teyla with a twinkle of mischief. "You don't like the way she looks, Colonel?"

Sheppard's skin tinted pink. "I have no problem with Teyla's looks," he retorted. "I have a problem if there's two people wandering around looking like her when only one of them actually is her!"

"Might get them confused, eh?" The Ancient smirked - another odd expression on Teyla's face. "So, you not only want me to stay in your city and return you to your usual form, but you want me to give up this one as well?"

Carson felt a frown begin on his face, but Elizabeth was faster in pointing out the error in that statement. "You wished to stay in Atlantis in the first place."

"So I did." Another smirk. "Very well. I'll return their usual forms and return to mine, then we'll all return to Atlantis and be happy little Vegemites."

They stared. "Happy little Vegemites?"

"That's not one of your sayings?"

Carson blinked. Cautious looks were exchanged between the people at the table. One of the marines covered his mouth, hiding a smile as Sheppard said, "Not exactly, although some people around here seem to use it."

"I presumed it was one of yours." The Ancient shrugged. "So, do we have a deal or are you lovely ladies going to stay lovely ladies? I find the female form rather nice, myself - there's a lot more room down below." Dark eyes twinkled with mischief.

The marine was less successful at covering his smile this time. Lorne guffawed before he got control of himself, Elizabeth choked and her hand slipped across her mouth, and Carson found himself caught between a laugh and a wince.

By contrast, the three men - former men - shifted uncomfortably, none of them finding it amusing, and Teyla seemed more discomforted than anything else. The glances she kept giving her team-mates indicated that she found their new forms disturbing.

Then again, so did Carson.

"Elizabeth?"

"I think I can authorise this trip," Elizabeth said, her amusement back under control, although her eyes still danced with laughter. She turned to the Ancient. "But no more tricks or you won't be allowed back."

The Ancient nodded solemnly. "No tricks."

"Do you have a name?" Rodney asked, speaking for the first time since the Ancient had arrived. "I mean, we can just call you 'sir' or maybe 'hey, you' but it would probably help if we knew what to call you."

The Ancient shrugged as though it hardly made a difference. "You can call me 'Festay.'" She glanced around the room, then bounced on the balls of her feet. "So, are we going soon?"

As Carson shifted his pack in the Gateroom, he reflected that, Ancient or no, Festay resembled a kid granted a holiday outing rather than a member of a race that was already old when humans were young. The Ancient was inspecting things with all the legendary curiosity of a cat.

Carson paused next to Ronon who was watching the Ancient with a slightly disbelieving expression on his face. "Not exactly dignified, is he?."

"And we were worried we wouldn't be able to tell the Ancient apart from Teyla," Ronon muttered with a jerk of his head and shoulder.

Teyla was standing to one side, her expression slightly bemused as she watched one of her beloved Ancestors drive Rodney to distraction asking questions until the scientist declared, "Look, I'm slightly busy here on account of all those extra hormones I've got running around in my blood. I don't want to answer any questions until I'm myself again!"

"You are yourself, though," the Ancient said mildly. "You're just...a little different."

"And that 'little difference' makes a lot of difference when you're used to having much more there!" Rodney spoke a tad louder than he'd probably intended. His words were audible all the way through the gateroom and probably up to the control room as well since Elizabeth appeared on the balcony, eyebrow quirked.

"I think that comes under the heading of 'TMI'," mumbled one of Major Lorne's team, just loud enough to be heard by Rodney. A scarlet flush rose up the back of his neck and he stomped over to the other side of the Stargate, well away from the Ancient, who regarded him with a pout, then shrugged and went to hassle Teyla.

Carson wondered if Elizabeth was sure about this. If Festay's behaviour continued, he'd be more trouble than a truckload of arrogant scientists. Then again, if they didn't allow Festay to stay in Atlantis, then someone would have to show three fully grown former men how to use a tampon.

At least it wouldn't be Carson.

Elizabeth, Sheppard, and Major Lorne came down to the gateroom floor as the gate began dialling out. "You go out, change back, then return to Atlantis," Elizabeth said to Rodney. "No fiddling with the machine - you'll have time to do it later."

Rodney opened his mouth to protest.

"Rodney."

"And I suppose you want a free backrub with that?"

Rodney went red. Elizabeth went redder. "I'd appreciate it," she said as the Stargate opened, then glanced up at the control room.

For a moment, Carson wondered why they were waiting. Telemetry data from the probe. It looked like Elizabeth was taking no chances with this trip.

After everything that's been going on, it's no surprise.

"Clear, ma'am, nothing in sight."

Elizabeth turned to Colonel Sheppard. "You're clear."

