"Morning!" cries Astra as she bounces on the bed
"What, already!" moans Evan
"Uhuh, it's light outside" as she continues to use the bed like a trampoline
"Okay sweetie I'm getting up" he looks to Ki's side of the bed and finds it empty "Ki?" he calls, she pokes her head round from their kitchenette
"Oh you're awake, stay there" she orders
"Okay" he sits up and makes himself comfortable whilst Astra sits between the two sets of pillows "What are you doing?"
"You'll see" a few minutes later she emerges with a tray "Breakfast in bed" she puts the tray in the middle of the bed
"Wow, coffee, OJ and pancakes" mummers Evan
"Well you do it so often for me, I thought a change would be good" Astra giggles and picks up a slice of toast
"At least we have the weekend off" sighs Evan contently "No interruptions"
"No none, I'm seeing Sam later to see what else we need for Astra and order it from Earth. What are you going to do today?"
"Go for a run and paint" Astra looks at him
"Paint?" she repeats
"Yes, you remember that big picture we gave Carson and Laura yesterday?" she nods "Well that was painted; it's what I like to do in my spare time"
"Okay, so if we see Sam whilst you go for a run, then you can have Astra for the afternoon to paint"
"Sounds like a plan" comments Evan
A few hours later Ki and Astra are walking up the steps to the control room and along to Sam's office
"Col?" says Ki reservedly
"Ki, come in, have a seat" welcomes Sam warmly, Ki sits and Astra scrambles to sit on her lap "How are you doing?"
"In what sense?" asking for clarification
"I mean in general, in your job, living on Atlantis"
"Brilliant, thanks I love it here and my job"
"That's good to hear. So we need to look at what Astra here needs"
"Yes, I don't really know what we are going to need, things like quarters, bedding and towels have already been sorted. And I know we'll need clothes" Sam interrupts
"Don't worry, it will sort itself out. She'll need toys and games, art and creative equipment, like pencils, felt tips, paints" Ki laughs "What?"
"Evan is going to show Astra how to paint this afternoon"
"Oh that will be nice for her" Astra giggles "personal items like picture frames, blanket" Sam pauses whilst she writes everything down "and clothes"
"There aren't many places on Atlantis for that, at least not from what Laura has been telling me of Earth" Sam's smile falls slightly "Col?" she asks
"Evan is due some R'N'R, he has requested to go back to Earth for 2 weeks; I had authorised the time off" Ki's looks like a big dark cloud is hanging over her "He didn't tell you?"
"No, he didn't" she says angrily
"Well, he asked if you could go with him" Ki looks up "I agreed but under certain conditions"
"Really? Astra too?" Sam nods "What are the conditions?"
"All members of the SGC and the expedition have signed a non-disclosure agreement, which means anything related to the Stargate, missions, here, our space craft etc, should not be discussed outside of the base and of course not with people who haven't signed the form" Ki nods "I have been asked by the IOA to get you to sign a form before you get to Earth"
"Okay" Sam produces the form and Ki signs
"Whilst on Earth you can shop for yourself and Astra. I know that Dr Lam and Cassie will be more than willing to help, along with SG-1"
"I know Dr Lam, but who is Cassie?"
"Cassie was rescued from her planet 10 years ago, she lived with Dr Frasier, until her death 4 years ago and now is training to be a doctor, so she knows everything you will need and will probably be the best person to answer your questions. I am also sure that Major Lorne's mother will help you as well"
"Evan's going to see her?"
"Yes, partly why he wanted to go to Earth, I think he wants to introduce you" Ki smiles weakly "We dial midway on Thursday, the SGC know that you are coming" Sam reaches into a draw of her desk and produces a file "That will give you time to read this" she hands it to Ki
"What is it?" looking confused
"Well because you are not from Earth we have to "make you up"" Ki looks at Sam puzzled "On Earth when people are born there is a record made of your name, date & place of birth, parent's names and occupation. Then you get other forms of ID like a driving licence, passport and such as you get old. There are other things like high school graduation and college graduation. Now you won't have any of this so we have to make it up, if there is anything you aren't happy with or want to change come and see me and I'll see what I can do. We added Astra in too"
"Thank you" Ki slides Astra off her legs and stands up
"Oh Ki I almost forgot, people here get paid for doing their jobs, so Evan requested that you also get paid."
