All I Want For Christmas
Merry Christmas!
By Amycat8733 for Mysra
Prompt: Some romance and whump would be cool and the team.
Title: All I Want For Christmas
Author: Amycat8733
Rating: T+
Pairing(s): John/Teyla
Characters: John Sheppard, Teyla Emmagan, Ronon Dex, Rodney McKay, Jack O'Neill, Sam Carter, Cameron Mitchell, Torren Emmagan, Carson Beckett, Amelia Banks, Richard Woolsey, Hank Landry
Genres: family, romance
Warnings:
Length: 6,046 words
Disclaimer: The characters and locales of SGA don't belong to me. For fun, not profit. I just swim in the pool. No borrowed OCs were harmed during these productions.
Summary: The SGC decides that it's time to declassify the Stargate Program – at Christmas. John is called to Earth to help with PR. He's not very jolly though, because it's his first Christmas with Teyla and Torren as a family.
You're the best thank you so much. *Hugs*Mysra
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Colonel John Sheppard was not a happy man. Receiving a summons to Cheyenne Mountain was not something he would normally worry about. However, he was being summoned, not by General Landry, but by General Richard Allen, who was currently the ranking General of the Air Force and a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. It was also less than two weeks before Christmas, and this was going to be their first as a family – him, Teyla, Torren, Charin and Joseph.
The notice had come unexpectedly. John had been allotted one hour to pack a bag and present himself in Cheyenne Mountain. An hour had given John just enough time to shower, pack and change into his dress uniform with a few minutes to spare to fill Teyla in on the call.
"Teyla, I'm sorry, but I have to go to Earth."
"But why? You told me that your government officials cease to do work near Christmas."
A small smile showed briefly. "That's normally true, but this is apparently a special meeting. The order came from the Head of the Air Force itself. Even Landry or O'Neill would have to obey."
Her sigh echoed in his ears. "Very well. Will you be back in time for Christmas?"
"I'm sorry, but I have no idea. Lorne knows where everything is."
"I am certain that he does, but it will not be the same."
"Look, Teyla, if there was any way I could delay this, I would, and you know that. I'll make it up to you and the kids when I get back."
"I know you will. Be safe, John, and remember that we love you and are here waiting for you."
"I love you too."
No sooner did the Stargate disengage than Airman Thompson dial out again, this time to the SGC. Looking up, he nodded to his CO that the way was clear. John descended the steps to pick up his bag. Turning back, he glanced up at the balcony where Elizabeth used to stand. Woolsey was there now. The two exchanged nods then Woolsey surprised him.
"Godspeed, Colonel. Be safe."
There wasn't much John could say so he waved, nodded and stepped through the Gate.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Major General Jack O'Neill had seen a lot of stuff over the course of his long career with the Air Force. Some of it was great while other bits sucked and there were even a few events that were so FUBAR that he tried to forget them. He knew why Sheppard had been summoned. Hell, he was here for the same reason. He just didn't know why, in their infinite wisdom, the Joint Chiefs and President Hendricks decided that Christmas was a great time to spill the best kept secret in the world.
Leaving Hank to perform the necessary greetings with Sheppard, Jack acknowledged the younger man while he studied him. He needed to know how much steam John had to blow off. Judging from the neutral voice, set jaw and darkened eyes, he had quite a bit.
Pleasantries done, Jack indicated to Hank that he'd take over. He didn't miss Hank's sigh of relief. Clapping John on the shoulder, he steered him towards the door. "C'mon, Sheppard, let's get you settled in. You can change before you visit Dr. Lam."
"Anything special I should change into, sir?"
Jack shook his head. "Nope. BDU will be fine."
John sighed as they traversed the plain grey corridors. The brightly lit, blue-green corridors back home already sported Christmas decorations. "Then why did I need to put this on?"
"Because General Allen wanted to be on-hand to greet you, but he got called away." Jack stopped in front of a door on a side corridor.
John glanced around. "These aren't the visitor's quarters."
"No, they're not. These are the quarters for the field officers that don't have off-base residences. Figured if you have to be here then you should at least be comfortable."
John let a small smile show. "Thanks."
Jack waved him inside. "Go on, get changed. Dr. Lam is waiting and you know how she is about that." He heard a thud as he followed John into the room followed by two thunks as his shoes hit the floor.