"Smoke us a kipper, we'll be back for breakfast," said the Colonel. Yet again, Carson was disconcertingly reminded of the man's cadences in a woman's voice.

This change back couldn't come too soon for the city personnel. He imagined it couldn't come too soon for Sheppard, Rodney, and Ronon, either.

In the hours since they'd left, the planet's weather had remained the same, although the day had moved along and it was an hour shy of twilight.

Now that he was able to look at it clearly instead of a background blur to his concern for his patient, Carson saw that the Stargate had been put in a clearing, surrounded by black tree trunks that speared up into the clear blue sky. In front of the Stargate, an old track wended its way further into the spindly forest, the shadows strong even beneath the spare leaf canopy.

"We're going to be moving pretty fast," Sheppard said, her voice lifting to be heard by the ten people on this trip. "We want to be back here by nightfall."

Carson fell in alongside the Ancient, who'd given up chivvying Teyla. He gathered that Teyla wasn't as easy a target as the guys. The fact that she was looking at her own face and body probably helped, although Teyla was a fairly unruffled person by nature. "Are you able to tell me exactly what this machine does to them?"

The Ancient tilted Teyla's head at him. "You've seen the results, Dr. Beckett."

"That's not the same as understanding the process to create the results," Carson said. "I need to know if there'll be any lasting physical problems once they're changed back." That wasn't Carson's only curiosity, but the physiological health of the three men concerned was a good place to start.

Festay shrugged. "The change is total and permanent. If we weren't going back to change them, they'd be women for the rest of their lives."

Carson didn't quite shudder. It wasn't that he had anything against women, he was just used to being a man - the same as Rodney and the others. "Does the machine...diagnose genetic anomalies? Could it be used to determine the Ancient gene - the ability you have to manipulate the technology in Atlantis - or even simulate it in people?"

"The way you've simulated it in Rodney McKay or Marc Lorne?" Festay asked lightly. "Probably. I never felt the need to give anyone that ability."

"Well, we could do with a few more example of that ability," said Carson. "The stronger the better. And someone who knows how the city operates--"

The Ancient had raised her hands - Teyla's hands - laughing. "You people are single-minded! Rodney's been at me already, doctor. And this isn't the time - you're off-world, in a forest that's teeming with life... You'll have plenty of time later to corner me and ask for answers to all the mysteries of the universe."

Festay was mocking him. Carson felt a brief shaft of irritation very similar to the exasperation he often felt towards Rodney, then forced it back.

Ancient or not, Carson had the feeling Festay was going to be more trouble than they'd counted on.

--

Carson was more than a little nervous at the sheer openness of the chamber inside the ruins, especially once they walked in and the apparently-stone walls and crenellations began glowing with the familiar patterns of Ancient writings.

He wasn't the only one.

"This place gives me the creeps," muttered Lorne from a few feet away where he was waiting with his hands resting comfortably on his P-90, looking around.

"Frankly, Major, I'm more worried about the machine and when it goes off."

A grimace crossed the major's face. "I've been trying not to think about that."

Colonel Sheppard and his two team-mates were presently changing into fresh sets of clothing, large enough to accommodate their male forms for when they changed. According to Festay, it had been quite a piece of work to get them out of their clothing and into the shifts he'd had on hand for the purpose. "I'm not going to do it again," she said.

Rodney muttered something about not being asked to do it the first time, and went into the room where Teyla had been restrained. Festay had apologised about tying Teyla up. "I would have come back to get you once the joke was up, but I needed a bit of time to watch them panic. At the least, the room would have become obvious by the time they came back looking for the answers."

Teyla didn't seem impressed by the Ancient's 'thoughtfulness'. Poor Teyla - the image of her people's wise and benevolent 'Ancestors' must have been completely shattered by this affair.

Carson took a deep breath and crossed over to where Teyla was standing at the console, looking over the buttons and paddles she would have to manipulate to get her team-mates back into their usual forms. Festay was at another console, adjusting some settings.

Privately, Carson wondered if they should keep a sharper eye on Festay. The problem was that even if they did keep an eye on her, would they even know what she was doing?

"You've got the knowledge of how to do this in your head?"

She glanced up. "Yes. It is...linked, I think. When I perform one action, the next action comes into my mind." Her hand moved over the console, although she didn't actually touch any of the buttons. "It is...a new way of receiving information."

"And you're able to activate it?"

"Festay claims I do not need the gene to work this," said Teyla. Her eyes flickered over to where Festay was humming to herself. "I am unsure whether or not to believe her."

Carson nodded. "We don't have much choice, do we?"

