Title: The Atlantis Connection

Author: Titan5

Genre: Gen, h/c, friendship

Disclaimer: Still not mine.

Written for: This started as an answer to Vecturist's prompt for a story with Sheppard stuck somewhere going through withdrawal for Atlantis. This was during the comment fic challenge on Sheppard H/C, but it took me forever to finish and it's a little long for a comment fic.

Summary: Set just after The Return Part 2, John discovers a deeper connection to the city with three working ZPMs on board.

The Atlantis Connection

"So, they're letting you stay?" asked Rodney, his voice reflecting his obvious surprise. "I thought Landry would have you shot at dawn or something, the way he went on and on about ending your career."

John nodded as they walked down the corridor. "According to Elizabeth, General O'Neill ran interference and I think even Woolsey put in a good word for me."

"Well, sure, I mean you did save their lives. I'd hope they'd put in a good word. Although the IOA isn't exactly known for doing the right thing, even when it's obvious."

"Tell me about it. I think I probably owe Elizabeth . . . " John stopped and tilted his head a little, unsure about what he was experiencing.

Rodney continued a few steps before realizing John was no longer with him. "Sheppard?" Turning, he frowned at the colonel. "What are you doing?"

"Are we expecting returning personnel this morning? I thought everyone coming today was scheduled for this afternoon?"

"Uh, I'm not sure. I think . . . No, wait. Radek's coming this morning and bringing some equipment with him." Rodney narrowed his eyes as he studied John. "Why?"

John started walking again, moving a little faster than he had been. "Because the gate just activated."

"What?" This time Rodney stopped, his mouth hanging open. "How do you know that?" When John didn't slow down, he hurried to catch back up. "Wait, Colonel, how could you possibly know that?"

John frowned, unsure of the answer himself. He'd always had a close connection to Atlantis, but not enough that he felt when the gate activated. That could be a good thing, but it also get annoying once the city was running full speed again.

"Answer me, Sheppard."

Cringing at the sharp voice, John shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know Rodney. I just . . . I felt it, I knew."

"When were you going to tell me you can feel the gate being activated?" Rodney snapped, obviously angry at being kept out of the loop.

"Look, that's the first time it's ever happened. I don't know why I can feel it, I just can. We should verify it. I could be wrong." At that moment, they entered the control room and walked to the balcony overlooking the gate. Radek and two other scientists stood next to a huge pile of crates talking to Elizabeth. Seeing them, Radek waved.

"I think your new, freaky ability just got verified."

John winced, unsure of what this meant. "Guess so."

"Any other super powers you want to share?" asked Rodney, clearly still annoyed.

John shrugged his shoulders again. "Not that I know about."

oOo

"McKay still mad at you?"

John glanced at Ronon, walking next to him down the narrow path through the trees. Although still visible, the trail was obviously old and had been used little in recent years. "Well, he only talks to me when he needs to ask me something or when I ask him something, and then it's short and to the point."

Dirt and stray dead branches crunched beneath their feet for several seconds before Ronon replied. "Is that a yes?"

John half rolled his eyes. "Yes, Chewie, that's a yes." Sounds of their travel prevailed for another minute before John continued, all the while glaring at the scientist walking beside Teyla several feet in front of them. "What pisses me off is that none of this is my fault. I never asked for this huge, sensitive connection to Atlantis, it apparently just came automatically with having three ZPMs. What the heck does he think I'm supposed to do about it?"

The last three weeks had been filled with discoveries for John. Being able to tell when the gate activated had proven to be the tip of the iceberg. He could tell at any moment what the power consumption was or if any systems were offline. When he sat in the chair, it was as if he was a literal part of the city. When he'd finished helping the scientists with repairs, he almost hadn't been able to disconnect from the city. Part of him hadn't wanted pull away from her. He could touch the wall or any console and immediately tap into most of her information systems. It had been a wild ride and John still wasn't sure how he felt about any of it.

None of them were sure how his reaction to having three ZPMs correlated to how the Ancients themselves reacted. He had a hard time pushing all the information back so that it didn't totally distract him every minute of the day. Surely the Ancients were set up to handle it better or they'd all have gone nuts. Carson wanted to do some more tests, but was pretty certain that John's human elements were causing the overstimulation of his conscious awareness of the city.

