Chapter Two – The Day After

John rolled into Dr. Weir office at 07:01 hours with a tray holding three steaming hot cups of coffee across his lap. He had no doubt that Col. Caldwell would be sitting in her office when he arrived.

"Good Morning Elizabeth, Sir." Coming to stop in front of her desk, he handed Elizabeth a cup of coffee and then handed one to Col. Caldwell.

"Morning John, and thank you." Elizabeth smiled at him while accepting her cup of coffee.

"Thank you Colonel." Caldwell took his mug of coffee and brought it up to his nose for a good whiff and then a slow taste. Yesterday had been one long day which had turned into one long evening.

"Not one of your better landings Sir." John was grinning when he said that. He took a sip of his coffee while Col. Caldwell formulated his response.

"You're right about that Colonel, however, any crash landing that you can walk away from is a good landing in my book." Caldwell nodded, but if you looked quick enough, you could catch a small grin forming.

"That's what I've heard." John deadpanned. "You're a few days early." John added.

John and Elizabeth took care of Caldwell's crew, while Caldwell remained on board the Daedalus overseeing damage control and repairs of a few systems. Neither one had the chance to talk with him about what happened.

"Yes, well…Hermiod had boosted the power crystals to the hyper-drive engines and as a result it shaved off thirty-three hours. Hope you don't mind us 'dropping' in early." Caldwell gave the Colonel a wry grin.

"Not at all Sir. Although I had to apologize to Atlantis for the 'dropping' in part." John paused a moment before he continued. "So, how did the Daedalus get a hole in her side?" Sheppard inquired sipping away at his hot coffee.

"Please tell Atlantis I'm sorry and offer my apology." Stated Caldwell before he started in on his explanation. "We dropped out of hyper-space early. Hermiod said the crystals were over heating a little too much for his comfort and the engines needed to cool down. Since we were close I thought it would be safe to drop out of hyper-space. We were just in the next solar system about two hours from your solar system. As we came out it was just our luck a Wraith hive ship was there. We went to battle stations right away but the hive ship got off the first shot before our shields were at full strength. We managed to defend ourselves plus took the hive ship down. Hermiod managed to get past their shields and we beamed over a Mark V. Then we set course for Atlantis and hoped to God that we could make it. Before we left we did a quick scan of the area and it seemed that it was the only Wraith ship in the area." Col. Caldwell had closed his eyes while recounting what he told Dr. Weir and Colonel Sheppard. Their final journey to Atlantis had been one heck of a ride. "Sorry for the hard landing Colonel, but with systems down and a hole in her side, it was a struggle to maintain control. My crew managed to get most of the flames under control, but we were limited, due to system malfunctions."

Elizabeth spoke first. "I'm just glad everyone is okay. Dr. Beckett informed me late last night that there was only one major injury, a broken leg. Everyone else escaped with cuts and small burns."

"I got the same report as well." Col. Caldwell paused a moment then continued. "We were turning when the Wraith fired. The area of the ship that took the Wraith blast was the brig and rec center. No one was in those areas thank goodness. But the beam damaged the communications array and some of the navigational systems. We only had communications about half the time, and then when we made that hard landing, it took two way communications off-line completely."

"What's the damage assessment?" Asked John, drawing another long sip of his coffee.

"We have a few systems that still need to be brought back on-line. Communications is top on my list right now. Thanks for the use of the comm's Colonel, looks like we might need them for a few more days. As for the hole in her side, your engineers and mine think they can weld a patch that will get us back home. We'll be staying a few extra days than we normally planned for. The engineers tell me it will take a week, maybe less, to get the weld secure enough for flight." Caldwell finished saying.

"Sir, you can stay as long as you need. We've already rolled out the welcome mat. Let me know if you need any of my personnel to help out. I know you have your own damage teams, but I'll be glad to supplement your people where I can." John offered.

Since being promoted to full Colonel and knowing that Col. Caldwell was the person who initiated it, John had a whole different attitude towards his senior officer. Sheppard no longer felt any distrust towards Caldwell. Now the two worked much better together.

Col. Caldwell set his empty mug of coffee on the edge of Dr. Weir's desk before responding to the gracious offer. "Thank you Colonel. I will let you know." Caldwell paused and reached for a box that had been sitting on the desk top. The box was about the size of a 9mm ammunition crate. "Before I forget, these are for you." Sliding the box toward Colonel Sheppard. "It's the promotions list and new rank insignia's for your people."

