Marriage
"I now pronounce you, husband and wife. Colonel Sheppard, you may now kiss your bride."
John Sheppard looked down into his new bride's eyes and happily complied with the request given him. To his credit, he was mostly able to ignore the cheers, claps, and assorted cat-calls from the hundreds of wedding guests that had assembled in the re-decorated mess hall of Atlantis. After what seemed an eternity, he and Teyla finally realized they had put on quite a show for their friends, superiors, and all the other expedition members that had managed to get the day off.
"Great," he sighed, "there goes my reputation for being the stoic military commander, huh?"
Teyla beamed back happily at her new husband and whispered, "Just one day will not hurt, John. Perhaps next week, you can go back to just being their commander, but today exists as only husband and friend for you, not Colonel. Come, let us go greet our guests!"
Turning together, they faced out to a crowd of thunderous applause and smiling faces.
"Ronan, get off me buddy!" yelled John. Or at least he tried to anyway. Ronan had him and Teyla in what had to be the biggest bear hug he'd ever seen the big guy give to anyone.
Ronan shrugged, "Can't help it! You guys are my best friends, and I'm happy for you."
Rodney was next in line and was not being very patient about it. "Hey, come on, Ronan, give somebody else a chance to congratulate them, would you?"
Just as Rodney was swarming in for what was surely going to be an awkward moment in the years to come, John happened to glance at the remainder of the line waiting behind his best friend. Rolling his eyes, he thought that it was going to be a long day and wondered if he couldn't just slip away with Teyla now instead of in a few hours. Something told him his new bride would not be happy with all the planning she had done being wasted. He sighed and concentrated not on the line, but on how gorgeous Teyla looked in her wedding gown!
"Yeah," he muttered, "it's gonna be a long day!"
First Dance
After what seemed a million courses of dinner and a thousand taps of forks against dinnerware, John was getting ready to spring a few of his own surprises on Teyla. He leaned in close and cupped her neck.
"I think we're just about done with dinner right?" he whispered to her.
Though a little distracted with the nearness of John in his dress uniform, she managed a breathless, "I think so! Dessert is a little later, after the dancing. And speaking of which, when are you going to tell me about this surprise you have planned?"
She had been trying, without success, to get him to spill the secret of their first dance together. John had been teasing her with the knowledge for almost a month now and she couldn't wait to see what he had planned.
Getting up from his chair, he offered her a hand. John asked, "Teyla, a dance?" and leading them out to the middle of the hall, he signaled to a few Marines who had gathered during dinner with their instruments.
"Is this my surprise, John?" Teyla asked happily.
"Just you wait! It's gonna be great. I've had them practicing all month long for this." he said to her. Teyla thought he looked just like a giddy little boy who had just won a rather large prize.
The band of Marines began to play softly. Teyla listened hard for anything familiar about the song and it wasn't until John sang the first line in her ear that she realized she knew this one.
"I keep a close watch on this heart of mine, I keep my eyes wide open all the time." he was singing softly to her looking directly into her eyes.
"John," she said amazed, "I cannot believe you picked this as our song." Teyla had come to be a great fan of Johnny Cash too in the year that she and John had officially been engaged. "I also cannot believe you managed to keep this a secret from me!" she said, winking at him.
Teyla's planning of the details down to the last flower on the tables had been a source of hilarity amongst the expedition for the last few months. The woman who could take down over three-quarters of the city within a few minutes of sparring had attacked wedding planning with the same gusto! There were betting pools on whether or not she would manage to wrangle the secret of their first dance from John before the wedding day.
"I am glad this was one secret I managed to not pull from you, John." she said to him.
While the band kept playing quietly, John leaned in closely and bent his forehead down into hers. His eyes drifting closed; he pulled her tighter and whispered "Home."
"Hmm," she replied, "what was that?"
"Home," he said again a bit more loudly this time. He cleared his throat a bit and went on, "I have a story to tell you. Do you know the very first time I realized that Atlantis was actually home?"
She'd heard this before, but was reluctant to break the spell this song seemed to be weaving on him. "Go on, John" she spoke softly to him.
"It was the moment that I had to say goodbye to you. When the Ancients came back to us, you remember right?" he said. "I had finally come to the conclusion that I couldn't live without you another moment, that you meant much more to me than just a friend, and then we rescued them. I didn't let you know at the time and the only thing I could say was that stupid, not enough line, 'take care'. It wasn't nearly enough for me, Teyla. I spent the next few weeks back on Earth listening to Rodney complain that he missed you and not once could I even bring myself to say your name out loud to anyone."
Teyla had been wrong. It seemed there were parts to the story she had not heard before. "John, why did you never say anything to me when we got back?" she cried to him.