Rodney spun around and took a handful of steps until he was almost nose to nose with John. The pilot stiffened his back, emphasizing his height advantage. "Need something McKay?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I do. I need you to stop talking about me as if I weren't three meters in front of you and able to hear every word."

John wiped spittle from his chin with a disgusted scowl. "Thanks for the shower. And if you can hear every word, then how about answering the question. Exactly what am I supposed to do about this connection thing? Because I'm not seeing any way to turn it off. I'm pretty sure the choices are to learn to live with it or ship back to Earth. Is that what you want me to do, go back to Earth?"

Stepping back and dropping his mouth open, Rodney stammered for a moment before finally throwing up his arms and huffing loudly. "No, don't be stupid. Of course I don't want you to go back to Earth."

Ronon and Teyla looked part relieved, part amused, obviously carrying on a silent conversation of their own. John sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. He could feel his heart rate beginning to edge downward from the rush of anger a few minutes before. "Then talk to me. What do you want me to do?"

Staring at the ground, Rodney shrugged his shoulders. "I have no idea. I'm not . . . I'm not really mad at you. I'm just . . . " He waved his hands around as if searching for the right word.

"Jealous?" Ronon offered.

Rodney rolled his eyes. "Thanks, Conan. No, I'm not jealous. Well, not exactly. More frustrated I think. I just wish . . . I mean I think that . . . "

"It's okay, Rodney. I think I understand," said John in an attempt to rescue his friend. In a way, he could empathize with Rodney. He'd trained to fight for most of his life and yet Ronon, who was practically a kid, usually had him on the floor in a matter of minutes, if not seconds. Sometimes he felt so inadequate when training with the Satedan. He knew Rodney would give almost anything to have the strong ATA gene that John possessed.

Rodney nodded several times, finally looking up to make eye contact. After a moment, he waved one hand at John. "Sorry about the whole spit shower thing . . . and about being a jerk the last few days." The last part came out mumbled and barely audible, but it was more than John had expected.

Judging from the expression on his teammates faces, it was more than they had expected as well. Teyla walked over to put a hand on Rodney's forearm, smiling like a proud mother. "I am glad you and John have worked out your differences."

Ronon grinned. "Me too. You guys were getting on my nerves."

The knot that had been making John feel like he'd swallowed a bowling ball had finally dissolved and he could almost feel the tension draining from his shoulders and neck. With a big grin, he clapped Rodney on the shoulder. "Man, I've missed this. Let's go see some villagers."

The tension lines in Rodney's face eased and he turned to continue their walk, this time beside John. "So, you never really told me what it was like in the chair the other day. We had a hard time getting you out of there."

"Amazing," John breathed out, remembering the near euphoria of being one with Atlantis. "It's hard to explain, almost like I had actually become part of the city."

They continued to talk as they approached the village they had discovered in the database. The Ancients had indicated that the planet had an outpost of some kind on it. Teyla vaguely remembered visiting the planet when she was a child on a trade mission with her father and she was sure they had seen some Ancient ruins.

All four of them stopped as they came out of the forest, immediately going silent. John's mouth was suddenly dry, the tension in his shoulders pulling the muscles taut. He wasn't sure when he'd raised his gun, but he slowly let it sag.

The village was dead. Dead and completely destroyed. And it had been for many years. "Teyla, when did you say you last visited?"

It took a moment for her to answer and John wondered if she'd heard him. Clearing her throat, she shook her head a couple of times. "I was very young, perhaps six or seven. I do not remember my father or I ever coming back."

John sighed. "I think they must have been culled shortly after that."

Walking over to one of the piles of rubble, Ronon kneeled in the dirt a moment before standing back up and nodding. "This happened many years ago. Doesn't look like they left any survivors either."

"Surprise, surprise," muttered Rodney.

They stared a few minutes longer before Teyla pointed her gun toward the other end of what had been a small community. "I believe the Ancient ruins were that way if you still want to look at it."

"Might as well," John said, running one hand through his hair. He hated finding villages and towns like this, even when it happened before his accidental waking of the Wraith. Coming from Earth, it always shook him to find entire civilizations completely wiped out. While Teyla and Ronon always seemed saddened, they never looked surprised. And that was a sad commentary on life in Pegasus all by itself.