"Paid?"
"Yes you earn money from doing your job which you can then use to buy food, clothes, toys and many other things on Earth"
"Evan" she mutters
"He told you none of this?"
"No, again failed to mention anything"
"Well we have set up a bank account for you, to which your salary goes into, you'll get around 800 a month, and so with back pay of 8 months is 6,400"
"Thank you again Col" Sam just nods, Ki takes Astra's hand and heads straight for pier 4.
When they arrive Evan has already set up his chair and easel and is admiring the view
"Nice day" comments Ki
"Hey" he turns round "Yes it is" Astra runs to him, "Hello sweetie are you ready to learn how to paint?"
"Yes!" she cries
"First Astra I need to talk with Evan" her tone serious, Evan gulps and looks at her hand waving the folder Sam gave her, Astra wonders off to the other side of the pier area
"You're mad, I can tell"
"No more upset" she retorts "Sam said you are going to Earth on Thursday"
"Yes" he tries to speak but gets interrupted
"Well Astra and me are coming too" her frown turns into a grin
"That's great" he hugs her
"And I've signed the non-disclosure form so the IOA will be happy." Evan just smiles at her "And Sam also said I'm getting paid"
"Yes" again he is interrupted
"I wish you had told me"
"Well it was all to be a surprise" he pauses "Which it still is, kind of" he takes the folder from her hand "Shall we read this and check you are okay with it all?"
"Yes" she turns to Astra "Astra sweetie, come over here please" the little girl comes running over and sits down Evan and Ki join her, Evan opens the file
"So Ki you are born in a town called Fort Collins, it is 2 hours north of Denver a little way up into the Rocky mountains, date of birth August 1st 1982, born at home. Parents Ariarna and Eron Char, both deceased in a car crash when you were 8."
"Okay sounds fine so far, are there the details of the crash?"
"Yes, they were driving home one evening in winter when they hit a very icy patch of road, he lost control and went off the road, the car rolled killing both instantly; you being at home with a babysitter."
"Right, after that?"
"Raised by an aunt in Fort Collins till you graduated High school in 2000, had Astra when you where 19, her father left you when you told him you were pregnant so have been a single mom from the beginning; you done part time training as a nurse in the hospital in Fort Collins and moved to Colorado Springs in 2004 for a fresh start."
"Sounds okay, better than the actually life I have had, so I'm a civilian nurse?"
"Yes, why?" he enquiries
"Well then how do we meet? Because if I worked on base then we could say though work" She looks lovingly at Evan
"It may be an idea; some people on Earth join the military so they do not have to pay for training at college" he thinks and reads the file "Arh here we go, we do meet at work but at the civilian hospital, a friend of mine is admitted for what ever reason and I come to visit him and you're his nurse!"
"Okay, so you ask me out then?"
"Yes, after having come in a few times to visit my friend and being prodded by him to do so"
"Prodded?"
"Yes, sometimes people can see if two people can make a go of a relationship, even if the 2 people in question can't see it, so sometimes friends suggest asking someone out" he grins with glee, having done it himself for other friends
"That makes sense, so it is like you can't see what's right in front of you?"
"Yes exactly we are sticking to the 8 months. So the first date, we go out to a local bar, but you have had a string of unsuccessful dates and guys in the past due to being a single parent. Natural you are nervous about seeing a new guy because you think he will be like all the others and run as soon as he hears you have a kid."
"From what Laura has told me, many men do run at the thought of being a step-father" she pauses to think "but you turn out to be different"
"of course, at the bar you are all nervous, watching the time not settling down, so I ask you what the problem is and you reluctantly explain about Astra and how guys have left in the past, so you get up thinking I'm going to give the same answer"
"But you surprise me?" she jumps in; Evan nods "You wrote this part didn't you?"
