A/N: This was for the challenge over at the GW whump thread. The prompt was: Write a story where Shep, with or without the gang, goes on vacation. Preferably some place warm, but it could be anything. Can be set before, during or after Atlantis. Bonus points if you include aviators. Doesn't have to include whump, but hey…accidents happen. So here is what I came up with. Oh and this takes place during season 3.

Now This Is a Vacation

The morning sun shone brightly overhead and the blue sky sprinkled with a few fluffy, white clouds. The heat of the morning sun already threatening to break the record for the day, not exactly a typical winter day.

"Now this is what I'm talking about!" John Sheppard said with a grin. "You can't get this kind of weather anywhere else."

He felt the warmth of the sun on his neck and the wind ruffling his hair as he sped through Pacific Coast Highway. Since he had been given a chance to pick the rental car, he had gone with the convertible, you could never go wrong with a convertible. So here he was, driving a silver, sleek convertible, radio full blast, aviators on and enjoying the warmth of the sun, ready to enjoy his vacation with his team. This is how every vacation should be, no running away from enemies trying to kill you, or trying to suck the life out of you, or turning into a bug. He shuddered at the last thought, he hated those bugs.

He glanced at the rearview mirror and noticed Rodney's frown.

"C'mon Rodney, turn that frown upside down, we're on vacation."

"Hmph," was the only reply.

He sighed, they had practically forced Rodney onto the plane after leaving the SGC. Apparently he couldn't take a vacation because at the hands of the other scientists Atlantis would meet her doom.

He looked over at the passenger seat where Teyla was sitting, a look of amazement on her face, taking everything in. He looked through the rearview mirror once again and caught Ronon's equally amazed expression. Showing them around Earth was going to be a treat and he was eagerly looking forward to it. The first thing they had to visit was the beach of course. He didn't think that any vacation to the West Coast was ever complete without a trip to the beach, and what better beach to go to other than Huntington Beach.

He finally got off the highway and pulled into the parking lot, paying the fee. It was still early so the crowd hadn't arrived yet and finding a parking space was easy.

"We're here!" he proudly announced. Everyone eagerly exited the car, except for Rodney, who grudgingly got off. John decided to ignore it, for now, as he helped the others with the stuff that they had brought along.

They found a perfect spot, one that was not very far from the pier and not too far from the water.

"Ok, now what?" Rodney asked annoyed.

"Well, Rodney. Now you can either go for a swim, get a tan, sit and relax or do whatever you want…except complain," John answered.

Rodney sighed, "I don't know why we had to come here in the first place."

"Oh, c'mon Rodney, relax, enjoy yourself, let loose, whatever. Look, Teyla's already soaking up the sun." They both looked over at her as she was lying down on her towel, reading a book she had brought along.

She looked up at them, "John is right Rodney, enjoy yourself."

"See, and Ronon here is already eager to go in the water. Aren't you buddy?"

Ronon only grinned.

After a dramatic sigh, he finally agreed.

"Alright then, let's go," John said as he took off his aviators and pulled his shirt over his head, tossing them both onto his beach towel.

Rodney noticed Ronon do the same and his eyes grew wide in horror.

"Wait, what are you doing?"

"You can't go in the water with your shirt on Rodney. Haven't you ever been to the beach before?"

"Yes, I have. I just…"

"You just what?"

"I don't want to," Rodney answered as he crossed his arms, reminding John of a child refusing to eat his vegetables.

"Oh, c'mon Rodney. There's nothing to be ashamed of, " he teased. Teyla set her book down, curious to see how the conversation would play out.

"Yeah, McKay," Ronon chimed in with a grin that matched John's on his face.

Rodney looked at the three of them incredulously.

"Easy for you guys to say. Look at you, the three of you look like you belong on a cover of a magazine."

John rolled his eyes. "Forget it. Let's just go for a swim, c'mon."

"Fine," Rodney said as he took off after them.

Teyla smiled as she returned to reading her book, those three were always an entertainment but now she could get back to her book with some peace and quiet.

XXXXXX

The day was going well so far and John thought that his team was having a great time, something that they needed after all the events that had taken place. At the moment they had all gone to the pier to grab some lunch and he had stayed behind to look over their stuff. He looked out to the water and noticed the few surfers that had decided to catch some waves, noticing that the waves weren't too high but still good. He missed surfing but he wasn't planning on doing any on this trip, he was there to show his team around but the waves seemed to be calling out to him.

"Is this what you wanted, John?"

