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"This house is quite large," Teyla commented as John gave her a short tour of the downstairs rooms. "How many people reside here?"

"Well, growing up it was my Mom and Dad and me and Dave. Now, I guess it's just Dave."

Teyla's eyes grew wide. "One person lives by themselves in this entire place?"

John gave a half grin and shrugged. "Yeah."

He walked further down the hall into a very large formal living room that sported immense Palladian windows along one wall. Only a few people were in here at the moment. John wandered around and checked out the décor, wondering how much had been changed since he'd lived here. The walls had gotten a fresh coat of paint and the furniture had been replaced but many of the knick knacks were familiar.

Teyla strolled up behind him and gazed at the family portrait on the wall. It had been done shortly after they found out his Mom was sick. She had wanted one done while she still looked good.

Teyla placed her hand on John's back and asked, "What age were you in this picture?"

John thought for a minute and answered, "Twelve, I think. So I guess Dave was almost fourteen. Yeah, he was just starting high school."

"Your mother was a beautiful woman. I see much of you in her features, although I believe Dave has more of your father's looks."

John nodded and responded, "That's what most people say. And not just like her in looks. Apparently I was like her in a lot of other ways. I know Dad would get so frustrated with her at times." Like he did with me.

He looked at the image of his father, much younger and gazing at his wife. There was so much devotion in his eyes but there was a sadness as well, knowing he would most likely lose this woman much too soon.

"But Dad really loved her a lot. I know he did. It was really hard on him when she died. That's when things started getting tense around here and when he started ramping up the control volume on what Dave and I could do and where he wanted us to go in life."

"And you did not like that," Teyla stated obviously. She reached up and touched the hair that refused to lay flat on John's head no matter how much it was combed. "I sometimes wonder if this is not your own way of showing that you refuse to conform to certain standards."

John took Teyla's hand and grinned at her outrageous statement. "Maybe. And believe me there is no controlling that. I've spent my whole life trying."

Teyla continued to gaze at the portrait of the much younger John Sheppard, wondering if their son would look like that when he reached the same age. She was hopeful that he would have the appearance of his father as she found it to be quite a pleasant one. She had thought that from the first moment she had laid eyes on him. She glanced at him now and still felt a thrill course through her at just how handsome he was; and how lucky she was to have caught his eye and become the object of his affections.

A young brunette walked up to Sheppard and addressed him formally, "Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard?"

John looked at her with a question in his eyes. She wasn't familiar and he wondered what she wanted and why she was addressing him with his military rank.

She introduced herself as Ava Dixon and started throwing out the names Henry Wallace and Devlin Medical Technologies. John quickly stopped her, glancing nervously around the room to find it thankfully empty. But the small amount she'd said made him realize he should find out what she wanted, but not here.

He steered her and Teyla outside and started toward the car when he saw his brother heading his way. He handed the keys to Teyla and said he'd meet them at the car. He paused and waited for Dave to approach.

Dave started talking as he got closer to his brother. "John, I was thinking that we should probably…"

"Look, something came up," John interrupted. "I gotta go."

Dave looked at him incredulously. "It's Dad's wake." He couldn't believe his brother was bailing already. But then he and his lady friend had already hung around for well over two hours. Maybe they figured that was a good enough showing to be able to claim the goods they expected to come their way.

"I know but this is work related," John made the excuse.

"Oh, oh, what is it, top secret, national security, that sort of thing?" Dave scoffed knowing his brother liked to pull out the 'my work is so important and vital' card.

"Something like that," John agreed.

"You know this is so typical," Dave grumbled and John grew tired of his brother's beating around the bush.

"You got something to say just say it," John demanded.

David figured if John wanted the truth he'd get it. Straight out. "Look, there's just one thing I want to know; what's your level of expectation here?"

John looked truly confused and David wondered if it was all an act or if his brother really didn't know what he meant by that.

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"I mean are you going to challenge the will?" David laid his cards out on the table for all to see. Maybe John would be truthful and simply say that yes, he was just here for the money. "I have no idea what it says of course but I think I can guess."

And his guess would be that their father left him just about everything. And that was as it should be. He was the one who had conformed to all their father's standards and put his own desires on hold to please the man. John had done none of that and in David's eyes didn't deserve the wealth that David had worked so hard to achieve, albeit with the guidance and assistance of their Dad.

"That's what you want to talk about?" John's voice was filled with uncertainty and David began to wonder if maybe John had been thinking of a different topic entirely. He eyed David and repeated, "You want to talk about money?"

"That's why you're here, isn't it; you and your wife, girlfriend, lover? I don't even know what she is to you, John." David responded truthfully. "You've been gone a long time John. It's not such a stretch. And you come back with some woman who's supposedly having your baby and another heir to the Sheppard fortune. Do you even have any idea if the baby is yours? "

"You have no idea what you're talking about," John said disgustedly and began to walk away.

"Hey," David called and as John turned around David hated to see the look of hurt that had crossed his brother's face. Maybe he had been wrong about why John had come back. He wished he had some way of knowing for sure.