They walked in silence for almost fifteen minutes before reaching the Ancient ruins. And they were definitely ruins. The building was small and almost completely caved in. They walked around the perimeter, searching for an entrance or any indication that part of the structure survived. They eventually gathered at what was apparently once the front door.

"I'd say the Wraith took this thing out when they took out the village," said John, noting the scorch marks on the rubble.

Teyla nodded. "I agree. The building was still standing when I was a child. And it does not appear that its collapse was natural."

John was staring out toward the field adjacent to the ruins when something seemed to glint in the sunlight. Squinting, he began walking toward the object, trying to see what it was.

"Colonel?" questioned Rodney, following along behind him.

"There's something there," John replied, speeding up his steps.

"I see it," said Ronon as they got closer. A few minutes later there were several gasps. The remains of a wrecked Wraith dart lay scattered across the field, partially hidden by the tall grass.

Moving in for a closer inspection, John's eyes went immediately to the flashing light. "Crap! There's a transmitter and it's been activated."

Rodney jostled into him as he looked over his shoulder. "What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything, McKay. It was already activated."

Teyla pointed to a piece of debris lying beside the transmitter. "Perhaps that became dislodged by the wind or some animal and fell against the transmitter."

"Either way," said Ronon, "we need to get out of here. We don't know how long it's been transmitting a signal."

John looked around, scanning the area for the best route. "There," he said, pointing to the stand of trees around a hundred yards from the ship. It looked almost like a coniferous forest of the northwest. "Let's head for the trees. We can take a roundabout path back to the gate that keeps us under cover in case the Wraith come to check it out. We need to get rid of any sign we've been here," he said, glancing down at the ground.

"It's been grassy most of the way. Unless they're doing some serious tracking, they won't know we've been here," Ronon said.

John let out a deep breath, relieved. He trusted Ronon to handle and assess that part of their little adventures. "Good. Let's head for the trees, then. Hopefully, we'll just take a long, scenic route for nothing."

They were halfway to the trees when Teyla's head snapped up and she hissed, "Wraith".

"Okay people, move!" John took off running, setting the pace for his fleeing team. He turned as soon as he hit the edge of the trees, his gun held high as he scanned the sky for darts. Ronon took up a similar position a few feet to his right. Seconds later, Rodney and Teyla came pounding through the trees between them and they immediately followed. They ran as fast as the terrain allowed for several more minutes before the sound of darts radiated down from the canopy.

Rodney faltered and looked up. "Keep moving!" John yelled, momentarily snagging the scientist's shirt sleeve as he ran by. "Go, Rodney," he urged. Rodney frowned, but he started running again. His face was red and sweaty, indicating he'd be whining for a break soon. The way John's head had started pounding, he might need a break soon himself.

They ran for almost another half hour, their pace slowing little by little as the team tired. The sound of darts overhead every few minutes kept the adrenalin pumping for a while, but eventually muscle fatigue caught up with them and they stumbled to a halt. Rodney collapsed onto a fallen tree trunk while Ronon leaned his hands against his thighs just above his knees. Teyla sat down beside Rodney, offering him her canteen.

The headache had built to the point that every heartbeat made John's head feel as if it were going to explode. Wrapping one arm around a tree, he leaned his face against the rough bark and closed his eyes. He was dizzy and getting a little nauseous and he couldn't really understand why. Everything faded back except the feel of the bark pushing into the skin of his face and he pressed harder.

"Sheppard?"

John's eyes snapped open to find Ronon peering at him. They were in a forest and for a moment he couldn't remember why. "What?" he asked, his gut clenching as he mind reached for where they were.

"You okay?" Ronon was frowning at him now, making John decidedly uneasy.

"Fine, just tired." He looked past Ronon's questioning expression to see Teyla and Rodney sitting on a fallen log, also looking concerned. He stepped away from the tree that had been supporting him with the intention of making it look like he was okay. He moved too quickly, however, and the next thing he knew the world tilted on end and he was sitting on the ground.

Everyone yelled at once, each calling him something different, and then he was surrounded by his team. John rubbed his forehead and waited for his blurry vision to clear. "Sorry . . . I'm okay. Just moved too fast . . . or something." John tried smirking at his friends, but he figured it came out as more of a grimace.

"What's wrong with you?" asked Rodney. The scientist's eyes suddenly widened and he backed away. "You've caught something . . . some kind of plague that's probably been dormant for decades until we came here and gave it new host potential."

