Spoilers: Mild 'Search and Rescue' of Season 5 (relating to Teyla's child's name only)
Summary: Part of Fic Tag with Gater101/Azure Horizon, using two sentences (in italics) from her great fic 'Missing the Unknown'.
Disclaimers: I own no part of the Stargate world, I make no money from this endeavour. Let my muse play.
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The wind swept across the pier and around John as he tried once again not to lose his tight hold on his patience. For not only were the new recruits not shaping up and thus presently legging it round the length of the pier for their fourth lap, but Torin was in an especially mischievous mood today.
John had volunteered to babysit the three year old, as he so often did for Teyla. He had never considered himself all that father-y, but somehow over the past three years the little boy had snaked into John's heart. Ronon had given himself the role of training master for Torin, a title John and Rodney had scoffed at, but John had to admit that little Torin John was one of the fittest and strongest kids he had ever seen. Rodney had taken on the role of Torin's teacher, and had actually begun baby sitting early on, using the time to show Torin instruction cards and pictures that supposedly help children develop quicker and faster. John had to admit that Torin was a bright kid, but he would never admit or even consider that it had partially been due to Rodney's influence. So that had left John without a 'role' to play. So he had decided to show Torin the gifts of Earth culture. He had shown him cartoons, which John had ordered from Earth. Played him music, shared his favourite foods and had taught him the important things of life like football rules and how to skate.
Somehow over the years John had ended up being the one who spent the most time with Torin outside of Teyla. Rodney said it was because John finally had someone his own age around. It might also have something to do with the fact that he and Teyla were spending a huge amount of time together. Torin's life and exploits had become something outside of work that they shared. John knew the others were whispering about it, but no one said anything to his face, so he ignored it. For a short time he had worried that he was using Torin to spend more time with Teyla, but dismissed that as he truly enjoyed spending time with the kid. Besides if you were going to be a kid's namesake you should at least be around a lot, and since he didn't have a dad, then he should have as many doting uncles as possible in John's opinion.
Ronon sighed dramatically at the recruits as they ran past him and John on their fifth lap of the pier. John shifted his attention away from his internal wanderings and focused once again on the last recruit who passed them.
"Pick up your feet, Matthews! Running away is a vital part of life in this galaxy and right now you are not shaping up!" John mused as he shouted in his best Drill Sergeant voice through the sea tainted air. "And Torin what do you think you are doing?!" He shouted again as he spied the three year old way too close to the pier's railing.
Torin snatched his hand back from where it had been extended out towards the railing, and turned big eyes towards John as he quickly shoved his hands behind his back. John folded his arms over his chest and suppressed every urge he had to laugh at the excessively innocent look on Torin's face. Behind him he heard Ronon snigger quietly.
"Come here, Torin." John demanded.
The boy shuffled his feet towards them, his eyes going from downcast to an upturned big open puppy dog look that John secretly suspected the boy had learnt from him.
John stood tall, and lifted an eyebrow at the boy. Rodney described John as 'excessively laid back' with Torin, but lately the boy had begun to push everyone in his attempt to find his own way and John wasn't going to let him get away with it with him. For a moment John had a flashback to when he was young and his dad had yelled at him for going too close to the horses. Of course now John understood why his father had shouted so angrily at him, but it couldn't replace the frightened shocked childhood memory. Remembering this he pulled back on his annoyance and worry over the boy's safety.
Torin reached him and looked up at him with the most wide eyed sorrowful look that instantly melted John's heart. But he kept his head high and continued to glare down at the boy he had secretly wished had been his own.
"What did I tell you about going near the railings?" John asked.
Torin took a little too long to consider his answer, looking away and shuffling his small booted feet. "To stay away." He offered eventually.
"How far away?" John pushed him.
Torin bit on his lower lip with thought. "I mustn't be able to touch the railing." Torin answered dutifully, which wasn't a surprise considering John had told him that at least ten times just this morning.
"And what were you just doing?" John asked.
Torin looked back towards the railing and then back up at John, his little eyes begging not to be told off. "I only just touched it." He protested.
"That's still touching it isn't it." John crouched down in front Torin, now more at the boy's level and softened his voice. "What would happen if you slipped and went into the water? Uncle John would have to explain to your mom how he hadn't been able to save you from falling into the sea."
"Where the giant sea monsters will eat you!" Ronon added unhelpfully from behind.
John glared at Ronon over his shoulder and turned back to the now extra wide eyes of Teyla's son. "Just don't go near the railing again, okay? You don't want to get hurt do you? Or upset your mom and get Uncle John into trouble do you?"
Torin thought about that for a moment and then shook his head.
"Good boy." John said reaching out ruffled Torin's dark hair and realised the boy would need a hair cut soon. "Promise me you won't go anywhere near the railings again." John asked.
"I promise." Torin said obviously happy he wasn't in trouble anymore.
"Go on then, but if I see you near the railings again you're going back inside." John warned, as he saw that the bright distracted light had returned to Torin's eyes.
"I won't, Daddy."
The words shocked John still as the boy ran off to once again play in his own imagined world. Did he just call John 'daddy'? He called him daddy!
John stood slowly, knowing his own face was probably a sight. He turned slowly towards Ronon beside him, who had been glaring at the recruits as they passed again starting their sixth lap.
"What?" Ronon asked once he noticed John's stunned expression.
"He just called me 'Daddy'!" John told him.
Ronon looked briefly off at where Torin was running around with his arms stretched out like a plane. "So?" He asked, his tone and expression amused.
John frowned at him. "What do you mean; so?"
"You spend the most time with him, it was bound to happen." Ronon replied, looking back at the recruits as they disappeared briefly behind some buildings. He didn't seem all that surprised John realised.
"It's not bound to happen. I'm not his father. What's Teyla gonna say?"
Ronon shrugged. "She'll probably think its sweet."
"Sweet!" John squeaked out. "She won't want me replacing Kanaan." He replayed that in his mind. "I mean in Torin's eyes. I'm not his father and Teyla wouldn't want me to be." He reiterated.
Ronon looked at him for a moment, his eyes assessing him silently. "Okay." He said dismissively and walked away towards recruit Matthews who looked like he was about ready to completely collapse. John got the annoying impression Ronon was humouring him.
John watched him go and began to worry that Ronon really was part of 'that crowd'. The crowd that whispered about him and Teyla. There were days when he felt like everybody else in the city was in that crowd, and only Teyla knew nothing of it.
A pull on his hand drew his attention down to Torin who smiled up at him his eyes so similar to Teyla's.
"Can I go run with the soldiers, Uncle John?" He asked.
A burst of regret went through John at the return of his usual title of Uncle. "Sure." John offered absently.
Torin dashed away, running past the panting Matthews and danced along beside Ronon who was now chasing the rest of the exhausted recruits.
It was probably just a mistake. Torin hadn't really meant to call him daddy. He had probably heard someone use that word and was trying it out on all his uncles. Yep, that was bound to be it. No, Torin wouldn't call him that again. Yet, John would remember them, feeling like the words were burned into his memory.
He headed out across the pier towards the bouncing Torin and the pale Matthews and found himself secretly wishing Torin would make that mistake again, perhaps in front of Teyla, so John could see how she would react.
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END