"Do you know what this is about?"
Jack glanced over his shoulder to check his progress. John had his back turned as he changed pants. "Yeah, I do. The President and the Joint Chiefs have decided to declassify the Stargate Program."
John snorted from the depths of the t-shirt he pulled off. "So they decided to use the good cheer of Christmas to smooth the way."
Jack checked on John again. Seeing that he was mostly dressed, he turned. "Yep." He stuck his hands in his pockets. "It beats the alternative of telling them when we have an Ori or Wraith fleet overhead."
The bed springs creaked a bit as John sat down to pull his boots on. "True. So we're here to shake hands and smile and do the tour circuit. I can hear the ads now: "Next on the Today Show, we have Colonel John Sheppard of Atlantis, here to talk to us about what it's like to live in another galaxy, but first, Chef Lorraine Gibson has tips on how to bake the perfect Christmas turkey.""
Jack smiled. This was going to be fun.
The bed creaked again as John stood and stamped his feet to settle his boots. He reached back into his duffle and retrieved his sidearm. He caught Jack's look of curiosity as he strapped it on.
"I don't go anywhere unarmed. Anybody that doesn't like it can come live my life for a few months."
Jack shook his head. "You're going to make the Secret Service nervous."
John headed out the door, Jack at his heels. "If I really wanted to take out the President, they'd never see me."
Once in the hallways, the pair chatted about various things – golf, football, hockey, and some of the events that didn't make it into the After Action Reports.
"Y'know, Sheppard, every time a data burst comes in, the Gate teams hang around for days waiting on the AARs to be released. The ones from your team and Lorne's are hot commodities around here."
John laughed. "I'm not surprised. We do the same thing on our end."
They reached the infirmary and Jack deposited John into Carolyn Lam's clutches. "Come to the gym once she clears you."
John acknowledged it with a wave as he followed Carolyn.
Jack headed to the locker room and caught Cam as he was getting geared up. "Got a minute?"
Cam nodded. "Sure." He drawled. "What's up?"
"I'm trying to arrange a sparring partner for Sheppard."
Cam perked up. "Shep's here?"
Jack nodded. "He's with Dr. Lam right now. I told him to come to the gym when he gets sprung."
Cam was silent a moment as he studied Jack. "How bad is his mood?"
"Bad enough." Jack admitted. "It's their first Christmas as a family. He's hiding his bad mood pretty well, but I can tell."
Cam sat up and slapped his palms on his knees. "Okay, I know how I'd feel, so that means I need some Marines to help."
Jack turned to leave. "Recruit who you need, just don't damage him."
"Damage him?" Cam looked at him with disbelief. "You do remember who we're talking about, right?"
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
John walked in and found Jack, Cam and four Marines waiting. They waited while he stretched and warmed up before starting on melee. The uneven match went on for about an hour. Members of the other Gate teams as well as Mountain Security started drifting in after the first ten minutes. The troops that had served in Atlantis recognized the signs of their former CO's bad mood. The rest were seeing the tales come to life. The four Marines eventually backed off and left the two Colonels in the ring alone.
From his seat in the stands, Jack could see the differences in their fighting styles. They both used their size to give them advantages, but where Cam tended to charge in using his weight, John used his size to slip past defenses and deliver hard blows.
The sparring came to an end when John eeled through Cam's blocks to deliver a series of punishing shots that left SG-1's leader on the mat gasping for breath. Smiling, John leaned down and grasped Cam's wrist to haul him up. As he gained his feet, Cam spun John to catch him in a chokehold. John turned it on him and Cam ended up on his belly, John's knee in his back, John's arm locked around his throat. Realizing he was done, Cam slapped the mat to signal his surrender. This time when John helped him up, he wrapped his arm around Cam's waist to preclude any further actions.
Once he was certain the match was over and the other man would try nothing further, John turned to Cam and held out his hand. "Thanks, Shaft. I needed that."
Cam ignored the hand and drew John into a man hug. "No prob, Shep. I'm willing anytime."
John turned to the Marines. "McGloin, North, Anders, Simon, thank you. It's good to see you again."
The four Marines returned John's greeting then headed to the showers. Jack threaded his way through the departing crowd to his two Colonels. "Feel better?"
John rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, I appreciate it."
Jack clapped the pair of pilots on the back. "Well, get cleaned up and we'll grab some dinner. Steak sound good?"
"Steak?" John perked up. "Man, I haven't had a good steak in ages."
"Well, we'll soon fix that."
Forty minutes later, the three men were in Mitchell's car headed for a great little restaurant where the steaks were so good you didn't even think about steak sauce, the beer was cold and the music was live. John spent the drive looking at the glitter of the Christmas decorations along their route and trying to not get depressed. Seated in a back booth, the noise level was just enough that they could talk without worrying about eavesdroppers.
They kept the conversation loose while they ate. It was only while they were picking over the last of their hand-cut fries that they turned to more serious matters.
"So, what's the schedule?" John asked.
"Well, tomorrow, we meet with General Allen then fly out to DC." Jack said as he dragged a fry through ketchup. "Once in DC, we get to attend a briefing with the President and Joint Chiefs. The day after that, they're going to air the first part of the story, which will focus on the SGC and exploration of the Milky Way. Two days later they're going to air the Pegasus portion."
Cam shook his head. "Not wasting any time, are they?"
Jack shook his head. "Nope."
John's face quirked into a sarcastic smile. "Let me guess. After the Atlantis portion, we start the talk show circuit?"
Jack aimed a finger at him. "Got it in one."
After that there wasn't much to say. They sat, listened to the music and had another beer apiece before leaving.
Back in the mountain, John thought about pulling out his laptop and browsing through some of his pictures. Shaking his head, he decided against it. He missed them enough without torturing himself. He changed into his sleepwear, crawled under the covers and fell asleep.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
The briefing with General Allen went quite well. He asked very intelligent questions and stayed away from the touchy subjects such as John's run-ins with the Iratus bug and Jack's incidents with the Ancient Repositories. They left from the briefing and boarded one of the Air Force's Gulfstream 5's for the trip to Washington. The four men took the opportunity to set rank aside and speak frankly.
"Y'know, this wasn't thought through well." John mused.
Allen leaned forward, elbows on his knees. "Why not?"
"Well, you want to showcase the Stargate and the whole "seek out new worlds and new civilizations" thing and show that both galaxies are populated by humans, but you leave our alien ambassadors out of the loop entirely."
Allen leaned back and took a sip of whiskey before answering. "It was decided by the Joint Chiefs to wait before we introduce the alien members to the public as such. We want to give the public time to get used to the whole "we're exploring other planets" part first so we can judge the timing for it."
After that, the conversation devolved into generalities, so John decided to take a nap for the remainder of the flight.
Their meeting with the Joint Chiefs and their British and Canadian counterparts went as well as any military briefing. John was amused at the number of Generals that forgot they had to salute him first because of the Medal of Honor. The trio from the SGC was the subject of many questions. Most of the questions were intelligent and well thought out. Others were so stupid that the target of the question, usually John or Jack, would simply stare down the questioner until the inquiry was rephrased.
Before the meeting adjourned, John noticed that Jack, President Hendricks and General Allen had their heads together. He was distracted by the General in charge of Air Force Special Operations Command to answer some questions on training initiatives. An hour later, John and General Morris had a good plan mapped out for offworld training needs. Everyone returned to their seats as President Hendricks rose to address the group for a final time.
"Men, we are about to embark on a journey that to many will seem like fantasy. It is time that the people of Earth quit hiding in the dark and face what lies out there. It is time that our men and women in uniform quit having to lie and evade their loved ones when asked where they are and what they do. It is time that those same men and women gain the recognition they deserve."
John saw Hendricks catch Jack's eye and give him a slight nod which Jack returned.
"It is on that very note that I am overjoyed to be able to present the first non-classified award to Colonel John Sheppard."
John rose and moved to stand in front of Hendricks.
"Colonel Sheppard, it is my pleasure to present you with the Defense Distinguished Service Medal for your service as Military Commander of Atlantis. You have performed your duties in an exceptionally distinguished manner that has contributed directly not only to the security of our great nation but of this world." He opened a small, black velvet covered box and removed the ribbon then pinned it onto John's jacket. John snapped off a perfect salute which Hendricks returned before the room erupted in clapping.