"No," Teyla said soberly.

"Do they always take this long to change?" Festay asked, her voice echoing through the circular room.

"I'm ready," Ronon commented as she strode out of the side room where she'd been changing. Ronon was holding his usually snug leathers up, and had adopted a slightly shuffling gait to stop from tripping over the hems now much longer than her legs.

Sheppard didn't look like he was having quite the same kind of trouble. Carson gathered that the few inches the Colonel had lost - other than those inches - had been from his torso, leaving his legs more or less the same length. "Let's do this."

Rodney stumbled out of his change room a minute later, grumbling about hips and breasts and the inconvenience of them.

"Look at it this way, Rodney," Sheppard said as Festay finished her modifications over by the other console and headed into the 'change circle' marked into the parquetry of the stone floor. "At least you don't have to wear a bra the rest of the time."

"Why would I have to wear a bra the rest of the time?" Rodney asked shortly as she joined her team-mates in the circle.

"Well, if you had man-boobs," said Sheppard with a casual grin.

Carson choked as Rodney gave the other woman a filthy look. "Can we get this over and done with?"

Festay laughed. "Teyla, if you would do the honours?"

"You are certain that this will not harm the others?" Teyla said. "Dr. Beckett, Major Lorne, and myself?"

"I'm certain."

All the same, Carson moved back behind Teyla as Lorne shuffled back to the wall. Lorne's men had been left outside to keep an eye on the building and the incipient nightfall. One way or the other, they should have been safe enough.

Teyla hesitated and Rodney lost his temper. "Teyla, just hit the damn buttons!"

With a dark look at her team-mate, Teyla's pressed the first switch. Her hands moved over the console, hesitant at first, then with greater certainty. Carson looked around in confusion as the walls began humming.

"That's usual," Festay dismissed. "It's coming now--"

Everything went bright and stayed that way for what seemed like a long time.

When it faded, there were voices.

"I believe he is awake," Teyla said. Her voice sounded distant, as though it was through a veil. "Dr. Beckett?"

Carson opened his eyes slowly, although it seemed relatively dark beyond the light behind his eyes. Teyla's shadowy form knelt over him, and she glanced up at one of the men of Major Lorne's team. "Teyla?"

"Lie still," she said, even as his mind made a slightly worried leap of memory and he jerked up, checking his body.

Still male.

Oh, thank God. Carson leaned back, then winced and sat himself up. "The others..."

She glanced over her shoulder. "They are returned to themselves. Or so it seems."

"Sheppard's still out," came the familiar rumble of Ronon's voice. "Might be the Ancient gene."

Rodney's familiar petulance was almost a relief. "And you're basing this theory on what, exactly?"

"It's not a theory," Ronon said mildly. "I just said it might be the Ancient gene that indicates how long it's taking to recover."

Sheppard has the Ancient gene, I have the Ancient gene, and Rodney and Lorne have it because we gave it to them. Ronon's back to normal... "Festay?"

Teyla hesitated. "He is gone. I have sent Lieutenant Mayhew back to the Stargate to contact Atlantis, but I am not sure--" She broke off and looked away.

"Teyla?" There was something worrying about her hesitation.

She shook her head. "Later, Dr. Beckett. Your patients do not need you as yet." And with that she rose to her feet and went away.

A figure loomed - Sergeant Bovray. "Hand up, doc?"

"Thank you." The burly sergeant yanked him up and Carson gave the man a quick check over. "You and your men are fine?"

Over by the circle, Ronon was crouching next to Sheppard, and Teyla had just crouched down opposite him. She said something to the big man and he retorted something, then grinned and strode off, headed deeper into the ruins. Rodney had already staggered over to the console and was pressing buttons.

"Well, fine in the sense that we're still guys," Bovray said cheerfully. "Major Lorne's got a slight headache, but he's otherwise okay."

"And you didn't see the-- Festay leave?"

"Sorry, Doc. The inside of the building lit up - it was pretty bright from outside, and by the time our night vision returned and we got inside, you were all out on the floor. We'd covered all the exits we know of, but the guy might have had an escape we didn't know about."

"Not too surprising," Carson murmured to himself as he reached for his pack and the first aid kit in there. "Never mind, Sergeant. I don't think it's wise to be stumbling around this planet in the dark."

"With you there, Doc," the man said in prompt agreement. "I'll go keep an eye out for the Lieutenant."

Carson looked around, then sighed. "Rodney--"

"I know, I know," Rodney retorted from the console. "But if Sheppard's still out and we're not going anywhere-- Why isn't this working?"