Shrugging his shoulders, he replied a bit sheepishly, "Couldn't get up enough nerve Teyla. I think sometimes you forget, wife, just how intimidating you can be? And, you know, I'm not the most open with feelings!"
They were both laughing now. John's lack of saying what he felt had been the source of some of their worst fights.
"Well, husband," Teyla began, "I, for one, am thankful you finally overcame those fears and we are here, dancing to this beautiful song."
They finished the song in silence, and Teyla's last thought was in wondering if anyone would actually notice if she decided to sneak John out of the reception before dessert was served.
Interlude
John and Teyla had finally managed to convince their guests that they did not need one more toast or pat on the back in congratulations. They slipped out of the reception just as Rodney, who had drank too much apparently, took over the dance floor in what looked like a rather bizarre re-enactment of a scene from Saturday Night Fever.
"Thank God he didn't try that earlier in the night. I'm not sure my eyes could have handled that image burned in them forever!" chuckled John. "Though," he smirked, eyes lighting up with mischief, " I do hope someone caught it on video so we can hold it over his head for at least a few months when he starts to go on how much smarter he is than the rest of us."
A small voice interrupted them from the end of the hallway yelling, "Momma, Daddy! There you are! I thought you said you were coming to say goodnight to me. Did you forget?"
"Hey, Torren. No, buddy, your momma and I did not forget you." replied John, letting go of Teyla's hand in order to pick up the little boy. "We were just coming now."
"Good, because I drew a special picture for you," Torren said, giggling a little and looking up at John. "Do you wanna come see it now?"
John nodded to Lieutenant Santiago, who was in charge of watching Torren for the night. Though Torren had taken part in the ceremony itself, both John and Teyla felt it unfair to make the four year old sit through much else. Thankfully, the lieutenant had volunteered to take him overnight. Though rather new to the city, Torren and the lieutenant had hit it off during the numerous times the little boy sat watching the soldiers spar.
"Sure, buddy, let's go see that picture. Then, you're going to stay with Lieutenant Santiago overnight, okay?" John said.
"Daddy, is it because you want to kiss momma some more?" asked Torren, rather perceptively for a four year old.
"Torren John," interrupted Teyla, before her son could ask anything more, "can we not go see this picture you drew? I would love to see it before we tuck you in for the night."
Torren led them back to the room and showed them the picture he and the lieutenant had been working on. It was easy to see the part's the lieutenant had contributed to in the neat writing above the figures on the paper.
"See, momma, it's US! See, me, you, and daddy too. We're a family." Torren looking up at them expectantly, waiting for affirmation from them on just how good his picture was.
Glancing at Teyla, then down at Torren, John said thickly, "Yeah, buddy, family. Forever, and always. Do you mind if your momma and I keep this picture? We can hang it up together tomorrow afternoon when we come to pick you up."
Completion
Ten kisses, four hugs, and exactly two bedtime stories later, Torren was finally asleep and John and Teyla snuck out of Lieutenant Santiago's quarters, running quickly to their own before any one else needed to say good-night to them. Turning to Teyla, John abruptly stopped outside their door.
"You know," he said, smiling down at her, "it's a tradition to carry the new bride across the threshold . It's supposed to bring good luck in a marriage."
"And when did you become such a believer in good luck, John?" Teyla smiled widely.
"Okay, so you got me, I really just wanted a chance to hold you close like this. Can we go in now? Before we're interrupted again?" John did not truly view Torren as an interruption, but he was a little anxious to finally get his bride alone. He turned on the lights to their quarters and set her down.
Looking down at the page still in his hand, he softly smiled and began, "Family. Do you know how long I wanted this picture in my hand to be true, Teyla? I remember the first time I felt him move inside you. You were so panicked at being locked down under quarantine and all I felt was this sense of wonder, even though I knew he wasn't mine. I thought I had forever missed my chance with you. I remember holding Torren for the first time. I was so relieved we had found you after looking for so long. When we were making our escape in that dart, I vowed to him that if I ever got the chance again, I wouldn't be such a coward -"
Teyla leaned over to John and put her finger up to his lips, effectively quieting him before he got much further in useless recriminations. "John, you could never be a coward in my eyes. Though I did initially feel hurt that Kanaan had no wish to be involved in Torren's life after we were no longer a couple, I could wish for no better father for my son than you. We are truly what you said earlier – a family, at last."
"Now," she said slyly, knowing exactly what would get her husband out of this somber mood, "this dress is heavy, do you think you could assist me in un-doing a few of these buttons?"