"Thank you Sir. With all the excitement, I almost forgot about this. My Marines would kill me if they didn't get their promotions on time." John stated jokingly. Looking at his watch it was nearly 08:00 hours. Time to head to the mess hall for breakfast. He would have to make a short stop off at his office to secure the box.

OoO

During breakfast, John got all caught up on the latest Mainland and Atlantis gossip. Teyla and Ronon had gone to the mainland early yesterday morning to drop off some supplies. They stayed pretty much all day and helped with the crops and Ronon helped repair a few of the huts. Teyla reported that Jinto had a special one. When John asked 'special one what', the group broke out laughing. Even McKay understood what Teyla meant. After explaining to John that Jinto had a new love, John wanted to go right to the mainland and have a talk with him. In his opinion, Jinto was too young to be interested in girls.

Then he had to listen to McKay whine about his new science people that showed up on the Daedalus yesterday. The six new scientists had only been on Atlantis less than twenty-four hours and they were already idiots by McKay's standards.

Evan told him about the Daedalus damage. His estimate matched that of the engineers. It would take a week to repair the ship for flight.

OoO

John was sitting in his office going over the promotions list carefully. Noting those names that he personally requested be promoted ahead of schedule. Most of the names on the list were automatic promotions. Promotions that were made based on length of time served. He guessed that eight-five percent were the Non-Commissioned Officers, as most of the Marines on base were. But he was pleased to see a few of the Officer's getting their just rewards.

It had taken the Colonel over two months to get Major Lorne's promotion request approved, signed and returned. John felt it only fair after all that he had done for him, for his team and for Atlantis.

Tapping his comm, "Sheppard to Major Lorne."

"Lorne here Sir, what can I do for you?" He kindly asked.

"If you're not busy, I need you to report to my office." John said simply, trying to hide his grin.

"On my way Sir, be there in a few. Lorne out."

John hated pomp and circumstance, but this time, this time he would enjoy every moment of it. A little over six month ago, John had been honored for saving the lives of four of his fellow expedition members. Then in a blink of an eye he had been sworn in as a full-bird Colonel.

John thought for a split second he should wait and do this up right. But working with Evan over the last three years and even more closely over the last year he knew this was the way to go. If Evan wanted a formal ceremony later he would comply.

John was fiddling with the silver leaves in his hand when Evan knocked on his office door. Motioning for him to enter, John wheeled himself out from behind his desk and faced the Major.

"Attention Major." John snapped out, straight faced, in a command voice you didn't want to challenge.

Major Lorne was taken by surprise, Colonel Sheppard never demanded he stand at attention before. 'What have I done this time,' the thought ran quickly through his mind. He snapped to attention, eyes forward, back straight, chin up. The perfect attention form; his drill sergeant would be pleased.

Evan was dressed in his dark gray BDU pants, with a dark blue ribbed long sleeved sweater. On each shoulder was an epaulette brandishing the gold oak leaves that identified him as a Major.

"Raise your right hand." John paused allowing Major Lorne to comply with his order before continuing. "It is my great honor and privilege to announce, Major Evan Lorne, United States Air Force you are hereby being promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, with all rights, pay and privileges hereby awarded. Lieutenant Colonel Lorne, do you solemnly swear to uphold the rank bestowed upon you to the highest Military standard and to conduct yourself accordingly?"

"I do, Sir." A stunned Lorne squeaked out.

"Evan, this is a bit awkward, but can you bend down a little." John stated with a quirky grin on his face. As Evan leaned forward enough for John to reach his shoulders, he stated. "These were mine. I've wanted to give these to you for a long time now. Whether you believe me or not, they did bring me good fortune. I hope they do the same for you." Pinning the last silver leaf in place.

Evan stood back up, saluted and said, "thank you Sir."

John returned the salute and held out his hand for a shank, Evan grasped it solidly. Then Colonel Sheppard stated, "you know, tradition states a promotion is sealed with a kiss. I just want you to know, you'll have to find someone else."

The two men looked at each other and broke out in laughter.

John reached over to his desk and snatched up a small black case. Inside were the silver oak leaves intended for the Major. "I wasn't sure if you were into big ceremonies or not, but if you are, I'll arrange it and we can do this all over again." Handing the black case to Lt. Col. Lorne.

