A/N: It's been a long time since I've posted. So as I'm finishing up a long Cam/Jen story, this idea of Sheppard bringing a sister to Atlantis comes into my head. I know it's been done before, but hopefully this is a little different from other stories. Chapters will be up daily, unless this baby decides to be a few weeks early. In that case, there may be a short delay :)

I didn't get a BETA because I just wanted to post something before "life as I know it" becomes insane. Please excuse the errors and my rusty writing.

Major Evan Lorne eyed his commanding officer as the meeting came to a close. Something wasn't right. Colonel John Sheppard could often be described as secretive, serious, and downright foolish when it came to taking chances. But uncertain and nervous wouldn't be the two words he'd ever use to describe him unless they were in some type of trouble off world.

Glancing around the room, he checked to see if either Woolsey or McKay were acting strangely. The way he figured it, if something was wrong, the two of them would know about it. Quite the contrary, McKay seemed unusually happy and Woolsey looked more relaxed than usual. Turning, he glanced at Ronon. Lorne had to fight a laugh. Ronon was agitated and impatiently shook his foot as he sat. Nothing new there.

Finding that odd, he decided, as always, to leave it be. It wasn't his business, unless a threat was approaching or already in the city. And despite the fact that Sheppard was an unusual commanding officer, Lorne tried to stay as professional as possible around him even though Sheppard insisted on a more relaxed atmosphere compared to that on Earth.

When Woolsey officially said they were done with business, Lorne stood up with the rest of the group. Sheppard, however, remained in his seat.

"Lorne. Ronon. And McKay. I need you to stay for a few minutes," Sheppard commanded, not looking up as he called out their names. "Ten minutes, tops."

Ronon growled as everyone else filed out. "Food's going to get cold, Sheppard." However, being a loyal friend to John, he sat back down but didn't mask his impatient glare.

"What's this about, Sheppard?" McKay whined. "For once, I'm with Ronon. If I don't eat-"

Sheppard silenced him with a look. "Ten minutes won't kill you, Rodney." He turned his head toward Lorne, who'd sat back down immediately. Lorne just returned the stare, not protesting like the other two.

"Well, at least one of you isn't crabbing about this," Sheppard muttered.

Out of character, Lorne spoke up. "What's wrong, Colonel? Is Atlantis in some sort of trouble?"

Sheppard, who'd noticed Lorne's glances throughout the meeting, eyed his second in command with respect. "No, Major. Nothing like that."

Sheppard stood up and began to walk around the room. "I should've told you all sooner. Woolsey's known since my proposal went through."

The three of them watched Sheppard as he stumbled through an explanation.

"Just spit it out, Sheppard," Ronon said.

Sheppard sat back down. "Alright," he said. "A few months back, when I was on Earth, my brother and I were contacted through my father's attorney. It's a bit complicated and not to mention a long story, but here's the condensed version."

"You're not rich anymore?" Rodney guessed.

Disgusted, Sheppard just rolled his eyes. "No, McKay. And if I was, why would that matter? Especially out here?"

Rodney shrugged. "Just guessing. Attorneys usually have bad news after someone dies… surprises with the will, estate problems-"

"Yeah, well. No. You'll be happy to know I'm still loaded, McKay."

McKay, however, didn't seem a bit happy about that.

"So what did he say?" Ronon spoke up.

"He said," Sheppard said, "it turns out I have a sister. A half sister."

Lorne's eyebrows shot up. "That's it?"

Sheppard just glared over at him. "Sorry, Lorne, but it came as a big shock to me that when I was ten, my father had a one night stand with a woman that resulted in an unplanned pregnancy."

"Sorry," Lorne quickly said. "It's just that I thought it was something more… serious." Reddening, he shook his head. "That came out callous. What I mean is that I thought something had happened to threaten the expedition or something was physically wrong with you."

Sheppard nodded, indicating he understood. "Long story short, this girl never knew my father's identity until about ten years before he passed away."

"Let me guess," Rodney smirked. "She wants to get her hands on your money?"

"For Pete's sake Rodney, enough about money," Sheppard threw his hands up. "No. She doesn't want anything. But since my father knew about her, he instructed his attorney to tell us about her in the event that he passed away. The attorney was told to wait until after the funeral."

"Sheppard," Ronon said, with a half grin. "I'm happy that you found more family. But what does this have to do with us?"