"Huh?" he turned around and saw Teyla handing him the food he had ordered. "Oh, yeah."

"Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." He looked behind her but didn't see the other two. "Where are Ronon and McKay?"

"I believe Rodney stopped for more food," she said with a smile.

"Nothing new there," he laughed. "Listen, are you all right by yourself here for a bit? I need to go see something."

"Of course." she answered.

"Cool. I'll be back in a bit," he said as he stood up.

XXXXXX

"Hey, where did Sheppard go?" Rodney asked Teyla. She turned to see he was carrying two plates in his hands while Ronon was holding three.

"I do not know, he left a few minutes ago. He said he needed to see something. Are you two going to finish all that food?"

"Of course, why not?"

"Yup."

Teyla rolled her eyes as she watched her teammates dig into their food.

"His food's going to get cold, you know," Rodney said through a mouthful of food, eyeing John's food. "If he doesn't come back I'm going to have to eat it."

"You have not even finished what is on your plate, Rodney."

"I know but you can't let food go to waste."

"I am sure he will be back soon. He said he was only going to take a minute."

"Fine."

"Hey! Isn't that him?" Ronon suddenly asked as he pointed out towards the water.

"What? Where?"

"There," he told them.

Both Teyla and Rodney looked in the direction he was pointing to and sure enough there was no mistaking the lean figure, with the hair that seemed to defy gravity, on a surfboard. They watched as he expertly caught a wave and rode it gracefully until he disappeared underwater.

"Wow," was all Rodney could say.

They continued to watch as they saw him lie down on his board waiting for another wave.

"There's another one coming, and this one looks bigger," Rodney said nervously.

"Looks like he's got it under control McKay," Ronon assured him.

They watched as he stood up and bent his knees, spreading his arms out to balance himself. Once again he rode the wave perfectly and with ease, as if it came naturally to him. He left a trail of white foam behind him as he continued to zig zag across the longer wave, skimming the surface of the water with his board. The wave finally gave out and he jumped into the water, getting ready for the next one.

"I didn't know he could do that. I mean, I knew he surfed but…wow," Rodney said out loud as he turned to look at the other two, who seemed to be as amazed as he was.

"I want to try that," Ronon said with a grin.

The adrenaline still hadn't worn off as he waited for the next wave. He really missed doing this, even though he loved flying and being in the air, nothing beat catching some waves and being in the water. He was glad he had finally given in and rented a board, he knew he couldn't leave here without at least riding a few waves. He was at the home of the U.S. Open, it was an opportunity too good to miss. He saw the start of another wave and got ready to spring up again, happy that he hadn't forgotten how to do it after years of not surfing. He bent his knees as he rode the next one, which had been smaller than the last one. He felt the spray of water on his face as he reached out to skim the surface of the water with his hand, enjoying the cool and refreshing feel of it running through his fingers. Seeing as he still had some room left before the wave ended he decided to see if he could still do a few tricks, so he used the wave as a ramp and sprung up in the air, making sure to keep the board on his feet and landed perfectly back on the wave, riding it until the end. Wow, looks like I still have it, he thought as he grinned. He paddled towards the beach, deciding to rest for a while and finally realized that he was hungry. He had completely forgotten that he hadn't eaten his lunch and hoped that Rodney hadn't eaten it already.

Ronon saw John make his way to them, a big smile plastered on his face, carrying his board under his arm.

"Hey," he greeted them, still out of breath as he set his board aside.

They looked up at him. He was still dripping wet, his shorts riding dangerously low on his hips and his hair still sticking out in several different directions as it dripped water down his face.

"Not even tons of water can tame that hair of yours," Rodney joked.

John rolled his eyes and grabbed a towel, trying to dry himself off. "Where's my food? You didn't eat it did you?"

"No. Teyla didn't let me," he answered as Teyla gave him his food.

"Good," he said as he sat down on his towel, finally realizing how hungry he really was.

"Hey, Sheppard. You think you can teach me that?" Ronon asked.

"What? Surfing? Sure, we'll go get you a board once I'm done eating."

"Cool!"

"You guys want to learn too?" he asked Teyla and Rodney.

"Maybe another time," Teyla answered as she returned to her sunbathing and her book.

"I don't know. I'll think about it."

"Ok."

"By the way, where did you get a board from?" Rodney asked.

"They rent them over there," he said pointing towards the pier.

"Oh, didn't see that."

"Probably too busy with your food."

"Oh, haha, very funny."

