Chapter Text
Jeannie woke up to a blaring alarm, followed almost immediately by Madison's terrified wails.
"Jeannie? What the hell," Kaleb said, already grabbing Madison. Jeannie opened her mouth to answer when their door slid open, revealing her brother, decked out head to toe in military gear and armed with a giant gun.
"Meredith, what the hell is going on?" Jeannie asked, harsh and demanding, but she thought it was entirely justified.
"Wraith, we have no idea how the hell they got so close. Sheppard thinks it's another Hive ship on crack, he's already heading down to the control chair. Come on, we're evacuating with the jumpers." He led them down a hall, Kaleb carrying Madison and holding Jeannie close to him. Jeannie flinched every time they heard screams or gunshots.
"Why are we not going through the Stargate? Or the Daedalus?" Jeannie asked, anxiety pooling in her stomach. Meredith wasn't helping, what with the way he was sneaking through the halls, his gun consistently aimed forward, his finger just hovering beside the trigger; like he was comfortable using that thing.
"The ZPM is the only thing powering the shield and the chair, which are the only things keeping the city from becoming completely overrun with Wraith. Using the gate, even to go somewhere in Pegasus, will use too much of that power. We need the shield to hold as long as it can. And the Daedalus is still over a day away at max speed- the jumpers give us the best chance of survival without losing the city."
Jeannie nodded silently, although Meredith was still facing forward, scanning up and down the halls like... like a soldier. Jeannie didn't know what to think.
Suddenly, she heard Madison scream, and when she turned around she saw a Wraith running towards them. Jeannie didn't even have time to scream before she heard gun shots. The Wraith dropped to the floor a second later.
"Are you guys okay?" Meredith asked, and he looked genuinely worried, but Jeannie couldn't stop staring at the gun.
"Are you- do you do this all the time? Is this what your life is like here?" Jeannie knew they had bigger problems, but suddenly the only thing she could focus on was her brother living in an active war zone, something that Jeannie had never really thought about until just now. "God, Meredith, are you safe here?"
"Right now, none of us are safe, so let's move," Meredith barked at them, like he was giving them an order, and Jeannie had a sudden realization that she had no clue who her brother was anymore.
Meredith ushered them down the hall again, and Jeannie spared another glance back at the dead Wraith laying in the middle of the hallway- the one her brother killed without a second thought.
The jumper bay was full of chaos, marines directing people into jumpers, the alarm still blaring above all the commotion. Someone shoved passed Jeannie and she stumbled back, Kaleb's arms wrapping around her to stop her from falling and being trampled.
"Hey, you okay?" Kaleb asked, checking her over quickly.
"Yeah, I'm fine, it's- where's Maddie?"
Panic filled Jeannie so fast she couldn't breathe, everything falling into the background as she realized her daughter was no longer in her husbands arms. She looked around, dread rising in her when she couldn't see Madison anywhere. "Kaleb, where is Madison?"
"She- she was right here. Madison? Madison!"
Jeannie grabbed her brother, unable to think of anything else through her fear. "Meredith, she's- Madison is missing, I-I can't find her-"
Meredith turned away from the marines he was yelling at, his eyes wide as he scanned the room. He hit the radio in his ear. "Sheppard, I need eyes on the sensors. Madison is missing, can you locate her?"
Jeannie felt like her chest was closing up; she couldn't remember how to breathe. She felt angry at Kaleb for letting her go, at Meredith for inviting them there, at herself for bringing Madison with them.
"Meredith," she snapped, unable to keep her anger or anxiety to herself. Meredith glared at her for a moment before turning his attention back towards his radio.
"Yes, welcome to my life, just do it. Use your freakish gene powers and convince the city to find my niece," Meredith snapped before turning his attention back to Jeannie. "Sheppard is on it, he'll find her, I promise. Now we need to go-"
"I am not leaving without Madison, we need to find her-"
"And we will, but you two need to stay alive too and we can only do that by leaving the city so let's go!"
"Rodney, we are not leaving without our daughter."
"I am not risking letting you two loose in the city during a Wraith attack, will you just get in the damn jumper so I can go help look for-"
"McKay!"
Jeannie, Kaleb, and Meredith all turned to look at the booming voice, and Jeannie almost fell to the ground in relief when she saw Ronon sprinting over with Madison on his back.
"Maddie! Baby, are you okay? You scared us so much, you can't wander off like that! What were you thinking," Jeannie exclaimed, checking Madison over before pulling her in for a huge hug. Kaleb wrapped his arms around them both.
"The nice lady in my head told me where to go to be safe, Mommy!"
Meredith whipped his head around, turning his attention from Ronon to his niece.
"What, Atlantis was talking to you? That's- actually, no, there's no time. We need to go, come on. Teyla's waiting in the last jumper for you guys, let's go." Meredith and Ronon ushered them over to one of the last two jumpers, shoving them inside.
"Markham, you make sure they get out of here safely, okay? The only thing you need to be concerned with is their safety."
"Got it doc, we'll see you on the other side," Markham replied from the pilots seat.
"Wait, are you not coming with us? Where are you going?" Jeannie asked, looking at her brother in fear.
"Ronon and I need to stay behind with Sheppard, he can't fight off Wraith in the city and fight the ships off with the chair, so Ronon and I are covering for him. Which means I need to go now."
"Mer, you have to come with us, it's not safe to stay here."
Meredith grabbed Jeannie's shoulders, staring her intensely in the eyes. "Markham and Teyla will take care of you, okay? They're going to get you and Kaleb and Madison to safety. Don't worry about me, just focus on you. You'll be fine, I promise. They won't let anything happen to any of you."
"I assure you, Jeannie, you will all be safe," Teyla said sincerely.
"McKay," Ronon said in an impatient tone.
"Yes, yes, I'm coming," he said, waving Ronon off before turning back to Jeannie. "I swear to you I will do my very best to get out of here alive. Now you need to go. You'll be safe, I promise."
And just like that he was gone, Meredith and Ronon running off down the now empty corridor to go save the day. Jeannie stared after him as long as she could before the hatch closed and the jumper rose through the ceiling.