McKay expelled a laugh. "We're Sheppard's closest friends. Maybe he just wanted to tell us. Right?" Seeing Sheppard's eyes roll, McKay looked hurt. "Well, I guess not."

Sheppard looked a little apologetic. "Look, she's coming here. Tomorrow."

"Ah," Rodney said. "And now he gets to the point. Is she military, too? What do you want us to do? Check her out? Watch to see if she's out to sabotage you in some way?"

Ronon snorted while Lorne just shook his head at Rodney's comments.

"No," Sheppard said in exasperation. "She's not like that. Not at all. I mean, I don't know her very well, but she's actually coming here so that we can fix that."

"Is she military?" Lorne asked to repeat McKay's question.

"No," Sheppard said, now showing a hint of a smile. "She's a chef. A pretty good one, from what I've been told."

"Chef?" Ronon perked up at the mention of food. "You mean, a person who cooks?"

"Yes, big guy," Sheppard said. "It was my idea. I pulled a few strings and petitioned the IOA and SGC that the expedition has made many sacrifices over the last few years. I told them my idea, which was to bring her on and send more cooking supplies and a wider variety of food as a thank you to the military and civilian personal here."

"I can't believe they went for that," McKay said, amused. "Not that I'm complaining. Maybe she'll make something better than Jello for dessert."

Sheppard grinned, leaning back. "You'll be amazed, Rodney. She knows how to cook the uppity stuff that's served in five star restaurants, but she also did a lot of studying across the country at mom and pop places." He thought back to his latest visit to Earth. "She had my brother and I over… lives in Florida. Well, she did, until she sold her place to come here. But she made this incredible four layer chocolate cake..."

"Are we done here?" Ronon growled. "You're making me hungry."

Lorne, unfazed by the mentioning of food, glanced back to Sheppard. "So what exactly do you need us to do?"

"Ah, right," Sheppard said. "Lorne's right. I need the three of you to do me a favor. While she's here, I need you to look out for her. I'm not always available, so if I'm in meetings, off world, on duty, just keep an eye on her."

"Does she have a name?" Ronon asked, amused.

"Didn't I mention that?" Sheppard said, absently. "Her name is Grace."

"Hmmm… Grace," Rodney pondered. "Very pretty."

That comment alone earned him a glare from Sheppard. "It is. And she is. Pretty, that is. So do me a favor and keep any idiots from hitting on her."

Lorne just looked at Sheppard, amused. "And who'd try anything with the base commander's sister? Or half sister, that is."

Sheppard looked as if he remembered something. "Oh. Here's the thing. She requested that no one knows about our connection, at least for now. She doesn't want special treatment. Well, she was okay with me telling a few close people."

"Ah-ha," Rodney exclaimed, triumphantly. "So you do consider us as your best friends."

Ronon just knocked Rodney in the head, grinning. "Give it up, Rodney."

"So," Lorne said, wanting to make sure he got the details correct. "Watch her, help her adjust, that kind of thing." When Sheppard nodded, he asked one more question. "Who else besides us and Woolsey, know?"

Sheppard looked uncomfortable for a second and then tried to hide it. "Dr. Keller does as well. For medical purposes, of course."

Ronon smirked. "Yeah. Right. Well, if that's it… then let's eat."

Lorne trailed behind the three men as they exited the room. He thought over the conversation. It was interesting that John had pushed for this request. He knew, based on a few conversations with him and Ronon, that John wasn't close to his brother anymore. And the same went for his father before he passed away. Maybe he was trying to turn over a new leaf, to say, with this new found half sister.

In any case, he knew it wouldn't go as smoothly as Ronon and McKay took his request. By keeping her identity secret from others, he knew there'd be problems. Sheppard already hit on one… the men in the city outnumbered the females. If she was as good looking as Sheppard described her, Grace would no doubt attract a lot of attention. Secondly, Sheppard didn't say how he'd justify to others the amount of time he'd spend with her. If the main purpose of bringing her to Atlantis was to make up for lost time, the entire expedition would wonder what was going on with the two of them. It'd make it more uncomfortable for her as the new recruit as well as being female.

Lorne decided to bring it up to him if need be. Maybe, since Jennifer knew about it, Sheppard could get her to befriend Grace at first to avoid any speculation on Grace's relationship with John.

It was about to get more interesting around here, he thought.