Following the short ceremony, they all retired to the White House for a late dinner. John and Cam stayed with Jack instead of taking Hendricks up on his offer of a stay at the White House.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
The closer the date moved towards Christmas, the more depressed Teyla became. This was not the first Christmas that she and John would spend together. This was not even the first Christmas celebration for Torren. It was, however, their first Christmas as husband and wife and the twin's first Christmas.
As the days wore on, even Torren, with his sunny disposition, was becoming increasingly irritable. He missed John terribly and it was definitely starting to show. Teyla missed him just as much, but she was better at hiding it.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
They stayed in DC for three days. During that time the two specials aired. John spent his time shopping and catching up on paperwork. Anytime he left Jack's brownstone, he was in civilian clothing. After one near miss when he had on a black shirt, he bought some bright colored button downs and a dark brown bomber jacket. The different colors, along with his aviators, served as camouflage and kept his face off the newspapers.
The fourth day they were flown to New York for the first of the talk show appearances. They did three shows there as well as several news interviews then flew back to DC once again. Their next destination was to Toronto for a three day stay where they once again appeared on several talk shows and gave interviews. This was followed by trips to Los Angeles, Great Britain, Japan and Australia.
Finally, with only four days left until Christmas, the jet-lagged trio touched down at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado.
After sleeping part of the day and all night, John, Jack and Cam had one more interview to do.
Harry Sanders had been in the news show business for thirty years. He'd seen a lot, heard a lot and interviewed practically everyone who was anyone. This interview was the strangest yet. One General, two Colonels and aliens galore promised to be interesting. One of his sources within the Pentagon had managed to acquire a piece of footage that should be enlightening.
Sanders sized the three men up as they sat down. All three moved with a wariness that bespoke lots of combat experience. All three were also pilots and sported lots of decorations with O'Neill and Sheppard carrying more metal than Mitchell.
The interview was aired live as well and was taped and would be aired again after Christmas. He started the interview and got the three men to relax. He kept his questions innocuous at the start and eventually worked his way to the harder questions. After a break, he brought out the big guns.
"So, gentlemen, you could all say that you've encountered a lot of strange things, right?" They nodded. "You've all also survived some really strange stuff, especially you Colonel Sheppard, true?" They nodded again although Sheppard looked wary. "So, perhaps you can tell me how you survived this." He touched a control and the image on the big monitor that sat on one side of the stage flared with a grainy image and voices John hadn't heard in years.
John recognized the image. He'd watched it once after his return so he'd know how much pain Kolya had to pay for. As Kolya's voice issued from the set, John's vision went red and a roaring sounded in his ears.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"Teyla, can we talk?" Sam Carter's voice sounded in her ear.
Teyla put down her book. She wasn't getting very far with it anyway. Thoughts of John kept popping up and distracting her. "Certainly."
Sam released a careful breath. "It's about John."
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
John blinked and rolled heavily on the bed. He peered at the clock beside the bed. It read 2:15. He sat up and managed to stagger to the bathroom. God, he had to find out what he'd had to drink last night so he could remember to never have it again. Looking down at his hands, he noticed the swelling, cuts and bruises. After cleaning and bandaging them, he brushed his teeth then after relieving himself and decided to take a peek outside. Colorado Springs had six inches of snow on the ground and he loved looking at Christmas displays when there was real snow mixed in. A sharp pain flared in his chest as he fervently wished Teyla was here for him to share it with. The pain turned to surprise when he twitched the heavy drapes aside and was assaulted by bright daylight.
"Ow!" he reached up to cover his watering eyes. "Crap that hurts."
"That's why you wear sunglasses."
John looked up through damp eyelashes to see Cam standing in the doorway.
"Heard you moving around so I figured I'd come check on you and make sure you were okay."
John stumbled slightly as he pushed off from the wall he'd slumped against while his eyes recovered. Perching gingerly on the bed, he scrubbed his hands across his face. "What the hell happened last night?"
Cam handed John a bottle of water and three Advil. "What do you remember?"
John swallowed the pills then drank half the bottle while he prodded his soggy brain. "Um … I remember us doing that interview with that Sanders guy, and … I think … I remember hearing Kolya's voice. After that, I've got nothin'."
