Before and After by rushingwind (PG-13)

[vickysg1.livejournal.com]

Rec Category: Sheppard/Weir
Pairing: John/Elizabeth
Categories: angst, some romance
Warnings: N/A
Author on LJ: rushingwind
Author's Website: N/A
Link: Part One | Part Two
Why This Must Be Read: A great John/Elizabeth fic written for the recent swficathon. The inspiration came from a ST: Voyager ep, but even if you don't know this show, it's easy to understand. In this fic, Elizabeth travels backward through time. This is basically what you can call a fix-it fic.


Another moment passes, and she finds herself listening to the same two voices again.

"Elizabeth, can you hear me? Elizabeth?"

"It's no use," the man's voice says. "The chemical has completely disrupted all synaptic function carried out by her nanites. Her memory synapses are all but gone-—she won’t remember you anymore.”

“I don’t understand,” the woman breathes, her voice soft and unsteady. “The chemical is at negligible levels. Why are the nanites still breaking down?”

She hears tapping, beeping, and scurrying footsteps, feels someone brush by her. “I don’t know. Apparently even negligible levels are too much, and the nanites aren’t adapting at all.”

She opens her eyes, sees yellow and green light travel down her body, sees something that might be an image of her on a screen. Who are these people? What’s going on?

The man speaks again. “If our information is correct, even stasis won’t stop the nanites from breaking down. She’ll be dead in minutes.” She watches him turn towards the woman, his expression grave. “If we don't put her in the anti-temporal chamber right now, we never will.”

The woman nods slowly, and takes a moment to gently touch her shoulder. It feels nice. "Yes, but... I know it was my suggestion, but we haven't tested the anti-temporal chamber. Carson, you designed it to affect organic tissue, not nanites, and we don't know if it’ll fully stop the progression of the chemical." She shakes her head. “This wouldn’t be the first time I acted too quickly with Elizabeth, not thinking the procedure through—-.”

"Doctor Keller, we don't have any other choice!" he pleads. "She's already lost over ninety-seven percent of her memory! If we don't do this now, what remains of the Elizabeth we know will be gone forever!"

The woman hesitates, and then nods. "All right. Let's go, then."

“Wait!” He halts, putting his hand out to stop her. “Look at this,” he murmurs, staring at the screen in astonishment. “What the bloody hell? Her cells are already temporally active!”

“How is that possible?” Keller shouts, looking between the screen and her. “We haven’t put her in the anti-temporal chamber yet!”

She feels cold, and then there's another bright flash of light.