"I'm not sick," John said with an exasperated sigh. "Look, I'm fine, just help me up." Ronon grabbed his extended hand and yanked him to his feet. John wavered a few seconds before regaining his balance. "Thanks, Chewie."

The sound of a dart flying overhead caught his attention and John watched the glint of the ship between the foliage of the canopy. "Wraith?"

"Sheppard, are you sure you're okay?" Ronon asked.

John looked into three sets of worried eyes. Wraith, right. He remembered, sort of. He remembered they had been running from Wraith, just not why . . . or where the heck they were.

"Yeah, sorry, just . . . we need to keep moving," he said. Not sure which direction was correct, he looked at Ronon. "You take point, Ronon and I'll take our six."

"I think I should bring up the rear and you should stay in the middle with Rodney," Teyla said. Although offered as a suggestion, her tone and expression indicated it was more than that. She was giving John the chance to look like he was in charge when in fact he wasn't any more. He was smart enough to know that he should just accept it graciously.

"Fine, let's go," he ground out, annoyed that something was wrong and possibly even more annoyed that his team had picked up on it instantly. He and Rodney fell in step behind Ronon, with Rodney trying in vain to slip him side glances unnoticed.

Too tired to run any more, they walked quickly through the forest, all the while listening for signs of Wraith on the ground. John's vision had tunneled to Ronon's back in an attempt to keep going. Every step jarred him, making his vision swim as the pain in his head escalated. One minute he was fighting the vertigo and the next he was hitting the ground.

"Colonel!" Rodney hissed as John pressed his forehead to the ground and squeezed his eyes shut. Even in the dark, the world continued to spin and tilt at an alarming rate, making his stomach lurch dangerously. Hands tried to turn him over, but he resisted, pressing himself to the ground.

"Sssstop . . . dizzy," John sputtered. They were talking to him, but he couldn't seem to make out the words over the roar in his ears. His hand clawed at the ground in an effort to make everything slow down. Then the nausea hit a crescendo and he was vomiting. The hands were back, lifting him up and away from his ejected stomach contents.

"What's wrong with him? He was fine and now . . . what's wrong with him?" Rodney sounded like he was just this side of panicking.

Soft hands cradled either side of his face and John managed to open his eyes a small slit. Teyla was there, her face inches from his, the world behind her gently shifting and sliding, making him swallow a few times to keep from dry heaving. "John, can you tell me what is wrong? Are you still dizzy?"

Licking his dry lips and taking a breath, John tried to answer. "Yeah. Dizzy . . . head hurts . . . " A soft moan escaped and he shuddered. They had him propped up against a tree with Rodney crouched beside him, keeping him from falling over.

"Feels like muscle tremors as well," added Rodney. "We need to get him back to Atlantis."

"Where . . . where are . . . we?" asked John. He remembered that they had gone off world, but he didn't remember anything else.

"Oh, God, now he has amnesia," Rodney whined. "Do you know who we are?"

John growled and then regretted it, the reverberation making spikes of pain through his temples. "Don't be . . . stupid . . . McKay."

"Okay, he knows who we are at least. We should watch out for his brains leaking out his ears though, because something is obviously wrong with him."

"He'll be fine, Rodney, we just need to get him back to Atlantis," Teyla said.

John suddenly felt a deep longing for his city. The trembling increased to the point even he was aware of it. Forcing his eyes open, he stared at Teyla. "'Lantis . . . need to go home."

"Can he make it to the gate?" asked Ronon, peering down at John.

"I think that . . . " Teyla paused and cocked her head to one side before smiling. "I believe the Wraith are gone. We should be cautious, but I am no longer feeling them."

"Need to feel Atlantis," John muttered, trying to push himself up.

Ronon grabbed one arm and Rodney took the other so they could pull their CO to his feet. John felt his legs give way and his friends supporting him when the world shifted beneath him. It took a few moments before he was steady enough to support himself. Even then, the continued dizziness caused him to sway and walk at an angle. With a nod from Teyla, Rodney soon had one arm, guiding him forward as they followed the Satedan back to the gate.

John walked back to the gate with Rodney's help, but his awareness of what was going on faded in and out. The muscle tremors seemed to get worse with time, so that between them and the vertigo, he was barely on his feet when they arrived. But when Teyla dialed and the wormhole formed, John could literally feel the pull of Atlantis. Lurching forward, he caught Rodney off guard and almost dumped them on the ground.