Opening the case and seeing a second set of oak leaves he realized what the Colonel meant by 'these were mine'. Evan had been in shock and really wasn't paying close attention to what the Colonel was saying. He looked at the Colonel and smiled, "no, this is just the way I like it. Thank you again, Colonel."

"You're welcome Lt. Colonel Lorne, now if you don't have to hurry off, I have one more promotion I would like to see be taken care of personally. I'm leaving the rest of the Officers and Enlisted up to you to do on your own however you want …Colonel's privilege." John offered a small grin, knowing he was getting out of that detail. He knew that Lorne would do them, even if he had not pushed the job on him.

"I can stay Sir." Lt. Col. Lorne replied.

John tapped his comm and requested Dr. Beckett to his office. John was being a bit cryptic, but the Scottish Doctor complied. Within a matter of minutes, Carson came bounding into the office with doctor bag in hand. John just smiled and proceeded to explain what was going on. Carson smiled and was more at ease so he sat his bag down in one of the open chairs facing the Colonel's desk.

After he contacted Dr. Beckett, he radioed 1st Lt. Laura Cadman to come to his office. Three minutes after Carson arrived, Cadman knocked on the office door requesting entry. John motioned her in and then nodded to Lt. Col. Lorne to do the honors.

Lorne cleared his throat, he was a bit nervous. "Attention Lieutenant." Lorne croaked. His hands sweaty and his boss was watching.

Laura looked around the room, looked at each face intently trying to figure out what was going on. The Colonel was stoic as ever, with a glint in his eye and one eyebrow raised. Dr. Beckett had a smile on his face reaching from ear to ear. Looking at Major Lorne, she noticed his seriousness and when her eyes dropped a little, she noticed he as now a Lt. Colonel.

She snapped to attention quickly, uttering, "sorry Sir."

Lorne took in a deep breath and began, "raise your right hand Lieutenant." He paused. "It is my great honor to announce, First Lieutenant Laura Cadman, United States Marine Corps, you have been promoted to Captain, with all rights, pay and privileges hereby awarded. Captain Cadman, do you solemnly swear to uphold the rank bestowed upon you to the highest Military standard and to conduct yourself accordingly?"

"I do." Laura said with a smile big and bright. "Sir," she added.

Lorne reached forward and removed her silver First Lieutenants bar from her right lapel collar and replaced it with a pair of silver Captain bars. He repeated the process on her left lapel. When he was done and stepped back, Captain Cadman saluted. Lorne responded. "Okay Doc, you're up." He said looking at Carson.

Carson stepped forward and placed a gentle kiss on Captain Cadman's cheek, whispering congratulations in her ear.

"Thank you, Sirs." She smiled at all of them. "Congratulations Lt. Col. Lorne." She added.

John looked at both of them, "you both deserve this."

Carson hadn't noticed that Major Lorne was now a Lt. Colonel. He offered his hand to the new Colonel for a handshake.

"Alright, enough." John spoke up loudly. "Lt. Colonel, please post this notice on the bulletin board outside the orientation room. Here are your citations and insignias." Handing Lorne the large box off his desk.

Lorne accepted the box and all that came with it. He turned to Capt. Cadman, "Captain, please post this notice on the bulletin board outside the orientation room."

Captain Cadman accepted the notice with a smile. "Yes Sir."

"I think I'm going to like being a Lt. Colonel." Lorne said sheepishly.

All four began to laugh.

Dr. Beckett walked Capt. Cadman to the nearest transporter before heading back to his infirmary and his patients.

Lt. Col. Lorne was just about to leave when he stopped in the doorway and turned back. "Sir, do I get my own office now?"

John was just wheeling himself back behind his desk when the question was heard. Looking up at his Lieutenant Colonel he replied. "There's not enough room in here for the two of us. If you know of some place let me know. I'll talk to Dr. Weir and I'll make it happen."

"Thank you Sir." With that being said, Lorne walked out of John's office with his new rank and some new responsibilities.

OoO

Corporal Mitchell and Corporal Blair came walking around the corner; they were both headed for the mess hall for dinner. At rounding the corner the pair eyed a bunch of Marines murmuring and pointing to a sheet posted on the notice board outside of the Orientation Room. The two Corporals hastened their pace and edged and elbowed their way into the center of the group to get a look at what was posted on the board.

"Hey!...it's the promotion list." Corporal Mitchell turned his head back towards Corporal Blair and announced.