Cam grimaced. "Well, the interview was going fine until that asshat Sanders pulled out the recording of that incident. You turned white as a sheet then calmly stood up, grabbed a coffee cup and planted it dead center of his big plasma TV. You then decked Sanders when he got in your face and started yelling about destruction of property. You also flattened the six security guards that tried to hustle you out after you hit Sanders." The grimace turned to a grin. "Jack is planning to give you a medal for that. He hates the guy with a passion."
John leaned forward and placed his aching head in his hands. "Oh, God, what a mess." He freed one hand and waved it vaguely. "So how'd I get here?"
Cam grinned. "Well, after we got you out of the studio, we stopped by a liquor store then came back here and got you drunk. When you finally slid under the table, we scooped you up, undressed you, and then poured you into bed."
Embarrassment and amusement warred with each other. Gratitude snuck in and won. "Thanks."
Cam waved it off. "No problem. I enjoyed watching Jack in action. He's a lot like you – all laid back until he gets angry then watch out. He was furious over Sanders' stunt. He thought about turning you loose in the building, but decided against it because he wanted the building to still be standing after we left. Ellen DeGeneres let us use her dressing room to calm you down while Jack called in a busload of Marines from the Mountain. He had everyone that even remotely knew Sanders taken into custody; all their computers and phones seized and shut down half the building. He called a little while ago; seems Sanders is more scared of going to prison than any retribution from his sources so he's singing like a canary."
Feeling slightly better, John got up and headed for the shower. "I'm gonna clean up. Can you get me something to eat?"
Cam relaxed. "Sure. Whatcha want?"
"Cheesesteak sandwich, no peppers or onions, fries and a Coke."
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Showered and fed, John decided he didn't want to stay indoors after Cam left. When he stopped to look at the newspaper rack that the Starbuck's kept for their customers, he was shocked to learn that this was Christmas Eve. He grabbed his coffee and pastry and went for a walk. He'd been hoping to make the trip back to Atlantis yesterday, but that obviously hadn't happened.
Knowing he couldn't be with the person he loved made looking around at the decorations and all the happy people difficult. Feeling a black mood creeping up, he decided to just keep walking and try not to dwell on what he couldn't have. Travel would resume two days after Christmas. He could hold out that long. Strains of music floated towards him on the crisp air. Curious, he followed the sounds. The stream of melody led him to a shopping center where a local band was performing for the shoppers. He arrived just in time to hear the tail end of the lyrics:
"… and all I want for Christmas is you …"
Those seven words undid all the calm and detachment he'd been able to muster. The black mood descended with a vengeance. Turning on his heels, he hurried from the area, not wishing to hear any more. The scowl on his face was so dark that people parted before him like the Red Sea did for Moses.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
The only light in the suite was from two televisions – one in the main room, the other in the furthest bedroom when Teyla carefully opened the door. Torren and the children were with Jack and Sam, who were in the room connected to John's. The hotel manager was a friend of Jack's and had managed to get them the room next to John. She eased through the door, Ronon behind her.
The two warriors fanned out, searching for John as the televisions were just loud enough to mask casual sounds. Ronon spied a chair lying on its side, one leg broken. He righted it carefully, wondering what had happened. Teyla found a pile of gaily colored bags and boxes that she recognized as wrapped presents in an empty bedroom. She smiled, touched that John had thought of them. As he neared the couch, Ronon kicked a shiny object lying on the floor. Curious, he picked it up. The smell told him what it was – an empty liquor bottle. Looking around, he spotted a trash can and gently placed the empty bottle inside. He and Teyla met by the couch and held a softly whispered conversation before moving to check the last location. Together they crept up on the doorway to the bedroom.
Flickering light revealed their prey lay sprawled across the bed at an odd angle, snoring and completely oblivious. The covers had been bunched up at the end of the bed leaving John covered only by his t-shirt and boxers. The reason for his odd angle became apparent as they moved closer to the bed. His left leg was propped on the mounded covers, the remains of two makeshift icepacks melting nearby. Both the knee and ankle were swollen and dark with bruises.
Teyla cleared away the ice bags and Ronon went to fetch Carson, who was waiting in the hall with Rodney and Amelia.