"Sheppard's not out," came a mutter from the floor. "At least, not totally - my head feels like someone ran a training platoon through it, complete with twenty-pound backpacks." The Colonel sat up, then paused as he looked down at himself. "Good to be me again."

"Teyla, what did you press to get this working?" Rodney sounded frustrated.

"I'm guessing you didn't remember what Elizabeth said about not touching anything?"

"You were unconscious and I had some time." Never mind that Rodney was still holding onto the side of the console for support. Carson started over towards the scientist, then reached out and grabbed for the nearest console himself. "Teyla--"

"I do not think it will work again," Teyla said, standing and coming to Carson's side. "Dr. Beckett, please sit down. I'll see to Rodney."

"What do you mean, you'll see to me?" Rodney protested. "It's not working!"

Carson let himself be lowered to the floor. His head felt all turned about. The machine no longer worked? Or maybe it worked but was just dormant? Would it be possible to study how it did the genetic reimaging? He winced as another wave of pain throbbed through his brain, making it hard to hold onto his thoughts.

How Rodney was managing coherency, he couldn't imagine - sheer force of will, perhaps?

"When I was operating the machine, I remembered what Festay told me as he showed me what to do." Teyla briskly took the pack and elicited painkillers from it, along with a small water bottle. "It was never his intention to return to Atlantis." She handed two of the painkillers to Carson along with the water, then tossed another couple to Sheppard who smiled, winced, and took his dry.

"So he's still here?"

"No," she said as she took the last two over to Major Lorne who shook his head and pushed them away. "He said he would join the others - that his time alone had changed his outlook and his heart."

Carson stared, astonished. "He ascended?" That was one possibility they hadn't considered at all.

"If that is what you call it," Teyla said. "He had forgotten what it was to be among his own kind again."

Rodney had paused in his frantic pushing of buttons. "And of course he made you disable this before he went all squid-glowy?"

Teyla stiffened. "I did as he showed me," she said. "It returned you to your natural form."

"And now that we're back, we've got orders to return to Atlantis," Sheppard said pointedly.

"Oh, and you're so good with orders in the first place," Rodney sneered.

Sheppard climbed to his feet slowly, testing his balance. "When they suit what I think is best," he said firmly. "Rodney, pack it in, we're going."

"Pack it--!"

"Rodney--"

"We should at least search the place for any signs of--"

"Already done," Ronon said, coming out of one of the doorways carrying a load of stuff. "There's no-one here, unless there are a few more secret chambers. But I found our equipment from the first visit." He held up what looked like jackets and flak vests. "Our weapons are there."

Sheppard nodded. "We'll take them back. Rodney, we'll be back to have a look at this place again, but right now, I want home."

Carson could agree with that goal as he climbed to his feet, trying not to think of the physicals he would still have to give the Colonel and his team. And another DNA test, just to be sure. He felt a bit like he'd climbed Ben Cruachan and Stob Diamh in the last hour without so much as a bottle of water.

There was only a little protest from Rodney, and the group started back, receiving notification that Mayhew had reached the gate and contacted Atlantis.

"Hold position and we'll be with you in fifteen," Lorne reported.

Carson walked along behind Sheppard who was being rather tactile with Teyla. As yet, she hadn't smacked him down, although it looked like it might only be a matter of time. He considered it interesting to note that Ronon, and even Rodney had taken a bit of time to speak with Teyla. As the only woman of the group, it seemed that the guys wished to establish themselves as...well, guys. Which, for these three, meant establishing themselves as 'male' among the women of the expedition.

He made a mental note to give Elizabeth a warning.

"You know," he heard Bovray mutter behind him, "it's a pity we didn't get photos."

--

Teyla arched a brow at the photo Elizabeth handed her. "Did you not tell Colonel Sheppard that the video footage of them in the city was destroyed?"

They were in Elizabeth's quarters, retired there after the city had been 'shut down' for the night. After the day's events, it was a pleasant relief to simply be still and peaceful as they drank tea and spoke of the day.

"It was," the expedition leader said, her green eyes wide and guileless before they relaxed into a slightly wicked smile. "But these were lifted before the deletion," she said, "for posterity's sake. While the SGC has seem body-switching experiences before, and even machines to genetically modify people, we've never encountered technology that could change men to women and back again."

"We still have the machine," Teyla said, studying the slightly grainy photo of her team-mates in their female forms. Exceptional individuals, whether male or female - although they clearly preferred to be male.

Teyla could not imagine being male. She was not sure she would wish to be male, either. Her body was her own and she was comfortable and familiar in it. To change that would be...strange.

