Title: Form 
Author: scy
Feedback: scynneh@yahoo.com
Disclaimer: Not mine 
Fandom: Stargate: Atlantis 
Pairing: None
Spoilers: Common Ground
Rating: PG
Summary: John made it back to Atlantis, but things feel unsettled. 
Author's Notes: This started as comment fic in seperis' livejournal - the whole point of this fic was for John to take his shirt off in front of one of his teammates or somehow show his scar. It became this.
August 2006

His skin didn't feel right. From the moment he stepped back through the Gate, it felt like he was shifting without moving his body to avoid the pins and needles feeling he got with every step. Carson said that he was feeling the aftereffects of extreme energy transfers, and then he began rattling off terms that he must have made up in the Pegasus Galaxy just to sound like he knew what was going on when weird stuff happened to his patients. 

John nodded and listened, but he knew it wasn't just what the Wraith had done to him, it was Atlantis, feeling him return and recognizing that something had happened. She was perceptive enough not to draw him into a room and run sensors over him, but she did silently disapprove when he headed out to the south pier by himself. He was barely back safely, and already he wanted to hang out in the cooling air with a storm threatening. John felt the shield quivering at the base of the city, as Atlantis longed to fine tune its range specifically to him. He pressed against the impulse with the part of his mind that always responded to Atlantis, and she subsided, still echoing disapproval and concern as she withdrew.

He knew that she wouldn’t tattle on him; nobody else got the same treatment from the city, but he was aware that whatever she did would be considered necessary and for his own good. It was remarkably like a few of his old girlfriends, but one of the upsides of having a personal connection to a sentient city was that there were no awkward conversations and he never had to answer questions about commitment, because both of them knew where he stood.

From the moment he felt the weapons chair tilt him back and hum underneath his body, he'd known that the experience wouldn't be left behind easily. Even in Antarctica secrets came out, and he wasn't even sure he'd asked a question.

He'd seen more than star charts when he did what he was asked and thought about where he was. There were precise orbits of planets not listed in any astronomy book and more suns than he thought could exist anywhere. It was as if some force had stripped away the soft layer he kept between himself and the rest of the world and tried to show him everything all at once.

Now Atlantis reinforced herself under his feet, and as he sat cross legged on the ground near the edge of the pier, he felt the metal warm slowly underneath him. She, of everyone, hadn't demanded that he declare himself alright, it was enough for her to take care of him and wait until he was certain home was where he should be.

The sky had been overcast all day, and John could tell that it wouldn't be long before the clouds swept over the city. Eventually, the drizzle that had threatened for hours began to fall, and within minutes, he was soaked clear to the skin. The moisture wasn't cold, exactly, it felt like thousands of fingers tapping him, sliding over his face and arms, trying to rouse him from his stupor. He leaned back, hands bracing his weight he tipped his chin up and let the water fall into his mouth. It tasted the same, different than Earth, but a flavor he recognized.

Teyla said that her people believed that the spirits spoke to them them through the weather, and right now, John couldn't tell as he gulped down mouthfuls of water, if he was swallowing sadness or relief.

-end