Carson entered cautiously, ready to duck at the slightest movement from John. Pulling on a pair of gloves, he made sure Teyla and Ronon were ready in case John awoke. Palpating the swollen joints, Carson sighed then pulled out a medical scanner. "Och, laddie, what have ya done to yerself now?"
"Carson, what is wrong?"
Carson ordered his thoughts as he put the scanner away. "His knee is dislocated and the ankle badly sprained. I'm going to put cold packs on them to bring the swelling down. Once I get the swelling reduced then I can set the knee." He reached up and rubbed the back of his neck. "Unfortunately, I cannae gi' the lad any painkillers."
Teyla looked at him oddly. "Why not?"
Ronon guessed and answered for the Scottish doc. "There's too much alcohol in his system."
Carson nodded. "Aye, lad, there is."
"This is not normal behavior for John."
"You're right, it isn't." Rodney answered from the doorway, Amelia at his side. "It is, however, the actions of a person who is depressed and trying to get numb enough to not think for a while."
Amelia lightly clapped her hands. "Then that makes Operation Cheer all the more essential." She grabbed Rodney and Ronon. "C'mon, you two get to assist me." She tugged them from the room, oblivious to their protests.
Teyla stayed with Carson as he ran a more thorough check on John.
After more than a few minutes, he straightened with a muttered curse.
"How is he?"
Carson ran a hand through his hair. "Well, other than the bunged up knee and ankle, he has a sprained wrist and is somewhat malnourished. There are signs that he's been sick recently."
Rodney walked in at that moment, a small blue booklet in his hands. "Considering how many stamps are in his passport, I'd say Montezuma's Revenge got him."
Teyla looked at him quizzically, sounding out the unfamiliar word. "Mon … tee … zoo … mah? Is this an enemy of John's?"
Rodney barked out a laugh which caused John to stir slightly. Teyla bent over to soothe him back to sleep.
"Rodney, ah suggest you be quiet. If you wake the Colonel an' he throws up on ya, you'll deserve it."
Rodney blanched at the thought. "Sorry. Montezuma was the leader of a people called the Aztecs. When people from another land came and tried to take over, they grew sick from drinking the water. This grew to be known as Montezuma's Revenge. Now, it refers to the effects of drinking water that has foreign bacteria in it that your body isn't used to. It usually causes diarrhea, but can cause other problems as well."
Carson nodded. "He's right. I'm going to start an IV and get some fluids, an anti-biotic and an anti-emetic into the lad. Then I'll wrap his wrist before taking care of his knee and ankle."
Teyla watched as Rodney left, closing the door behind him. "Is there something that I can do to help?"
Carson handed her an Ace bandage. "You remember how to wrap a sprained wrist?"
She nodded and he left her to it.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
The next morning, John was loath to crawl out of bed. He felt better than he had since leaving Atlantis. He flexed his knee and was surprised to find it and his ankle wrapped. He swung his feet off the bed and limped to the bathroom where he discovered his well-wrapped wrist. Figuring that Cam had come to check on him and done it, he cleaned up and headed back to the bedroom. As a nod to it being Christmas Day, he pulled on a dark red sweater over a black t-shirt and jeans.
He stepped out into the main room of the suite and flipped on the lights. The burst of light left him standing stunned for a moment. The room had been transformed. A six foot Douglas fir held court against one wall wearing regal drapes of blue garland, silver icicles and multi-colored lights. Clustered around its base was a swarm of gaily wrapped presents. He took several steps closer to the tree, marveling at the variety of ornaments. He didn't realize that he wasn't alone until a chorus of voices cried out:
"Merry Christmas!"
He spun, wavering slightly as his balance shifted onto his bad leg. He stood speechless at the miracle before him. His family was here: Teyla, Torren, Charin, Joseph, Rodney, Ronon, Carson, Sam and Jack. The only ones missing were Dave, Daniel, Teal'c and Cam.
"What …? How …?"
Teyla moved to his side and greeted him before planting a kiss upon his lips. "Sam contacted us. We got here just before the Stargate was shut down for the holiday."
John just stood and stared, not believing what he was seeing.
She grew worried at his silence. "Are you not pleased?"
John shook himself. "Yes I am. Very pleased." He felt a tug as a whirlwind attached to his leg.
"Da, we open presents now?" Torren said as he looked up at John.