Elbowing his way in further, "let me look, would ya?" Corporal Blair said to no one in particular. Finally, getting close enough to view the listing his eyes scanned the list for his name. But it was not there. Disappointment was all over the young man's face.

Backing out of the crowd of Marines Cpl. Blair heard several others mutter their disappointment as well. It looked like he was not the only one not being promoted. He heard Lance Corporal Fisher utter a few words, as did Second Lieutenant Knoespel, Warrant Officer Jakubowski and Staff Sergeant Alcala. He was pretty sure he was not alone in his anger.

Corporal Blair stood against the opposite wall fists clinching and un-clinching. Thoughts of food no longer on his mind; teeth grinding at the thought of not making Sergeant. He needed the pay raise for back home. What was he going to do now was his only thought. Then it struck him. He would confront Colonel Sheppard and ask why he was passed over. Maybe it was all a mistake. Sometimes names do get left off the list. And with that thought in mind he headed for the Colonel's office.

Rounding the last corner that would lead him to Colonel Sheppard's office he was stunned to find two other soldier's outside the office. He came up behind Corporal Henderson and leaned against the wall, waiting his turn with the Colonel.

"Next!" Shouted Colonel Sheppard.

Sergeant DeFilippo walked into Sheppard's office. John thought the door shut behind the Sergeant as he stood at attention in front of the desk. Without saying a word John pulled up the Sergeant's file and read off the list of offenses: Brawling and Incomplete After Action Reports. Colonel Sheppard explained to the Sergeant why he passed him over and fifteen minutes later the Sergeant exited the office with a clear understanding.

"Next!" Came another shout from the office.

Corporal Henderson entered the office and stood at attention. John thought the door shut and accessed the Corporal's file and read off the list of offenses: Intoxication while on Duty.

The Colonel didn't mind his men taking an occasional drink but to be intoxicated while on duty was a definite black mark on your record.

Ten minutes later Corporal Henderson left the office, head down.

"Next! The Colonel said aloud.

Corporal Blair entered and stood at attention while Colonel Sheppard thought the door shut. The Colonel brought up Blair's file and read off the list of offenses: Brawling, Inappropriate Behaviour Off-World and Twenty-seven hours short of Duty Time.

A one-sided discussion commenced and an angry, frustrated young Corporal Blair exited the office eighteen minutes later, muttering to himself as he walked down the hall.

Ever since the promotion list had been posted John had had a steady line of Marines outside his office door. John had it down to a science after the first five. The Marine would enter; he mentally locked the door; looked up their performance evals; stated the offenses; advised the Marine what he or she could do to better themselves and then dismissed them. All without the Marine uttering a word and in less than twenty minutes. He was really getting good at this not that he liked it.

"Next!" Shouted Colonel Sheppard.

"Next!" He shouted once more expecting another Marine to file into his office. When no one did, John sighed a sigh of relief. He quickly closed down his laptop and tossed it under his seat. He wheeled himself out of his office faster than humanly possible.

Next time the promotions list comes out he was taking a weeks vacation and letting Lorne handle all the complaints. Fighting the Wraith would be more pleasant than explaining to good Marines how they messed up.

John headed to his quarters he didn't think showing up in the mess hall would be a good idea. Once he got to his room he tried to relax; tried to let the past several hours fade out of existence.

Seventeen Marines showed up at this office door once the promotion list was posted although not all at once but over the course of several hours. He had explained why they were passed over and what they could do to be better Marines. All in all, it was a long afternoon and very distasteful.

Carl came out of his room and was shocked to see the Colonel at this hour. The Colonel was just reaching for his laptop. "Colonel, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be getting dinner." Carl looked at his watch, noticing the time. He did his best to keep the Colonel on schedule.

Looking up John grinned, "I don't think the mess hall is very safe for me right now. The promotion list is out and I spent the whole afternoon talking to upset Marines," as he finished setting his laptop on the desk.

"What do you plan to do about dinner?" Carl asked folding his arms across his chest.

"I thought maybe I would get someone to bring me a tray." John said matter-of-factly. "I'll call McKay and see what he's up to, or there's Teyla or Ronon. Lorne's another person I can ask. It just isn't safe to be in the mess hall."

"Colonel…are you afraid of your Marines?" Inquired Carl.

"What?...No, no, no. Whatever gave you that idea? I'm just being cautious, that's all." John said.

Carl raised his eyebrow in disbelief, "I see."

OoO

John managed to get dinner and eat peacefully in his quarters. He was just powering up his laptop to get some work done when his comm beeped in his ear.

