Title: Wild Blue Yonder
Author: stella_pegasi
Rating: K Gen, a little tiny angst.
Words: 2385 (story only)
Spoilers: None
Warnings: None
Characters: John Sheppard, Immediate Family, Original Characters
Summary: A mother's love paves the path for her son's future.
Disclaimer: I do not own them; I would have treated them better.
Notes: Written for the sga-genrequest for a story about "Wee John"; prompt and author's note at end of story.
P.S. I have been posting a lot of stories lately but I sort of signed-up for several challenges on LiveJournal and they are all coming due at the same time. Writing furiously to keep up. Sorry for being such a pest and adding new stories so often but I like to keep everything here that I have published. Thanks for indulging me.
Wild Blue Yonder
By stella_pegasi
Gisella Allain Sheppard stood in the front door of their new Maryland home watching her youngest son John who was playing in the front yard with Madeline, the daughter of their cook, Gilly Brown. She leaned against the doorframe, as the kids were racing each other down the driveway, wondering if her husband, Patrick would make it home in time for their Saturday afternoon outing. Today was a special day to her; today she was taking John to see the Air Force Thunderbirds at a private practice session on the nearby Air Force base. And today, for once, she wanted Patrick to be there.
John was excited about going to the Air Force base but she had not told him that his father might be coming with them. She didn't want to disappoint him again. Afraid that Patrick and David, her oldest son, would not make it back from their usual Saturday morning trip to Patrick's office, she invited Gilly and Madeline to go with them. She wanted John to have company.
Gilly walked up behind her and put her hand on Gisella's shoulder; Gilly was more than a cook to the family. She and Maddie had met the Sheppard's two years ago when they were on vacation in Jamaica. Gilly's husband had died and Gilly had taken a job cleaning and cooking at the big home they had rented in Montego Bay. Gisella and Gilly had become close during the three weeks they were there and Patrick had arranged for all the proper documentation to bring Gilly and Maddie to the US.
"No word yet, girl?" Gilly asked quietly. Gisella shook her head no. "Ella, did you think today would be any different than any other time?"
"I know I shouldn't but I thought I had gotten to him when I told him how excited John was about seeing the planes. Patrick, however, would prefer John would be excited about the business like David is; he has certainly steered David in that direction. But really Gilly, John is seven years old; I think he has more than enough time to learn about the business and making money. Right now he loves airplanes and that's what he should be having fun with."
Both women jumped when the phone rang, with a glance at Ella, as she called her, Gilly answered the phone in the library. It took only a few seconds to hand the phone to Ella, Gilly whispering it was Patrick.
"Patrick, where are you? We should be leaving for the airbase in twenty minutes; I don't want to be late."
"Gisella, I am sorry but Broderick called and there are some issues up at the Baltimore power plant. I'm going to have to go up there; I'll keep Dave with me. You can take the little dreamer to see his airplanes."
"John will be disappointed that you won't be there. By the way, you came in too late last night for me to show you, but your little dreamer brought a letter home from school yesterday. He tested at genius level for math and tested extremely high in everything else. John isn't a 'dreamer', Patrick; he has a very active imagination fueled by his intellect. You should be proud of him, I am."
"Honey, I am proud of him but if he's that smart, he should apply himself more in school. Monday, I'll call Dale Sherman at MIT and see what kind of program he recommends we get John into so that he can work toward getting an engineering degree. Maybe we can get him accelerated through school and into college early. I'll need a good chief engineer by then, Broderick's not that young."
"Patrick Sheppard, you will do no such thing. John is seven; he needs to be a boy not a college student. It is not time to force him into a program. Please, let John be John."
"It's never too soon to get them started, Gisella. Look I have to go; we should be back before you return from the base. Be sure that Dexter drives you; I don't want you on that Air Force base without someone to look out for you. Love ya, bye."
"Patrick, I can take care of my…" Gisella stopped, he had hung up. She put down the phone and leaned against the library wall. There were days when she was very glad that she loved Patrick as much as she did because there were times when she was completely exasperated with him. She knew that he loved John very much but she was aware that if John didn't want the path his father wanted for him, Patrick wouldn't understand. She would have to be there for her youngest son to help him survive his father's dominant nature.
