Title: Home, An "Enemy At The Gate" story.
Author: Whytewytch
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Characters/Pairings: Evan Lorne
Word count: 468
Rating: PG
Spoilers/Warnings: S5, Ep 20: Enemy At The Gate
Summary: Evan Lorne's thoughts as Atlantis sits just off San Francisco Bay.
A/N: Written for Camelot7414, for her birthday—Happy Birthday, hunny! Un-betaed.
Home. It seemed impossible after all these years of living, working, fighting and surviving in a whole other galaxy, but his eyes were telling him it was true. They were not just back in the Milky Way, but back in their own solar system, on Earth, and just about standing on his doorstep.
Major Evan Lorne leaned on the railing, staring toward the distant shore, past the striking orange form of the Golden Gate Bridge. He had rarely seen it from this angle; most of his views had been from the shore, staring out to sea. He squinted, trying to catch sight of his sister's home, the one with the big green peace sign painted on the roof. That was impossible, though, they were too far out. He inhaled and closed his eyes, allowing the familiar scent of salty water to wash over him. In his mind's eye, the past few hours re-played themselves and a shudder wracked his body as he thought of how close the Wraith had come to invading Earth. His eyes snapped open and he fought to control his breathing. The sunset, the colors washing over the bridge and the city beyond, helped.
Today was a Saturday—Spaghetti Saturday in Evelyn's house, and right about now, they'd all be sitting down to dinner. He could just imagine the mess his nephews were making as they tried to twirl their spaghetti around their forks, chatting excitedly about their adventures that day and giggling as they showed off mouthfuls of chewed-up pasta to each other. Evelyn would scold them, and while she was turned away from him, Evan's brother in law, David, would be opening his mouth to show off his own mouthful of food, clamping it shut and glaring sternly at the boys when their mother turned back to him. His sister couldn't have found a better man, and Evan was beyond relieved that they were all safe now.
The thought of the Wraith invading Earth, the horrors he had witnessed in the Pegasus Galaxy—it all shook him to the core, but it did something on a more primal level when he thought of those things happening to his own. Terror—stark and real, along with a rage so violent that it fed the fear, ran along his spine. If the Wraith had been just a little faster, if one thing had gone different on their mission to the Wraith ship… He shook his head to clear it of the what-ifs. For now, they could all breathe easy and for that he was grateful. He sighed and turned away from the heart-tugging sight of his home city. There was a lot of paperwork to get done before he could request leave. If he was very lucky, he'd get it done before next Spaghetti Saturday.