"If I've got the wrong impression of you, it's not my fault. You're the one who left remember? I stayed, I looked after Dad, I ran the business while you were off doing … God knows what." And David knew that was why he deserved most of the inheritance and he sure wasn't going to sit by while John and his freeloading wife, or whatever she was to him came and split up the pot even further by throwing in another heir. Who knew if the child was even his.

John lowered his head to look at his feet then tilted his head back up, "I'm assuming that's what Dad wanted."

Okay, good excuse John, but how do I know this isn't all an act to worm your way back into getting the family money? But seeing the pain in John's eyes Dave wondered if it wasn't an act; if John truly thought their father had wanted him to stay away. If that was the case then John needed to know the truth.

"No, no it's not, John. Dad regretted what happened between you two, right up to the end."

David couldn't handle trying to figure out what his brother's true motives were in coming here right now and he had already spent too much time away from the guests. He turned around and headed back to the house, knowing that if John was really here just for the money then he'd be back.

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The conversation with Ava Dixon was an interesting one and John was actually looking forward to having something like this to concentrate on. The whole scene with his brother had shaken him up a bit. Dave had said their father regretted what had happened between them. And for how long had he regretted the fight; a few weeks or a few years? Had his Dad read the letter John had sent or had he never gotten it and regretted their fights anyway? It was too much to think about right now especially as he would probably never know the answers to those questions.

But he was remembering Dave's accusation that he had only come back for the money. And the even more insulting accusations that Teyla just wanted money from him or that they had planned the baby just to get money or that Teyla was pawning the baby off as his just to get money. See, this was the reason he had hated living with this family. All they thought about was money.

Thinking back he knew it wasn't true, though. His Mom had never really cared about it too much. Oh, she had known how to spend it but she had still been frugal and hadn't wasted it on inconsequential things. And she had donated quite a bit of it to charity. His Dad had always loved that tax write-off.

And truthfully, his Dad's goal had been to be successful in business but he had always taught his sons not to waste their money on stupid things that had no meaning. But his Dad thought a house in every corner of the world had lots of meaning. And a membership at the Country Club had lots of meaning. Or maybe the word should have been prestige because his Dad thought prestige was a very meaningful thing. And now it looked like Dave had followed right along in their father's illustrious footsteps.

John sighed as he realized he needed to get back to his newest problem. One he felt a little more capable of dealing with. He made arrangements for some military muscle and after forcing their way in and picking up Dr. Richard Poole, the group was beamed aboard the Apollo. Dr. Poole was not cooperating but Dr. Lee had been brought on board and was working on the problem of locating the missing human form replicator.

As he and Teyla made their way through the corridors of the Apollo, John heard his name called from behind him.

"Colonel Sheppard?" He wasn't surprised to hear his rank here on the ship as many of the inhabitants were military and would address him as so. But he was surprised when he turned around and saw the man in the dark colored suit who had called out to him.

"Bates," John acknowledged and he felt Teyla stiffen right beside him. "What are you doing here?"

He shook the man's hand and noticed Bates eyeing Teyla's apparent condition. "After my run-in with the Wraith and subsequent Honorable Discharge, I started working for the IOA. They've formed a special task force dealing with any alien threats on this planet."

"You remember Teyla, I'm sure," John indicated the woman next to him.

Teyla forced a tiny smile on her face and tipped her head in greeting. John figured it was all she could manage. The two of them had never really gotten along, especially after Bates had all but accused her of working with the Wraith. Bates was lucky she hadn't kicked his ass. Oh, she had tried but John had stepped in and broken up the fight. He wasn't sure Teyla had ever forgiven him for that.

"Of course I remember." Bates' smile was almost smug as he glanced down at Teyla's stomach yet again. "Good to see you again, Ma'am."

He looked back up at Sheppard and commented, "You two finally make it official?"

John shrugged and knew he didn't want to get into this conversation so he simply said, "Yeah, we did."

He moved off down the hallway giving Bates the rundown on what was happening and where they planned on going with this once they actually got a location on the replicator.

There wasn't much to do as Dr. Lee tried to break the algorithm code in order to get a signal from the target so John made sure Teyla was assigned a bunk and encouraged her to get some rest. He didn't know when they'd be able to go after this thing. And he truthfully wasn't letting Teyla anywhere near it in her condition, anyway.

He himself settled in one of the empty labs and went over any data they'd managed to get from Devlin Medical or Stanton Research which was also involved according to Ava. He'd been pouring over the information for a few hours when Bates entered the room bringing him a cup of coffee.

"Thought you might need one of these around now, Sir."

"You know you don't need to call me that anymore, Bates, right?" John chuckled.

"Just old habits, I guess," Bates explained. "Is it the way you like it? Black, right?"

"Good memory, thanks."

Bates sat himself in one of the chairs and glanced around the room. "So is this your first?"

Sheppard looked up with a question in his eyes. "First?"

"You and Teyla?" Bates clarified. "Is this your first child or do you have others?"

John let out a breath knowing Bates had lots of opinions about his relationship with Teyla and he had been very verbal about those thoughts back when he'd worked there with them.

"Yeah, this is our first," John reported and looked back at the computer screen in front of him hoping Bates would get the message that this wasn't the kind of conversation John wanted to be a part of.