She walked into the hallway where Gilly was waiting and smiled, "Let's get the kids in here and get them ready to leave. I'll call Dexter and tell him to bring the car around. Looks like it's just us today and we are going to have fun." As she walked away, Gilly watched her friend knowing that the smile was only on the outside.
They were about ten minutes from the base and Gilly and Dexter had John and Maddie engaged in a game of I-spy. She looked out the window and reflected back to the conversation she had with John when they first got in the car; John had asked where his dad and Dave were.
"John, your father had to go to one of the power plants, there was some sort of problem. He didn't have time to bring Dave to the house so Dave went with him. They won't be able to join us." She ruffled his unruly dark hair; the same brown-black color as hers. She loved the cowlicks that made his hair so wild but Patrick didn't. John's hair was too unkempt for Patrick's taste. He kept after her to find a stylist that could fix John's hair but she hadn't bothered. Her son needed to be an original.
He had looked up at her with those amazing green eyes, exactly the color of her father's and hers, "Mommy, Daddy and Dave like all that stuff at the power plants, don't they?"
"Yes, they do," she answered, wondering what he was going to say next.
"That's good; I don't like those places, too stuffy and dark. It's good for Dave to have Daddy to do things with, 'cause I have you." His eyes sparkling, he gave her his endearing little half-grin that melted her heart. Gisella was pretty certain that this smart little guy sitting next to her understood more than anyone gave him credit for. She was going to have to keep on her toes to keep up with him.
When they arrived on base, they were met by Air Force Captain Frank Langer, the public relations officer for the Thunderbirds; he escorted them to the comfortable stands where they would watch the Thunderbirds practice their upcoming air show routine. This was a VIP event, private invited guests only; one phone call from Patrick and he had gotten tickets for them to attend. Gisella, who had grown up in the Louisiana bayous, was still uncomfortable with the power of wealth. She didn't ask Patrick for very much but attending this show was for John and she would move mountains if she had to for her sons.
From the moment they stepped on the base, John had been mesmerized; Gisella watched him as his eyes darted from one new thing to the next. The officer in his dress uniform, the jeep that they rode in to the stands, and when he saw the sleek white jets trimmed in red and blue, he ran to the chain link fence that separated the stands from the flight line, standing quietly watching the personnel servicing the planes.
Gisella walked over and knelt down beside her son, "Pretty impressive, huh?"
"Yeah, this is really cool, Mommy. The planes are great." He never took his eyes off of the planes while he answered her.
"Well, you need to be sitting down while the show is going on and it should start in just a few minutes. Come on." She took his hand and he reluctantly followed her back to their seats.
Captain Langer was watching the young mother and her son. If he really admitted the truth to himself, he was watching the very beautiful Gisella Sheppard. She was a small woman with glossy, long dark hair, incredible green eyes, and a beautiful Cajun lilt to her voice. She was wearing a yellow sundress and the captain observed that she was definitely the subject of attention from the Air Force personnel. However, the more he watched them, the more he was drawn to the young boy with her.
John was tall for his age, slender but didn't move like a seven year old; he had a fluidity of motion that belied a natural athlete. He looked like a copy of his mother, the same angular jaw line, dark hair and green eyes. It was John's eyes that kept drawing the captain to him. The sparkle, the intensity, and sheer joy in his eyes as he watched the activity on the flight line made Captain Langer remember how he felt when he first saw a military airplane; the same sheer joy. This little guy was special and the captain decided he was going to make certain this boy had a great time.
As Gisella and John settled in next to Gilly and Maddie, Dexter sitting behind them, Captain Langer approached them.
"Mrs. Sheppard, Mrs. Brown, if you don't mind, I would like to join you. I thought it might be nice to be able to answer any questions that the kids might have during the show. They are the only two kids here today and I would rather sit with the kids than…well, you know."
"We would be delighted to have you join us and I am certain that my son will have many questions for you. Won't you John?" She looked at her son and then both looked back at the captain flashing the same wide smile.