"That was very impressive, John," Teyla commented, trying to change the subject.

John felt the heat rise up to his face, he wasn't used to compliments. "Thanks, but it was nothing really."

"Still, very impressive."

"Yup," Ronon chimed in.

"I actually have to agree with them, this time," Rodney piped up.

John smiled shyly, "Thanks."

They all became silent for a minute, the sound of seagulls and the roar of the waves filling the air, each lost in their own thoughts.

"Ok food's done," John announced. "How about we go get you that board, Chewie?"

"Cool!" Ronon said as he stood up, eager to learn the sport.

"Made up your mind yet, Rodney?"

"I guess I could give it a try."

"That's the spirit. You sure you don't want to give it a try, Teyla?"

"That is all right, maybe next time. You three go right ahead."

"All right, your loss."

By the time they had gotten the basics down, most people had left the beach. Although the day was coming closer to the end, the heat had not given up as the orange, afternoon sun blasted its still powerful rays onto the beach. They went into the water, paddling deeper into the sea, to wait for the first wave. John sat on his board, his legs hanging on either side of it as he instructed the other two.

"Remember, it's ok if you don't get it on the first try, it's going to take some practice, all right."

The other two nodded as they watched the first wave roll in. Sure enough as soon as they tried to stand up both of them fell off their board.

"Ok, give it another go. You'll get it soon enough," he yelled out to the two.

He shifted his attention to the horizon, the orange glow of the sun reflecting off the water

He heard Rodney groan in frustration and turned his attention back to his students. Once again Rodney had fallen but Ronon seemed to have gotten the hang of it as he finally stayed upright on his board.

"C'mon Rodney, almost got it."

"How about you show us how it's done and then we'll follow you," Rodney answered, completely out of breath.

"Fine," he said as he paddled out to where they were, "watch and learn."

"What do you think we've been doing all this time?" Rodney snarked back.

John ignored him as he prepared for the next wave, timing it perfectly. He glanced back to see how the others were doing and to his surprise Ronon, a few feet behind him, was surfing as though he had done it his whole life.

The momentary surprise threw him off balance and he fell off his board. He swam back up to the surface and ran a hand over his face, trying to get the water out of his eyes. Well, that wasn't quite a bad wipeout as wipeouts went, he thought. He heard laughter as he saw Ronon sitting on his board and Rodney floating next to his.

"Oh yeah, very funny."

"What happened? Is that what we're suppose to do?" Rodney said still laughing.

"Shut up Rodney! And, you," he said pointing at Ronon, "how did you do that?"

"Like you said, I'll get it soon enough," he said with a smirk.

Great leave it to Ronon to make everything look easy. It had taken him more than a day to get that good at it, not a really good boost for the ego.

"C'mon I want to do it again," Ronon said as he paddle out once again, closely followed by Rodney.

"I'll be right behind you," he told them, jumping back on his board. He sat on it once again, letting his long legs dangle on either side of it, feeling the cool, refreshing water on them.

"They seem to be having fun," a voice suddenly piped up next to him.

He looked down to see Teyla floating in the water next to him.

"Decided to join us, huh?"

"For a bit, wanted to see what was so funny," she said with a grin.

Great, she was making fun of him too. He had such a great team, he thought sarcastically but truthfully he would never trade any of them, they had become like a family to him and they always had each other's back no matter what.

"Nothing very funny, really," he said returning his gaze back to the other two.

"Of course not," she said as she continued grinning. "The view here is amazing," she told him as she looked out at the beginning of the sunset.

"Sure is," he said turning his attention to the orange, glowing circle in the horizon and the reflection of it on the water. The whole scene reminded him of a postcard, which he remembered he had to buy for Elizabeth and Carson who had stayed behind in Atlantis.

"Hey, surfer boy! You going to join us anytime soon?" Rodney shouted.

John threw him a glare and turned to Teyla, "you gonna join us now?"

"Very well," she said finally giving in.

"Cool! C'mon we'll get you a board," he told her as he turned to tell the others where they were going. "Hey! We're going to go get Teyla a board, we'll be back!"

Ronon gave him a thumbs up sign, obviously something that he had learned from John. They made their way back to the beach and John was glad that he could teach his team what he knew about surfing. That way, next time they had a vacation they could go to Hawaii or something to ride the killer waves, something that he had wanted to do for a while. He just hoped that Teyla wouldn't catch on as fast as Ronon, he didn't think his ego could handle it.

Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed it. Reviews, comments, criticisms are welcome :)