He smiled. "Nope, after breakfast." He looked out at his family. "What are we having, anyway?"
Carson stepped forward, smiling so deep his dimples flashed. "Wee Torren said he wants pancakes."
"Yay, Da, pantates," he cried.
John chuckled. "Pancakes it is." He limped towards the kitchen only to be brought up short by a strong hand.
"We've got this, Sheppard." Ronon steered him towards the double recliner. "Go sit down."
Jack passed him as he settled in. "John, I'd do as your big guy says." He pulled an apron over his head. "According to Sam and Daniel, I make a pretty mean stack of pancakes."
"He does." Sam chimed in as she poured drinks for everyone.
While Jack, with assistance from Ronon and Carson made breakfast, Rodney entertained the kids with a helicopter he'd bought.
Watching as he flew in a straight line, John pointed. "That's what I'm talking about. Why can't you fly a jumper that well?"
Rodney glared at him. "I can fly a jumper that well. It just keeps trying to follow everything going on in my mind so that's why it wobbles a bit."
Teyla snuggled with him, happy to be at John's side again. She heard the whirring of the tiny helicopter as it hovered over their heads. She glanced up and noticed a sprig of dark green leaves and white berries suspended from the machine. "John, what is the meaning of this plant?" and pointed up.
John followed her arm and spotted the hovering greenery. "It's a plant called mistletoe. Tradition has it that if a man and woman pass underneath it at the same time that they have to kiss."
Torren caught that. "You gonna tiss Mama? She missed you lots, so you haveta tiss her."
John looked at his son, his eyes shining with love. "Oh, she missed me lots? Should I give her a little kiss or a big kiss?"
Torren considered this as everyone's attention turned towards the trio. Charin and Joseph were still too young to understand and were gurgling happily in their playpen. "A big tiss!"
John sat up and turned slightly. He cupped her face in his hands and leaned in. Their lips met and melded into each other before their tongues came out to play. Lips sealed, their tongues darted and danced with each other in a delicious acrobatic display that had both their heart rates soaring. As the kiss deepened, he felt her hands creep up his back, one resting on the back of his neck, the other climbing into his hair. Eventually they had to come up for air and were met by a host of grins and smiles.
The day passed, with John and Teyla taking advantage of every moment together they could. The presents were opened and boxes and bits of paper adorned the floor. Charin and Joseph had a merry time crawling through the debris.
A highlight of the day was John and Rodney flying a pair of Lazer Tag battle copters and trying to shoot each other down. Rodney tried valiantly, but John's actual combat experience paid off. Jack took the controller from Rodney after the scientist lost three straight rounds. With the two former Special Ops operatives going head to head, everyone settled in to watch. John still had an edge because Jack's flight experience was in fixed wing aircraft but the battles were much closer. Jack managed to beat John two out of five, but only barely, and made him work for the wins he got.
After lunch, John settled in the recliner with Torren while Teyla fed the babies. Ronon brought them to him while Teyla changed clothes as they both felt that Teyla's shirt was not sufficiently colorful for the holiday.
After just a few minutes, Teyla came out and headed for John and the kids. She rounded the recliner and stopped, a smile lighting her face. Turning, she grabbed her camera and snapped off a picture before motioning to everyone.
John was stretched out; his feet elevated enough to keep his knee and ankle from swelling too much. Torren was curled at his right side, head resting on John's chest, with John's arm encircling his shoulders. Charin was tucked into the curve of Torren's arms while Joseph lay in the crook of John's left arm. All of them were sound asleep.
After a moment, Jack and Teyla chased them all off. The last to leave, Jack was heartened to see that John was taking him seriously. He had reached out and grabbed onto his dream of having a family and made it a success. He smiled in fond remembrance of a spending many afternoons doing the exact same thing with Charlie.
That evening, once everyone had settled into bed, Teyla turned a serious look on John. "Have you enjoyed this Christmas? Do you like your gifts?"
John smiled - his whole face lighting up as he showed her his feelings. He drew her down on the bed and kissed her deeply. "Teyla, I can honestly say that this is the best Christmas ever. As far as gifts go, all I wanted for Christmas was you." He rolled and turned out the light before showing her just how much he loved her, their passion flaring bright as the lights on the tree.
~And Life Goes On~