Five year old Torren trotted down the corridor exchanging greetings with everyone he passed. Once he reached his destination he waved his hand over the door mechanism and rushed inside. "Daddy!" He squealed as he felt himself lifted from the floor and tossed in the air.
John Sheppard grinned as the door to his living quarters opened and his five year old son entered. Gathering the boy up he easily tossed him in the air as it was everyday the boy had classes elsewhere in Atlantis. "So what did Rodney teach you today?" He asked as he dangled the giggling boy upside down by his feet.
"Daddy!" Torren giggled as his world was literally turned upside down. "Uncle Rodney is teaching me about the stars this week."
"The stars huh?" John righted Torren and sat him back on his feet then ruffled up his hair. "What about the stars?"
Torren grinned showing off perfectly white teeth. "He's teaching me their names silly." He plopped himself down on his bum and proceeded to pull his good school shoes off; tossing them messily into the corner by the door.
John grinned since Torren's happiness was infectious. "You don't have Rodney again tomorrow do you?" He was well aware of his sons schedule but liked their daily talks.
"No tomorrow is Uncle Ronan." Torren told his father seriously as he tugged on his pair of everyday shoes and began to tackle the laces. "Help please?" He looked up when his attempt at tying failed.
"Sure thing buddy." John knelt down and quickly tied both shoes. "You have any homework before we go?" He questioned as he stood and winced as both his back and knees cracked.
Torren started to shake his head then paused. "Only to look at the stars tonight and try to find the ones I learned today." His vocabulary was quite advanced for a child his age but then again most children weren't surrounded and taught by genius' everyday. Heck most kids couldn't claim one genius in their family let alone an entire city full.
John stepped out the door as it automatically opened and waited for Torren to join him before heading down the corridor. "How about when your done visiting we head out to the north pier and play catch? Would you like that?" He asked the increasingly quiet and jittery child at his side.
"Yeah." Torren answered quietly as he fiddled with the sleeves of his sweat shirt. "We're visiting Uncle Dave this weekend right?"
"Yup!" John was always impressed by how much the little boy remembered. "He's even bringing Conrad this time."
Torren paused outside the infirmary doors and gave his father his best smile. "That's so cool! Can we take him a birthday present since we missed it last month?"
John found himself nodding without thought. "Sure thing." Conrad was his four year old nephew and it surprised him how well both the boys got on together. "Tomorrow we'll make a special trip to the toy store and you can pick out anything you want to get him, alright?"
"Yeah!" Giggling Torren entered the sterile room, his least favorite one in entire Atlantis, and made his way to the back where a large storage room had been converted into a long term care ward. This was the only part of his day he hated but he wouldn't ever tell his father that. Not after seeing how he looked at the woman on the bed. "Are you gonna leave now?"
"Yeah, I thought I'd catch up on some reports while you visit you mom. I'll be on the comm if you need me." John reached up and touched his ear where his ever present comm was nestled.
Torren copied his fathers movement and let out a tense breath as his small hand came in contact with his own comm set. "Okay." He made his way over to the single chair beside the bed and crawled up on it. "See you later daddy."
Smiling John turned and left the room. He really did have reports to finish or Woolsey would have a nervous breakdown.