The show was everything they had hoped for and more. The pomp and circumstance of the flight line as the show began and the appearance of the pilots had John on his feet and he never sat down for the rest of the show. He did have a lot of questions for the captain who answered each and every one. With every acrobatic stunt that the highly skilled pilots executed, young John Sheppard became more and more lost in the world of airplanes.
His mother watched him closely, realizing that her younger son was not made for the world of business; he belonged here with these planes. She laughed at herself; she was as bad as Patrick, deciding her son's fate when he was only seven. She did know that if Patrick were honest with himself and open to seeing what both of his sons really wanted he would recognize the same thing that she did; John was like her, a free spirit and he needed to be encouraged. She doubted that Patrick would encourage John to follow his dream; Patrick's own dreams took precedent. She would have to deal with that.
When the show ended, John was sad that there were no more planes flying but his mother had a surprise for him. The day's events included a reception with the Thunderbird pilots.
"John, they can't fly forever; the pilots and the planes have to rest but would you like to meet the pilots?"
His eyes lit up once again, "Can we, Mommy?"
"Yes, we can; captain, lead the way." They all followed Captain Langer to a hanger where the reception was being held.
The next hour was magical for the young John Sheppard. The pilots embraced him, recognizing how excited he was. Gisella watched as her normally shy and reticent son blossomed around the Air Force pilots. The lead pilot, Colonel Jefferson, offered to give John a close-up look at his plane and as the pilot and small boy walked to the flight line, they intercepted a general who was heading toward the reception. She watched as the pilot squared his shoulders, came to attention, and saluted the general. Tears came to her eyes as she watched John mimic the colonel; he squared his shoulders, stood tall, and saluted the general as well. The general saluted John in return and dropped down to one knee to chat with him.
The ride home was dominated by unusually chatty John recounting every moment of the afternoon, a pair of Air Force pilot wings pinned on his shirt and a model of a Thunderbird jet held tightly in his hands. When they pulled in the driveway, Patrick and Dave were returning from the stables. Dave as always, stayed close to his father; Gisella had to walk to him for a hug. As she was asking Dave about his day, she was watching John run to greet his father wondering how Patrick would react to John's excitement.
Patrick picked John up and hugged him, "Well, it seems you had a good day. You liked the planes?" He put John down, waiting for an answer.
"Yeah, Daddy, I did; I want to be a pilot in the Air Force." His eyes were bright and his smile wide as it had been all afternoon.
"Well, John, you'll grow out of that and do something useful." Patrick turned to Dave and motioned for him to join him and they walked toward the house.
As Gisella watched her husband and older son walk away, she shook her head; they were two peas in a pod, tall, light brown hair, blue-eyed, square-jawed copies of each other. John was standing alone watching his father and brother walk away. As she moved closer to him, she saw her young son square his shoulders and stand at attention, and she heard him whisper with determination, "I will be an Air Force pilot."
For that one second, Gisella Sheppard knew she had just seen a glimpse of the strong, determined man that John would become. She couldn't have been prouder.
Fin…
From a Comment Request on LiveJournal's sga_genrequest community.
Request by: x_erikah_
Prompt: Wee John
Characters: John Sheppard and family
What I would like: A story that happened in John's childhood which demonstrates some of the characteristics that he displays today or shaping him up to the man he's now. Humor is okay. Could be okay with fluf too
What I wouldn't like: John turned into child fic, dark fic, his family being mean to him
Author's Note:
As I read x_erikah_x's comment requesting a story about John Sheppard as a boy and how some event or situation helped mold him into the man he is today, I immediately thought about the Thunderbirds. I saw them when I was small and I try to see both the T-birds and the Blue Angels whenever I can. I think the jets and the pilots would have made a huge impression on John and I believe the pilots would have encouraged his wish to fly while his father would not. Erikah requested no one in the family be mean to him so I hope that his father didn't come off as mean…just too focused on business and too clueless about his younger son's needs.
As non-canon, I have always seen Dave Sheppard as being older and their mother as being a beautiful and somewhat mysterious woman from the Louisiana bayou. I wanted her to be outside of that wealth and establishment that Patrick Sheppard represented and to be someone who provided the catalyst for John to have a different outlook on life.