"Home . . . 'lantis . . . please." Reaching forward, longing to feel her touch, he pulled himself from his friend's grasp.

"Sheppard!" called Ronon.

"It is okay," said Teyla. "The shield is down. Let him go."

The hands pulling him back released his arm and he lunged forward and into the event horizon. And then she was there, surrounding him as he lay on the gateroom floor. Pressing his hands to the floor to maximize contact, he looked up into the curious faces of his teammates. "Home . . . thank you." The tension rolled out of him as he relaxed into her embrace and the gateroom faded away.

oOo

"One! Are you kidding?"

"Shhhh, Colonel Sheppard is supposed to be resting."

"Hmmm, I'm 'wake," John mumbled, bringing his hand up to rub his face. He blinked several times, finally bringing the room into focus. His team, along with Carson and Elizabeth, surrounded his bed. Elizabeth raised the head of the bed a bit as Carson stuck a straw into a plastic cup and put the end of the straw to his lips. John had just begun to pull in the tepid water when it was removed. At least his tongue wasn't stuck to the roof of his mouth any more.

"How are you feeling, colonel?" asked Carson.

Suppressing a yawn, John held up his left hand to look at the IV taped to his skin. "Not too bad. Little bit of a headache. Mostly just tired and kind of sore, like I worked out with Ronon all day." He tried to remember what had happened, but all he got was a few foggy bits and pieces, none of which made any sense. "What happened?"

"This one's a Sheppard original," Rodney said with an exasperated eye-roll. "You apparently got yourself addicted to Atlantis to the point that when we went off world, you went into withdrawal."

John snorted and looked around, expecting the rest of his little entourage to smile. No one did. As a matter of fact, they looked worried. "You're not serious."

"Oh, but he is," said Carson with a little sigh. "I should have noticed, what with all the time you were spending in the chair lately."

"But you made me come in for regular checks," John protested.

"Aye, I did, but that was to keep an eye on the headaches you get and to make sure you were eating and drinking properly. I never considered the possibility of addiction."

John rubbed his face again, noting the amount of stubble. He'd apparently been out of it for several days. "I still don't understand. How can you get addicted to a city?"

Carson handed him the cup when his voice went raspy and allowed him to take several drinks this time. "And how long have I been here?"

"Your team brought you back through the gate three days ago. You went to P4X-221 to check on a reference to an Ancient outpost," said Elizabeth as Carson retrieved the cup.

"We found that the village had been destroyed many years ago, so we proceeded to the outpost. It had unfortunately been destroyed as well," said Teyla.

"Then we found a crashed dart in a field," added Ronon. "A locator beacon had somehow been activated and the Wraith came, so we kept hidden in the woods while we made our way back to the gate. Then you got really dizzy and confused."

"We were able to get you to Atlantis without encountering the Wraith, but it took several hours," added Teyla.

John frowned in confusion. Everything sounded familiar, but it was like he was remembering a dream, fuzzy and lacking details. He glanced up at Carson. "Doc?"

"We think it was the close working proximity to three fully charged ZPMs the last few weeks. Your body is accustomed to one partially charged ZPM and only a handful of systems actually running. That produces mild interaction with your ATA gene. The almost constant bombardment kept your ATA genes churning out the required proteins and allowing them to build up to the level that you were experiencing new sensitivities, like knowing when the gate activated."

John nodded at the physician. "Okay, so far that makes sense, but how can you get addicted from that?"

"When you left the city, two things happened," Carson explained. "One, the proteins that had built up in your blood had no Ancient equipment to interact with and they began interfering with other systems. And second, your body had gotten used to having that constant interaction and it . . . for lack of a better way to put it, faltered when that stimulus was removed."

John wasn't sure what to say. He had thought the new senses a bit of a curse at first, then a blessing when he got used to it. And the deep connection to Atlantis had been invigorating, not to mention useful. Thinking back to almost euphoric feeling that last few times he'd sat in the chair, he wondered if he should have suspected what was happening. With a frown, he glanced up at Carson. "So . . . what now?" He couldn't help but think this was a one way ticket back to Earth.

