A/N: Thanks for the reviews and following the story!

Chapter 2

He slowly made his way to the mess hall, nodding hello to the few people he walked past. He hadn't really socialized with many of the people here, just the friendly hello. He had had longer conversations with a few of them but he mostly kept to himself, even after all this time.

He pulled open the glass door, welcomed with the familiar murmur of the collective voices that filled the room. Picking up a tray, he piled it up with the offered food. He was starting to miss Atlantis' food, not that he ever wanted to admit it. He scanned the place for any open seats, most were taken but he spotted a familiar face in the sea of unfamiliarity and made his way over.

"Morning, Orasen," he greeted as he placed his tray on the table.

A bespectacled man, with gray, thinning hair looked up and smiled. "Hello, Sheppard."

John smiled and sat down. It had taken the man a while to get used to calling him Sheppard, at first he insisted on calling him by his rank, out of respect he had said but after much insistence he had finally convinced him to stop referring him by his rank.

"I was beginning to wonder where you were. You are usually here before me."

"Yeah, woke up late. Missed my morning run too."

Orasen smiled. "I take it you will spend your day in the Records again?" he asked. Since he had found out that the city had a form of database, he had spent some time everyday sorting through all of it, hoping to find some mention of a nearby Stargate or something that he or his team could use to get him back home but so far, he had come up with nothing. He was beginning to doubt that he would ever find anything. He had learned some history of the city, mostly it had collaborated what the Governor had told him.

"I've become that predictable, huh?" he chuckled.

"It is understandable," was all he said before turning his attention back to his breakfast. Orasen had been the only one who seemed to understand what he was going through and knew not to pry too much. Maybe that was one of the reasons why he had befriended him so quickly, he wasn't like the others, he understood his desire to make it back home, and the hope that his team will somehow come back for him, that no one gets left behind.

He had been a part of the High Council long ago, after serving some time as a soldier. His military background was considered an excellent asset and he had become the Governor's right hand man. That was until, John learned, they had formulated what Orasen later learned was a suicide mission that unfortunately his son had been a part of. He had been devastated and the Governor had only said that sacrifices had to be made. He had resigned then, the High Council had said they understood but Orasen had thought that they knew that he was no longer able to do the job they needed him to and were glad to get him out of the way. They had allowed him to continue living in the main building in the city.

He had also been his greatest source of information, much of the information in the Records seemed to be incomplete, at least in John's mind, and much of it was biased in his opinion. Having been the Governor's right hand man, he had much information that the general public and records didn't.

The Governor kept many scientists in the city working on top-secret assignments that no one was allowed to talk about but Orasen had seen some of the results of their work. He was obsessed with perfecting weapons and creating the ultimate weapon that would end this war and make him the leader of the new government, but there had been other assignments that even Orasen wasn't allowed to know about but at the time he hadn't thought much about it, he had only thought the Governor was looking out for his people.

He would have thought there would have been some sort of resistance from the people in the city but he didn't find a mention of it. Orasen had explained that there had been but those that resisted began to disappear and in fear people had begun to meet in secret. Some managed to leave the city, he wasn't exactly sure where they had gone. He had helped some people leave, but he was only responsible for taking them to a path, a path he had shown him in one of their walks.

"So, will you tell me more about this game you were talking about yesterday?" Orasen asked, breaking John's train of thought.

"Football?" he asked excitedly as his eyes lit up.

"Yes, that is the one."

Orasen looked at the man in front of him as he excitedly explained the recreational activity he seemed to be so fond of. He reminded him so much of his own son, they both had the same drive and sense of loyalty but unlike his son, Sheppard seemed to be closed off, reserved, much like he himself had been, long ago. It had taken quite some time for Sheppard to actually trust him and he was sure that he still did not completely did but he knew that he probably didn't entirely trust many people so he had been satisfied with it. He had begun to learn more about the man but he was sure that he had only scratched the surface of who he was. He truly believed that his team would come back for him, that much he knew, that they had not perished in the explosion. It was that which drove him, kept him going. "Nobody gets left behind," he had told him.

He had seen Sheppard's hope dwindle as time went by and knew that the man seemed to be at the end of his rope but he refused to let it show. But he was able to see the pain and hopelessness in his eyes, his eyes said it all. Others might have not been able to see that but he knew because he had seen the same look in his own eyes, he was familiar with it all.

He knew the Governor was waiting for him to lose that hope he held on so tight to, waiting for him to break down completely. Waiting so he could jump in and have him join their fight. He wasn't quite sure why he had been so interested in Sheppard and why he was so adamant on having him join his cause. He had inquired into the issue, using old contacts that he still had but came up with nothing. He figured that the Governor thought revenge might drive the man. A man with nothing left to lose was a dangerous man; nothing would get in his way.

So, he helped Sheppard keep that hope alive, motivate him as much as could even going as far as going to the Records with him, hoping to find that piece of information he so desperately needed. As he got to know him more, he knew that no matter how hard the Governor pushed and tried to break him, it would never happen.

He enjoyed the times he would speak of his home planet, his eyes would light up and a boyish expression would take over his features and for a moment, he saw the heavy burden that weighed heavily on Sheppard's shoulders lift.

"Is there not another activity you spoke of? It was..." he thought back. "Oh, yes. Surfing."

He watched Sheppard's genuine smile grow bigger.

XXXXXXXX

Making their way through the recently polished hallways, John looked out the windows. The sun was fighting its way through the dark clouds but the clouds gained dominance as they swallowed the orange orb and once again, left the world in darkness.

"Sheppard..." He turned his attention back to Orasen. "I have known you for over four months and there is a question I have never asked."

He waited expectantly.

Orasen chuckled. "Perhaps I am becoming more like my wife in my old age. I am sure it would have been the first question that she would have asked if she had met you."

John smiled at the twinkle he saw in the older man's eyes as he spoke of his late wife. He had mentioned her a few times in the past but every time he did, a somber look would fall on his face, so John decided not to broach the subject. But this time he had a much different look on his face, one of happiness, mostly.

"Okay, let's hear it," he chuckled.

"Do you have a nice, pretty girl waiting for you back home?"

John chuckled. "I'm afraid not."

Orasen narrowed his eyes and studied him. "Hmm..."

John couldn't help but chuckle again and shake his head.

"If you say so," Orasen finally said.

As they descended the stairs, John heard the echo of his own chuckle fill the hallway. "That tone suggests that you don't believe me."

Orasen gave him a smirk and shrugged his shoulders. "But…" he started. "I see that this team of yours…they are your family. Am I correct? Do you see them as your family?"

He cast his eyes downward but stayed silent, as he thought about Rodney, Teyla, Ronon, Carson and Elizabeth. He wondered if he was ever going to see them again and how much they had come to mean to him over the three short years that he had known them. They had become his surrogate family, something he never thought he would find again. A family and a place to call home.

"That is good, that you have people you care about and who, I am sure, care greatly about you."

John looked up and gave him a small, lopsided smile.

Orasen shook a finger at him and chuckled. "But you still need a nice girl."

John chuckled. "So, what was your wife like?' he asked, hoping to get the attention away from himself and knowing that it would make the older man happy.

tbc

This was mostly exposition but I promise the next chapter will have a bit more action.