"If we can get it to work," murmured Elizabeth, pouring out another cup of herbal tea. Teyla waved her hand to stop Elizabeth pouring out another cup for her.

Teyla had given the other woman the herbal set after her last visit to the mainland. It was rich and slightly spicy in flavour, but calmed the nerves and alerted the senses - something that Teyla had felt Dr. Weir might appreciate in her role as Atlantis' leader.

"You do not share Rodney's belief that he can get it working again?"

Elizabeth looked weary. Dealing with Rodney from a position of seniority seemed an exhausting task. Colonel Sheppard certainly seemed to work well enough with Rodney, but even he confessed to being tired of having to manage the scientist. "Genius or not, there are some things that Rodney can't do. I suspect this is one of them. I'll probably get you and Carson back there in a few days to see if you remember anything - and Rodney should probably go... Oh, I'm not going to think about this now," she said. Her expression was briefly self-disgusted before it eased back to a faint smile. "Tomorrow, maybe."

Teyla returned the smile. Sometimes a leader had to know when to stop. "Tomorrow is a new day."

"With no mistakes in it - yet," Elizabeth smiled.

Teyla handed back the photo. "Although it is good to know that there is evidence of what happened today."

A small, secretive smile slipped onto Elizabeth's lips. "They are rather determined to ignore that anything changed."

"You did not have dinner with them."

Elizabeth winced. "Was it bad?"

"It was...frustrating." Teyla had endured the attention of her team-mates with as much self-possession as she could muster, although the urge to hit each them over the head with the tray had asserted itself more than once during the evening. They were not usually so attentive, and she had been overwhelmed by their constant contact. "Carson mentioned that they would probably be reassuring themselves of their masculinity in the next few days."

"You didn't expect it."

"Not to such a degree," sighed Teyla.

"Well, tomorrow there will be many other women for them to annoy," teased Elizabeth, smiling. "Not just you."

"I hope so." Teyla smiled as she stood. "Sleep well, Dr. Weir."

"You too, Teyla."

She made her way back to her quarters, relieved to be at the end of the day.

Only not quite.

As the doors slid back to show her room, Teyla was both astonished and displeased to find someone waiting for her. She was even less pleased to discover it was John, sitting in the tilted chair in the corner, flipping through one of the books she'd acquired about religions on Earth.

At other times, she would have thought nothing of his presence. Right now, she was tired, and with that exhaustion came a short-temper. Teyla felt she could take out her ire on him with very little provocation - and John was good at provocation when he set his mind to it.

"Yes, Colonel?"

He snapped the book shut and climbed to his feet, rubbing at the back of his head. "Uh, hey Teyla. Look, I'm sorry about the late visit, but I wanted to, you know, say thanks and...return the...the stuff I borrowed." His wave indicated a parcel on her bed, wrapped neatly in a towel. "It's washed and everything and I figured you could use the towel in the next laundry cycle--"

John was close to babbling, something he rarely did. Teyla interrupted. "Thank you for returning it so soon," she said. "I did not expect it for at least a few days." Then, because she was feeling a bit wicked, she added, "As you saw, I have plenty more."

It was hard to see in the dim lighting of the room, but he might have flushed. "Yeah, well, I thought I'd come and apologise for dinner, too. You looked a bit uncomfortable there when we were all talking at you."

At least he had noticed.

"It was...confusing." And she'd wanted nothing more than her own space. Which they'd seemed determined not to grant. "Colonel," she let her shoulders sag a little. "I am tired. You are not much more rested. Was there anything else that you wished of me?"

Too late, Teyla realised the question could be interpreted other than the innocent query she had intended.

A smile flickered across his features, then faded. "Well, I was hoping..." He paused, shrugged and set his shoulders. "Never mind."

"Colonel--?"

"It's okay, Teyla." he paused. "I'll see you at breakfast? 0730 hours?"

"I-- Very well," Teyla said. It seemed she would not be escaping quite so easily as she had thought. And she felt oddly ambivalent about both his presence in her rooms and the ease with which he had acceded to her request to depart.

She crossed over to the bed to unfold the towel, then paused, remembering Elizabeth's comment about them requiring 'reassurance of their masculinity' - as though any woman would be in doubt of any of the three! Still, this small thing she could do for him - a reassurance if he so wished it. "John?"

He paused at the door, surprised at being called back. "Yeah?"

It took only a few steps to cross the room, and nothing more than the slightest lift on her toes for her lips to reach his cheek. It was a light caress, brisk with affection, and accompanied by her murmur, "I am glad you are back to normal."

She saw the smirk begin on his lips - just before she gently nudged him out of her room, and closed the door behind him, smiling.

- fin -