"Oh, it won't be a problem much longer, unfortunately," said Rodney. With a long sigh, he crossed his arms and glared at Elizabeth. "We're apparently giving up two of the ZPMs."

"What?" John asked. How could they give them up? The city was running better than they'd ever thought possible. "Who to?"

Elizabeth sighed and turned from Rodney to John. "One goes to Earth so they can power the chair. The other goes to the Odyssey to help with their battle against the Ori."

"Oh," John said. He tried to find fault with that logic, but he couldn't.

"Yes, oh," repeated Elizabeth. "Besides, it wasn't really my call. The IOA was very clear about Earth's needs being a priority."

"I guess we should be glad there are three, otherwise they probably wouldn't have bothered to leave us one," snarled Rodney. He continued to mutter under his breath, but John didn't bother trying to understand the words. The sentiment was very clear.

"So, colonel, no trip back to Earth for you. You'll probably continue to feel tired the next few days. The severe muscle tremors left you a bit sore. I take it the dizziness has passed."

"Yes, thank god," said John. Having the world around you continually tilt and spin had been horrible. The fact that everything had remained stable since he woke up was very comforting.

"Excellent. When we send the two ZPM's back, I'll want to keep an eye on you for a while. You may experience some similar effects, but I expect them to be milder. You'll still have the one ZPM working, so it won't be a total separation from the city as before." Carson gave him a look that clearly suggested he shouldn't argue the point.

"I'm expecting that will occur sooner rather than later," said Elizabeth. "The shorter exposure combined with the fact that I highly doubt Carson will let you interact at that concentrated level for days at a time should help.

"I still think we could make a case for keeping all three . . . well, at least two. I'm pretty sure I could put together a good presentation for the IOA." Rodney snapped his fingers and then waved his index finger at no one in particular. "I'll be in my lab." Tapping his radio as hurried toward the door, he almost knocked over a nurse walking across the room. "Radek, I have a great idea."

Elizabeth shook her head. "I wouldn't worry too much. They've pretty much made up their minds and the fact that we've made it so long without three ZPMs will probably clench the deal."

John grinned. "So, we're being punished for being so good at surviving."

Elizabeth returned his smile. "You know what they say, no good deed goes unpunished."

"How true that is," he murmured, losing the battle against the yawn trying to get out. How could he have been out of it for three days and still be this tired. Only he knew the answer to that because it wasn't his first time recovering. Just his first time to recover from being addicted to a city. That still blew his mind.

"I think we should let you rest," Elizabeth said. "I'll see you later."

"Later," John said.

"We should also go," said Teyla, moving forward to grip John's hand a moment. "It is good to have you back with us. We were very concerned there would be lasting effects."

"Naw, I'm fine," John drawled. "Thanks . . . for getting me back."

Teyla nodded. "We will return after you have rested."

Ronon slapped John lightly on the bottom of his foot. "Later Sheppard."

John grinned at their retreating forms, grateful for his team. Glancing back up at the doctor, he frowned. "Was anyone else affected by this?"

Carson sighed and scratched his head. "Aye, just not to the extent you were. I admit that I've been a little quicker with operating and interpreting the scanner. Major Lorne confessed that he's been more aware of city conditions and the Atlantis presence than usual. A few others claimed a heightened awareness to the city, but not much beyond that. Of course, you have the strongest gene by far and no one else has spent many hours in the chair over a period of two or three weeks."

John shrugged his shoulders. "Sorry, doc. I just . . . I didn't realize." A sudden yawn caught him off guard, making his jaw pop.

"Aye, I know. None of us did. All right colonel, now that your team has gone, you don't have any excuse to be trying to stay awake. Get some rest and your team can have dinner with you this evening."

"Thanks, doc," said John with a smile. Carson lowered the bed and John squirmed until he was comfortable, letting his eyes finally slide closed. There was a comfortable hum in his head and his body almost vibrated with Atlantis. He was a little sad that the intense connection wouldn't be around much longer. He'd miss it, now that it had become part of him. Maybe he'd retain a little of the new senses, now that he'd connected to her so deeply. And they still had one fully charged ZPM.

He imagined that she shared his hope and he couldn't help but smile. At least he wouldn't have to go back to Earth. Atlantis was his home. She was in his blood, literally apparently. He belonged here. And no matter what, he always would. John was addicted to Atlantis in more ways than one.

THE END