Lacrimosa

Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions.

Timeline: 2-3rd season

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The view from the top of the highest tower of Atlantis was extraordinary. The city looked so small from up there as Major Mirkwood sat on the edge of a balcony and cast a look over Atlantis. She had cursed the day when she had led SG-21 to a deserted planet filled with ancient ruins of great citadels that once littered the landscape. The team’s archeologist had started to study the dead culture until he had accidentally stumbled on an artifact that had changed everything and everyone.

SG-1 had followed them few days later. Doctor Jackson had also confirmed that Ancients had been inhabited the planet thousands of years ago. Both doctors had skimmed the place thoroughly to find more and more artifacts left behind by the great civilization that had looked for a new home after each millennium.

When two stubborn archeologists were finally ready to go back home, Major Mirkwood had lastly showed some interest in their work. While packing the artifacts, she had come into the tent where Doctor Jackson was explaining something to Colonel Carter about one artifact that didn’t make any sense to him. Colonel Carter had tried to advance to it with science but that never used to work on mysteries until Major Mirkwood had taken the object to her hand and studied it against the light. It was an oval polished stone with a single marking on it. There were other stones on the table too. Some round, some angular and some flat. They all had the same quality – black polished stone with a white marking on one side.

“They look like control crystals on Thor’s ship,” mulled Colonel Carter and turned to look at Major Mirkwood. She had some weird look on her face.

“It’s a game,” she said and looked at Doctor Jackson and Colonel Carter, who stared back at her with shock and astonishment. “Here should be a board to go with the pieces.”

“A what?” stammered Colonel Carter.

“I’m not quite sure of the game rules but I think it’s some kind of a puzzle or something. See,” she explained and closed her hand around the stone. Colonel Carter raised her eyebrows in disbelief until she gasped in surprise. The marking on the stone glowed on the back of Major’s hand.

“How did you…” started Colonel Carter when Doctor Jackson cut her off.

“ATA-genes!” he cried out as he snapped his fingers and looked at the stones lying around on the table. “No wonder Jack was so fascinated of her… Er, I shouldn’t have said that out loud, right?”

Major Mirkwood put the stone back onto the table and slowly turned to look at guilty Doctor Jackson. He was trying to come up with some lame lie to cover up his mistake but she knew better.

“On what subject General was so fascinated of?” she asked in a very low tone that almost sounded like a growl. Colonel Carter was looking at Doctor Jackson who looked desperate to flee from the tent.

“General O’Neill was fascinated of your parentage,” he said shyly.

“I see,” snapped Major, turned around and marched out of the tent. “GET THIS CAMP PACKED UP IN 20 MINUTES!”

“Well, she did took it rather well,” muttered Doctor Jackson.

And that was the end of normal life in SGC.

Major Mirkwood stood up on the railing and looked right down. Keeping her balance, she admired the blue ocean beneath her. It was so deep and cold. She let go and leaped.

Colonel Sheppard took another golf ball from the basket and set it on the pin. Doctor McKay was looking him swinging the club when something whooshed past the horizon and seconds later a great splash slapped him out of wonderment.

“What the hell?!” yelled McKay and ran to the edge to look down into the water that was boiling under them. Sheppard looked up to the tower and knew instantly.

“Mirkwood!” he screamed and threw the club over his shoulder as he dived into the water.

McKay stared at the surface and waited Colonel to emerge from the freezing ocean with Major Mirkwood. What the hell was she thinking of scaring him half to death?! Somehow it seemed to take too long for Sheppard to come up and McKay started to panic. He called for medics and yelled at Doctor Beckett to move his ass.

“What happened, Rodney?” asked Doctor Weir over the radio.

“I-I… Well, there was someone falling and a splash and Sheppard thought it was Mirkwood and-and… Oh God, where is he?”

“Calm down,” said Doctor Weir, “Doctor Beckett is on his way there.”

“When he arrives, it might be too damn late!” Just then Sheppard sprung to the surface, dragging the raven-haired Major with him.

“Where the Hell were you? I worried myself sick!” shouted McKay and helped Sheppard out of the water. He was carrying dripping wet Mirkwood on his hands and McKay staggered out of his way as he placed her onto the ground. She was pale like a ghost and McKay feared she was dead. No one could survive that fall.

“Is she breathing?” he asked tentatively as Sheppard checked her pulse.

“No,” he said quietly, “I can’t even feel her pulse.”

“Oh,” whispered McKay with a sigh. He watched in horror when Sheppard started the CPR. It didn’t seem to work at all. Sheppard put all his effort in bringing her back to life but she stayed lifeless.

“No, come on,” groaned Sheppard counting in his head as he did the heart massage, “Come on.”

McKay bite his fingernails to keep himself from rambling. He was going nuts from fear and the only thing to prevent that from happening was to nag on someone. But he didn’t dare to yell at Sheppard who tried so hard to save Mirkwood’s life. After so many attempts she suddenly coughed the water out of her lungs and gasped for air. Sheppard stared at her and in blinding joy he crabbed around her and hugged her, burying his face into her drenched hair.

“Thank God,” whispered Sheppard. McKay looked at Mirkwood who was dazedly staring over Colonel’s shoulder. The next moment Doctor Beckett arrived with five or six medics on his heel.
***
Doctor Kate Heightmeyer looked intently at Major Ilmatar Mirkwood sitting in front of her. She knew the story that had traveled around the whole city and was concerned for the Major. Doctor Beckett had released her after a week; being very astonished as how quickly she had healed with no marks left.

“Would you like to talk about the tower?” she asked and searched for some emotions in Major’s face but there was none.

“I go up there to think, to figure out some things. It had rained that morning and the railing was slippery and so I tripped over,” said Major Mirkwood simply like that had been nothing.

“So, how’s things in general?” asked Doctor Heightmeyer and smiled to her, showing her support. Major looked at her with no interest but pulled on a shy grin. I have no soul to take or a heart to break, she thought behind the mask she wore. Instead she said: “I love my job, that’s all for now.”

“That’s good to hear,” said Doctor and jotted something down.

“Yes,” confirmed Major Mirkwood taking that the session was over.
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AN: I really got bored when I finished Prime! So I'm back!