"Hi." Torren greeted the motionless woman. Tilting his head to the side he studied her face. People were always telling him how he had his mothers nose and chin but he had yet to see any resemblance between himself and Teyla. He never knew what to say so he usually spent his hour staring at the wall or going over his lessons in his head. Sometimes he didn't understand why his father forced him to do these daily visits. He felt no connection to the prone woman. And if not for the fact that she had given birth to him five years and three months ago he wouldn't believe that she was related to him in any way. From the stories he heard from his various Aunts and Uncles he had been barely two months old when she fell ill and never woke. So why did they expect him to have a bond with her when he didn't have any memories of her? "Uncle Rodney is teaching me about the stars." He felt inclined to at least try to address her. "He said that next year I'll be old enough to learn about Space. And Uncle Radek has been teaching me the history of Atlantis." He paused trying to think of more things to say. "Daddy's been teaching me how to the fly the puddle jumpers. He says I'm really good! I'm going to be a pilot just like him when I grow up!" He told her proudly. "Aunt Jennifer is teaching me about germs and stuff but she's been real busy with the baby coming soon so we haven't had a lesson in a while. Uncle Rodney even said I could baby-sit sometimes! Isn't that cool? But don't tell daddy cause it's going to be a surprise!" He smiled at the thought of finally getting to meet his new little cousin. He was just as excited as everyone else though he didn't know why. It was just a baby after all. It wasn't like there weren't any kids on Atlantis. Including himself there were a total of seven kids and out of those seven four lived in the city full time. Shaking his head he brought himself out of his thoughts. Glancing down at his watch, a perfect miniature copy of his fathers, he noted that it was almost time to go. "I guess I'll be back tomorrow at the same time." He slid off the chair and left privacy of the long term care room and moved into the bustling infirmary. "Uncle Chuck! What happened?" Torren made his way over to the head Gate technician who was sitting on the edge of a bed having his hand looked at by one of the nurses.
Chuck grinned when his favorite, and only, nephew made his way over. "Just an accident Sheppard-mini." He wiggled his fingers, much to the nurses chagrin, to show him that he wasn't lying. "Nurse Santiago is almost done." He gave the nurse his best smile and thanked her when she finished wrapping it with an ace-bandage. "See good as new!" He announced as he jumped down off the bed and offered it to Torren to inspect.
Taking a moment Torren looked over the offered hand, without touching it, and nodded in approval. "Good as new!" He parroted then giggled when his hair was ruffled. "So what happened?" He asked as he fell into step beside the older man.
"Rodney has the control room torn apart again and I tripped on some cables." Chuck rolled his eyes as he stepped out of the infirmary and started slowly, so Torren could keep up, down the corridor. "You have a nice visit with your mom?" He asked.
"I guess." Torren shrugged his shoulders as they continued to walk. "It's not like she ever says anything back." He mumbled under his breath.
Chuck placed a hand on Torren's shoulder, squeezed it, then let go. "She would if she could Sheppard-mini."
Torren nodded. "I know." He acknowledged as he stopped in front of his fathers office door. "Watch where you're going next time!" He called out as Chuck kept going.
"Smart ass!" Chuck called back as he disappeared around the corner.
Torren stepped into the office when the door opened and made himself comfortable on the couch against the wall. "You done with the reports yet?" He asked his father who was lounging behind his desk.
"Yup, all done! You done visiting your mom?" John asked not mentioning that he still had fifteen minutes left of his hour visit.
"Yeah, we playing catch now?" Torren asked.
John tossed the miniature baseball glove to Torren then placed his own on his hand; both of which had been sitting on the corner of his desk.
Torren easily caught and glove and slipped it onto his hand. "Ball?"
"I'll hold onto the ball until we get outside. Last time you managed to break two windows by accidentally dropping it." John was sure to let his voice tell him that he still didn't believe his story. He then stood and ushered his son out of the office and down the corridors towards the north pier.
"It was an accident, I swear!" Torren protested as he smacked his other fist into the glove. He loved baseball but hockey was a close second thanks to Rodney's mandatory hockey nights. He took a deep breath of fresh air as they exited the confines of the city and emerged onto the abandoned north pier; nothing breakable in sight. It was a sunny day with not a single cloud in the blue sky. He loved the view from this pier; it was the closest to the Golden Gate Bridge. It still amazed him that nobody knew that Atlantis was there. "Throw the ball!" He called out once he reached his spot.
John threw the ball, gently, so that Torren had an easy time catching it. Throwing it too hard would cause it to land in the water then wash up on shore. People in San Francisco were still wondering why every so often a sports item would wash up. These were the moments John wouldn't trade for the world.
Unknown to the two on the north pier bells and whistles were going crazy within the confines of the long term room. After five years it's single occupant was showing signs of waking up.