John needed no further invitation than that. "Yeah, I think I can manage that." he murmured, kissing each spot lightly when he un-did the buttons down her back. His last thought, before something else other than his mind took over, was to dim the lights in the room.
Light was streaming in and the sun was already well into the sky by the time John and Teyla stirred the next morning.
"Morning sleepy." John called from their little kitchenette. "Would you like a cup of tea? I think I can manage that without too much trouble."
Teyla rolled over in bed and gave John an indulgent smile. They both had become quite used to having all their meals prepared for them over the last several years. Even though their quarters were double the size of what they once were; and they now had a small kitchen with microwave, coffeepot, and refrigerator, most days usually found them in the mess hall with Torren in tow for their meals.
"Mmmmm, I would love a cup of tea, thank you. Then, I would like for you to crawl back in here with me. We do not have to get Torren for a few more hours and I would like to enjoy every possible moment with you before life intrudes on us again." Teyla said, regretting the fact that they had let Mr. Woolsey talk them into delaying their honeymoon until a new treaty was in place with the Genii.
John quickly complied with her request and handed her the steaming tea as Teyla moved over to make room for him.
"So, would you like one more story?" he asked as he snuggled down next to her. "I can't believe I'm even telling you this one, but as neither Rodney or Carson are here, they won't know I broke the vow we made."
Teyla looked at John quizzically, "And what exactly do Rodney or Carson have to do with this story?"
He interrupted, "Shhh, this will be better if you just let me tell it from the beginning. You remember how I said last night when it was that I knew I couldn't live without you, right?"
"Of course," she replied, "I, too, had many thoughts about you while you were away for that time."
"Well," he said, plodding on with the rather embarrassing story, "when we were back on Earth, Rodney, Carson, and I got together a few times for dinner and movies."
"Yes," Teyla said a little confused, "you have mentioned this all before John. I confess, I am still unaware of the part of this story I have not heard before."
"See the thing is," he continued, "is that one time, Rodney and I let Carson talk us into this complete chick-flick! Carson kind-of tricked me and said it was a sports movie. He told Rodney all about the pretty girl in it."
Teyla was the one to interrupt this time, "Oh," her one eyebrow raising just a bit, "so he did not speak to you of this pretty girl, then?"
"As I was saying," he spoke a little bit more loudly, and completely ignored his wife's raised eyebrow, "Carson tricked us. That was the whole point."
"OK," she replied, "Go on, I am curious as to which movie it was that Carson tricked you with, John."
"It was a horrible, terrible, chick-flick. I said that already, didn't I?" he went on. "You see, there was this arrogant, selfish guy at the beginning of the movie. He thought he was the best thing in the world. He loses all his business clients, and the only person left in his life is his secretary. She's secretly in love with him. Well, he starts to fall in love with her and yada, yada, yada. At the end of the story, he cries his eternal love for her and believe me, by this time Rodney and I were laughing our butts off when he utters this absurd line to her 'You complete me!'"
Teyla wondered where John was going with this story as it didn't seem to fit some of the other more romantic stories he had told her last night, but she decided not to interrupt him again. Perhaps there was a more serious point to this story than what it might seem on the outside.
John continued, "See, Teyla, at the time, I laughed with Rodney. We moaned how Carson had tricked us and we all vowed to never admit we had watched Jerry McGuire. But the more I got to thinking about it, the more I thought that the character had it right. In the end, this selfish man allows himself to love and be loved in return. I thought it was just a silly line then, but now, having you, and Torren too, in my life, I realize Jerry had it right all along."
Teyla thought she might be seeing the light at the end of this long tunnel and looked expectantly up to John with a slight sheen of tears on her eyes. John looked down at his wife, and ran his fingers lightly up her arms. He caught his bottom lip on his teeth, bolstering himself up to go on.
Finally, after a long pause, he spoke softly, "Teyla Emmagan Sheppard, you are the one that completes me. I was only half a person before you came along with your friendship first, then your love. Having you and now Torren in my life has been a dream I didn't know I had come true. Before you, I skated by in life. I thought I was content just being the loner pilot flying helicopters in the middle of nowhere. You changed all that in me, Teyla. I doubt I will ever be very good with expressing how I feel to others. But I promise you, you will never doubt just who you are in my life – my other half."
"John," Teyla said, reaching up and pulling him down for a light kiss, "you have always completed me. There was no one else who offered me half as much as you, even in friendship and certainly not in love. I cannot wait to see where this new journey in our lives will lead us."
John's last thought, before claiming another passionate kiss from Teyla, was wondering if they could perhaps convince Lieutenant Santiago to watch Torren for a few more hours and if Mr. Woolsey truly needed them to broker that peace treaty.