But the man obviously didn't get the hint or he wanted to gloat that he had known all along that the two of them had harbored feelings for each other. Bates had kind of been like that now that he thought of it. The man had liked to be right regardless of tact or etiquette.

"I'm kind of surprised it's only your first, actually," Bates continued. "You two were pretty hot and heavy when you first met. I guess you were lucky she didn't get knocked up back then."

"Bates," John growled. "I know I have no authority over you anymore but that comment is completely out of line."

"Especially since it is not based on any factual information," Teyla accused from the doorway. John hadn't even heard her come in. But then she always did move very sleekly. "The Colonel and I were not involved in a relationship at that time."

"Oh, please," Bates rolled his eyes. "Everyone knew you two had a thing for each other, it was very noticeable. Even before the Colonel realized your necklace was giving away our position to the Wraith he defended you. You were obviously giving him a little something for him to be so caught up in your innocence."

Teyla strode with purpose toward the man and John got up to intercept her. He knew that even in her advanced stage of pregnancy Teyla was still a force to be reckoned with. And he wasn't sure Bates truly realized this. Any other time it might be amusing to see Teyla tear a strip off him but he needed the guy to help him find and deal with the replicator and he didn't want Teyla to do anything that would put their child at risk.

"Teyla," John placated in a pleading tone, "It's getting late. Why don't we call it a night? If they still haven't gotten a location by morning, I'd like to try and attend my Dad's funeral."

Teyla gave a heavy sigh but John's gentle hands on her arms and the catch he couldn't quite hide in his voice when he spoke of his father's funeral made her reign in her temper. She sent a chilling glare past John toward the man still sitting with his arms across his chest. She still wanted to wipe the smug smile off his face but she would forego that desire for now. John had apparently not forgotten the pain that he had needed to deal with even though he had been occupied with other things for the past few hours.

John walked with her down the corridor and back to the room they had been assigned to for the night. Once the door was closed, he started pulling off his shirt then sat down to kick off his shoes and tug off his socks. He looked up and found Teyla still standing right inside the door with her arms folded over her chest. Her face was hard as granite.

"Come here." He held out his hand and urged Teyla to sit next to him. She released a huge sigh and did as he asked.

"You can't let him get to you, Teyla," John told her. "You don't work together anymore and after today you probably won't ever see him again. Just forget about it, okay. For me."

His pleading eyes were what made her anger start to cool. It had been a very hard time for John since he'd found out his father had died and she knew he didn't need to put extra effort into dealing with her little upset.

She nodded and reached for her bag to gather her nightgown. She frowned when she looked at it. It was sleeveless and made of cotton and had little lace around the edges but it was huge and shapeless and Teyla wanted to cry that it was the only thing she'd been able to fit into lately.

"I do not wish to be this large anymore, John," she complained gazing at the nightgown again. "It will be nice when I can fit into my old clothes and be pleasing to look at again."

"Teyla," John warned, "You know I think you're the most beautiful woman in the world right now, don't you?"

Her eyebrow rose and she hoped maybe she could get him forgetting about all his troubles. Sometimes all it took was a bit of teasing.

"Only right now, John?" she asked with a twinkle in her eye. "But what about tomorrow or a month from now?"

John sidled closer and pulled her into his arms. "You'll always be the most beautiful woman in the world to me, Teyla. Even when we're old and gray, you'll still be beautiful in my eyes."

Teyla allowed him to give her a tiny kiss before she responded impishly, "But I do not plan on becoming old and gray, John."

John chuckled and swiped his lips over hers again. "Then I guess I'll be the envy of everyone in the nursing home, won't I?"

They both chuckled and John's hands helped her unzip her dress and slide into her nightgown. He took a few minutes to talk to the baby and give him instructions to ease up on the bladder tonight if possible. He pulled the sheets down for Teyla and offered to take the top bunk. Damn ships weren't meant for married couples.

"You know I cannot sleep without your arms around me, John," Teyla said in response. "I have gotten too used to them being there. These beds are still larger than the benches on the jumper and I recall we fit on those well enough together."

John shucked his pants and climbed in next to her. He put his nose up next to her ear and whispered, "Yeah, but you were a lot smaller when we shared the benches."

Teyla turned her face rapidly to his but stopped her tirade when she saw the look of mischief in his eyes and the upturned grin aimed right at her. That grin always made her stomach do flips and she wondered if there would ever come a time that she was not affected by it. She did not think so. She would never tire of staring at him; he was so beautiful to look at. She lifted her hand to his face and inched her head closer.

John's grin grew more crooked. "You need something?"

"Yes, very much," Teyla answered. "I am in need of my husband to show me how much he wants me and needs me and loves me."

"That's easy, Teyla," John pointed out. "Ask me to do something hard."

"Okay," Teyla replied and looked down at her very rounded stomach and giggled. "You must do it with this between us."

John moved his head until his lips were touching that very rounded stomach and his hands caressed it lovingly.

"Hmm," John mumbled as his hands roamed over her stomach and then sides and back and hips and up to her other curves. "That's not really hard to do; I just need to be creative."

Teyla leaned her head back against the pillows reveling in her husband's touch. She loved it when he got creative.

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