"Okay yes I did, I thought it would be easier for me to write it, having been on dates before and it being on Earth"
"No that's fine, I just wondered, please carry on"
"So after I surprise you with my answer, we head back to yours pay the babysitter and watch TV and chat. It carries on like this for a few weeks, with phone calls, cards and dates. Until you introduce me to Astra"
"ME!" she cries at the sound of her own name
"And we get on, which of course we do"
"And it goes from there?"
"Yep, only with trips to kid friendly places, like the zoo, parks, picnics and still having dates"
"And dates are like, romantic meals at restaurants and at home?" Evan nods "And nights at each others places" Astra giggles "Cheeky" he tickles her making her roll on the floor "So what do you think?"
"I love it, sounds really good. Sam said that there is paper work involved with inventing me."
"Yes birth certificate for you and Astra, high school graduation certificate and of course your nursing certificate, which you have but Carson has lied about the date, then there, is your passport, which you use as ID for travelling inside and outside the States. We didn't give you a driving licence, seeing as you've never driven a car, and aren't likely too. We did however get you an ID card to prove your age and address, which you can use to prove you age when buying things like alcohol and age restricted products."
"Sounds great, and of course my bank account"
"And that, now that is registered to USAF accommodation, which does and doesn't exist" Ki looks confused "The AF set up a fake set of addresses for people who work in Atlantis so we can still receive bank statements and have parcels delivered, it is block of flats on Hill AF base, which we use when we go to Earth, a group of us share one address."
"Okay, but we are pretending that I now live there?"
"Yes for the last 2 months, and that is where your bank statements will arrive and that is where my mom sends me things"
"I understand, it's complicated but I get it" she pauses "What is your mom like?
"She's wonderful, she was an art teacher, she taught me how to paint, so she loves kids, great with my sister's 2 and I know she'll love Astra." He looks at Astra looking out across the ocean. "There is one other thing" Ki turns to him "As you are a single parent, mom will ask if I intend to be honourable and adopt Astra because we are engaged."
"Right, well I don't see a problem with that, that is happening anyway"
"It is, but I thought I warn you that might ask"
"How come you never mention your father?" a pank of sadness sweeps across him "I only ask as I don't want to upset anyone"
"No, it's fine, my father was in the military a Col in the AF, he died serving his country" Evan bows his head "He was flying over Bosnia, a country on Earth, he got shot down and died in his plane that caught on fire on landing"
"God Evan I'm so sorry"
"It was 12 years ago, I was 20, 18 months out of basic training and a year out of officer training"
"So he saw you join the military?"
"Yes, I nearly left I resented him, but mom convinced me that it is what I wanted and what dad wanted."
"And are you glad you did stay?"
"Of course, I know now that it wasn't his fault, he was doing what he loved and he wouldn't have wanted it any other way. My older brother also joined too"
"You have a brother? Is he as good looking as you?"
"Yes I have a brother and no I got the good looks thank you! He is a Col, Andrew"
"Col Andrew Lorne and Major Evan Lorne, sounds nice, so your sister isn't in the military?"
"No but her husband is, again the AF" they sit in silence listening to the ocean "Okay, I'm going to show Astra how to paint"
The sun starts to set; Astra yawns but continues painting on her pad, the door to the peir opens
"Evening everyone" greets John
"Sir!" exclaims Evan in shock
"And what are we all up to this fine evening?"
"PAINTING!" cries Astra
"Wow, looks good" comments John as she holds up one of her paintings, Evan wipes her hands
"Is there anything I can do for you sir?" asks Evan
"I just stopped by to check that Ki was happy with the history we made for her"
"She is happy Col" calls Ki from behind him
"Sorry, I didn't see you there" apologises John
"That's okay, no I am happy with everything thank you"
"Well, I'll let you get on, see you at the briefing on Monday Major"
"Yes sir" Ki and Evan smile at each other
"That was nice of him stopping by"
"Yes it was" he looks at Astra "I think this one needs to go to bed"
"Yep, I'll take her if you want to pack up?"
"Okay I'll be 5 minutes" and with that Ki picks up Astra and heads to their quarters