Disclaimer: I lay claim to neither Stargate Atlantis the series or the Legacy series. MGM gets all the goodies.


Torren did not wake Rodney up, and in fact was unnaturally quiet. He seemed to decide that it was a situation that required silence, and spoke in a whisper (well, as much as a toddler is capable of speaking in a whisper) despite the fact that everyone else in the infirmary was speaking at full volume.

Teyla brought Torren in, explaining that Uncle Rodney was okay, he just needed a lot of sleep. Jennifer recalled Marie telling her that John had used a similar explanation when Teyla was recovering from a bruised hip, and bit back a smile. Torren nodded solemnly. "You can speak to him, if you'd like," Teyla offered, but the boy didn't seem to know what to make of seeing Rodney this way after so long an absence. He turned away from the bed, and was thus the first to notice John and Colonel Carter coming into the room.

Torren alerted the rest of the room to their presence with a simple, clear "Da!" This was clearly directed at John. Jennifer glanced at Jeannie, and they shared a smile.

"Hey, buddy. Are you visiting with Uncle Rodney?" Torren reached out an arm to John, and Tayla acquiesced with a smooth handover that bespoke much practice.

"I told Torren that he could speak to Rodney, if he wished. He is sleeping, but it is still good to wish good health on one's friends." Teyla provided this, in the tone of infinite patience that was unique to her.

John shifted Torren so he was looking at him. "Do you want to talk to Uncle Rodney?" The boy nodded mutely. "Well, go on, then." And they stepped closer to the bed.

"Do they really have no clue how they appear?" Jeannie murmured, having moved over to where Jennifer stood.

"I think they're aware of it, to a certain extent. They probably don't realize how freaking adorable they are," Jennifer replied. She heard a muffled snort from Colonel Carter's direction and cleared her throat discreetly. Carter was fighting a smile, but John and Teyla appeared too absorbed in Torren to notice.

Carter moved over to join them. "Do you have any idea when he'll wake up?"

Jennifer shook her head. "We're no longer administering morphine, so what you're seeing is a deep, natural sleep. I expect he'll sleep until his body has finished healing itself. One of the things we fought with in treating Michael the first time around was how eager his body was to return to its original state when it had the chance. In Rodney's case it was a little more difficult, but once we got the reversal process started, we didn't have to do much to encourage it." Jennifer smiled. "He wants to be human again."

"Unca Rony," Torren said. He was clearly trying for a whisper, but, well, he was 2. The three women turned their attention back to the bed. "Miss you! Miss you." Torren reached out one small hand to Rodney. John leaned in, and let the boy pat his friend's hand gently.

"Oh," Jennifer's emotions were still raw from her earlier breakdown, and she could feel the tears rushing to the surface. She felt something in her hand, and glanced down to find that Jeannie had given her another tissue. She smiled at her gratefully. Bonding with Rodney's sister hadn't been on her agenda this morning, but at the rate it was going, if the universe wanted to keep surprising her, she wasn't going to complain.

TBC