Here is another story inspired by Doxymom's Valentine's Day word fanfic challenge.
Atlantis belongs to someone else in the world…I only own the DVDs…oh well…I'll still have fun with the characters.
Love
Love…it is a complicated emotion.
John Sheppard's mother had loved him. She bandaged his scraped knees when he would fall off his skateboard and she wiped away his tears when he had been beaten up in Jr. High. She would tell him she loved him every night. Yes, his mother had loved him and left him, succumbing to an internal disease that ate away at her, sapping her of strength until she too faded away.
Her last words to him were, 'I love you.' It didn't lessen the blow of loosing her.
It was said that his father had loved him or at least cared for him as well. Why else would the highly decorated military hero push John so hard to follow in his footsteps, why else would he take his belt to John's backside when he screwed up unless his father cared for his welfare. Love…whack…love…whack.
"I'm doing this because I love you John.' His father's reasons didn't lessen the blows.
John's first girlfriend had said she loved him. She would spend all of her time with him gushing over him, declaring to everyone she met that she loved John sooooo much. She even said she loved him right before she declared she loved someone else more, his best friend since childhood.
'But I still love you John." It didn't stop him from punching his friend in the face, shattering his nose. They never spoke again.
His fiancée had said she loved him when she agreed to marry him. She said he was the most important thing in her life; she would do anything for him…anything that is but give up her career by backing him up when he disobeyed orders to save his fellow soldiers in Afghanistan. He stood alone at his court martial with her last words ringing in his head.
"I love you John but I can't follow you" It didn't take away the betrayal he felt or stop the closing off of his heart.
Love…it was a complicated emotion.
But she never says she loves him…but he knows.
She doesn't let others know what she is thinking yet John knows.
The way she moves, the smile on her lips, the look in her eyes…tells John all he ever needs to know.
She loves him and he loves her…they don't say the words but sometimes the words just get in the way.
John loves Teyla and Teyla loves him.
Love…it can be a complicated emotion.
THE END
The reference to John's court martial was reference to the short story 'Flipside' published in the Official Stargate Magazine. In this particular story a girlfriend was mentioned, for the purpose of this story I turned her into his fiancée.