"Colonel Sheppard this is Sergeant Moore, you're needed in the gym Sir. And bring Doc Epson if he's available." Sergeant Moore reported.

"What's the trouble Sergeant?" John quirked an eyebrow.

"There's been…well Sir, some of the guys were letting off steam and things got a bit out of hand."

"Understood. I'm on my way. Sheppard out."

"Carl." John shouted toward Carl's room.

"Yes Colonel, what can I do for you?" Carl asked as he came around the corner of his room.

"Nothing for me, but I just got a call from Sgt. Moore. He says we're both needed in the gym. You available?" John looked up at Carl and with pleading eyes hoped the man would say yes. He sure as hell didn't want to face those Marine's on his own.

"Lead the way Colonel." Carl motioned toward the door and the two men headed for the gym.

OoO

"…you that you don't mess with angry Marines." John stated to Carl as they came back into his quarters. "It's just not wise. Why do you think I ate my dinner in here tonight."

"I think I understand now Colonel. It's late, you ready to hit the showers and call it a night?" Carl asked as he pressed a cold pack up to his right eye.

"Yeah…give me a couple of minutes to grab a few things." John said.

Carl nodded his understanding and went into his own room to survey the damage to his face. He knew he would have a shiner by morning.

John got his shower and dressed in sweatpants and black tee so he would be ready to run with Ronon in the morning. He positioned his wheelchair on the faded markings on the bedroom floor and activated the lift. After the day he had, some parts good and some parts not so good, he was ready to call it a day. The lift came down, he put his arms and head through, the lift rose and John rose with it. What happened next was totally unexpected.

The lift was beginning its slow motion turn to put John in front of his bed when the leather strap holding his body up broke on both sides and John collapsed to the floor. Falling forward and hitting his wheelchair on the way down, John lay in a heap of tangled body parts. The wind was knocked out of him and he was shocked at what had transpired.

After a brief moment, John regained his senses and called out for Carl. He didn't think he had enough energy to pull himself back up into his chair. Carl had taught him how to do that but right now his body ached. He couldn't imagine trying to do that alone. John, having fallen face first towards the floor, began to untangle his limbs and roll himself over into a somewhat seated position. Arms stretched back behind his torso holding himself upright.

Carl heard the Colonel yell for him and came swiftly into the Colonel's bedroom. stopping short as the vision of the Colonel sprawled out on the floor registered. He moved those last few steps towards the Colonel saying, "are you all right? What happened?"

"I'm fine. The strap broke on the lift." John replied, lifting the broken strap with his left hand as evidence of what happened.

Carl lifted the Colonel's right arm over his shoulder and eased the Colonel up. Once the Colonel was in a standing position, Carl grasped the Colonel's waist to better his hold. Almost lifting the Colonel off the floor Carl turned and took three steps toward the bed shouldering all of the Colonel's body weight finally easing the Colonel down onto the soft mattress.

"Are you sure you are all right?" Looking cautiously at the Colonel. He knew the Colonel's reputation for withholding injuries. "Maybe we should go see Dr. Beckett for a scan just to be sure."

"No, I'm fine, really. No broken bones…it was just a short fall, nothing serious." John was doing his best to reassure Carl that he was okay. He just felt a little achy.

"Colonel, did you hit your wheelchair when you went down, or did you try and pull yourself up by grabbing it?" Carl was looking at the wheelchair lying on its side.

"I fell into it. But I'm not hurt, just a bit surprised that the strap broke. And on both sides no less." John learned the hard way he had to be honest with Carl.

Carl reached down and picked up the strap to examine it closely. There was a stress tear on each end. Carl hated himself right now. It was his job to inspect the equipment and maintain it for the Colonel. He hadn't seen any prior evidence of tearing so it confused the heck out of him as to how fast it had broken.

"We'll go to the mainland in the morning after breakfast and see if Halling or someone can repair it." John mentioned. Washing his hand over his face, ready to call it quits for the night. "Hey, since the strap is busted, can you get me out of bed at 05:00? I'm running with Ronon in the morning."

"Sure Colonel. See you at 05:00. Are you sure you didn't hurt yourself." Carl asked one more time.

"I'm sure Carl, really. No harm done. Now goodnight. See you in the morning." John had pulled his lifeless limbs onto the bed and was laying back, eyes closing fast. The last he remembered was thinking the lights off.