John waited for Larrin's call in Mr. Woolsey's office, pacing between the doors. She'd said she'd be on her way in a few minutes, and that was nearly an hour ago. He surmised that it didn't matter which galaxy he was in. The man would always wait for the woman.
Richard, while scribing some notes in one of the many files on his desk, started talking to him without looking up. "You know, I never was a father, but if I had to guess, this is what it is like when one of the children is waiting for their date to show up."
Sheppard didn't answer right away. He waited until he'd processed all of what Woolsey said. Feeling a bit insulted that Woolsey compared him to a son that he never had, he stopped pacing to look right at him. "You know, that..." John got cut off by the sound of the stargate registering an incoming wormhole.
"Unscheduled activation," Rodney said over the radio. The technicians still had not been allowed back to their designated duty stations, yet.
John rushed across the catwalk before Richard got out of his chair. When the vortex fully formed, John impatiently asked, "Who is it?"
"We are not receiving an IDC," Rodney answered. "But we are getting a transmission, audio only."
"Let's hear it." Mr. Woolsey now stood behind Sheppard.
"This is Larrin of the Travelers. Are you ready for me?"
"Open a channel." John waited for Rodney to work.
Depressing a button on the Ancient console, Rodney nodded to John.
"Larrin, we're ready when you are. Step on through." John tried to keep his excitement reined in as he quickly made his way down the stairs to the gate.
Moments later, Larrin materialized along with a couple of her security escorts. She looked as good as he could remember. She still wore the same style outfit, or uniform, that she did every other time he'd seen her. He had to admit that it accented her features quite well. Trying not to make it obvious that he was checking her out, he deliberately looked her in the eye. It took her a moment to catch up with him. Was she checking him out as well? Feeling flattered by the notion and seeing a similar grin on her face, John broke the silence. "Larrin, it's been a while."
"Not really." She was toying with him. "Now that I'm here, perhaps you will tell me what it is that have for me."
John smirked at her fake annoyance. "Sure. Why don't we take a walk."
Sheppard watched as she raised an eyebrow at him. He'd missed her facial expressions. "Fine, but my guards get to come along."
Her answer amused him. "No problem. They can shadow us to make sure we both stay on our best behavior." John decided to toy with her.
Larrin rolled her eyes at him and started down the corridor he indicated. "I didn't know we needed chaperones, or I would have brought more."
John laughed to himself. "So, how have you and your people been doing? Obviously you've set up another colony."
The question obviously caught her off guard. After a few steps, she answered, "We are doing well, thanks for asking. Though your stunt with the gate stirred a little bit of concern, especially given last year's events." John could hear the lingering pain in the last few words.
Feeling a bit guilty, John tried to apologize. "Yeah, sorry about that. It was the only way to find you. Despite your comment that you'd keep in touch, I had no idea where to look for you."
"So, what did you do, exactly?" Larrin's curiosity seemed real.
"We dialed all the gates in the Pegasus galaxy at once. Upon activation, we gathered the energy signatures we were getting back from each gate, compared them to yours, and hoped we got lucky." He simplified the whole process, trying not to confuse her.
"And when you found our energy signature, you called us up. Well done." Based on the intrigued smile on her face, the praise appeared authentic.
John nodded to her and steered her out a north side access to walk upon the edge of the city next to the ocean. "Thank you."
"So, why have you gone to all this trouble?" Her expression showed that she'd been stalled enough.
Well, here we go. "I've got something I'd like to give you."
"Yeah, you said that already over the video link. What, exactly?"
Sheppard grinned. "A ship."
"What?" Larrin's voice reflected her disbelief, stopping dead in her tracks.
"Seriously. I happen to know where there's a ship, and I'd like to give it to you." John wore a supremely confident smile on his face.
She still didn't believe him as she responded, "You're joking."
"Not at all."
He watched as she tried to recover. "Okay, what kind of ship?"
"Well, you're just gonna have to wait and take a trip with me to find out." He had the upper hand on Larrin—finally—and he knew it.
She gave him a piercing look. "Sheppard, what's the catch?"
"No catch." He raised his hands when she clearly didn't believe him. "There's no catch, honest. But you will need to bring some stuff with us." Sheppard dropped his hands. "And I'd prefer you call me John if we are friends."
"Oh, okay, John. What kind of stuff?" She seemed to be expecting 'the other shoe to drop'.
Sheppard chuckled at her latest expression. "Enough parts and equipment to replace a hyperdrive."
She resumed their stroll down the north side of the city, heading toward the north pier. John walked with her and waited for her to comment. She seemed to be taking the time to absorb all of what he said. When she finally did speak, her grin reappeared on her face. "If we do this, I'm going to need to know what kind and size of ship it is so that I bring all the parts necessary."
Sheppard had expected that answer and even rehearsed his response to it. "Well, to make sure that you've got all your bases covered, you'd better bring enough for a very large one, just in case. As far as adapting it goes, you should probably bring. . . .what was her name. . . ." He snapped his fingers a few times. ". . . .Mila, Katana's engineer."
Larrin appeared to be very amused by this point. "You think so, do you?"
"Oh, yeah. I've seen her work first hand on Katana's ship. Trust me, she'll be a big help. As a matter of fact, you could probably ask Katana to bring some of the excess parts you're gonna need on her ship."
"Sure, why not." She seemed to be humoring him, now. "So, John, is this ship on a planet where we can get the parts we need for it safely to it?"
John's face contorted as he really hadn't thought about that. "Well, no it isn't. But we should be able to use a jumper to move the parts from ship to ship."
"Hmm. And when would you like to do this?"
Sheppard let his excitement show. "As soon as possible. Of course, you will need to tell me when that is so I can make arrangements here on my end."
"Oh, of course." He saw right through the fake sincerity she now showed.
"So, would you like to take a trip with me?" John asked, summoning all of his will not to sound like he was pressuring her.
Sheppard watched her decision to relent ripple though her body. "Sure. Give me a few days to work out the details. I'll call you when I have made all the necessary arrangements on my end." Her sarcasm seemed to be in check.
He showed his triumphant smile. "Good. Now, how about we eat some real food for dinner before you go?" Sheppard was already leading the way back into the city.
"Not this time. I've got a lot of work to do to prepare."
"Alright," John hid his disappointment. After all, everything else about this meeting had gone smoothly. "Rain check then." Upon finding the original access they'd exited earlier, he led Larrin and her guards back to the gate and saw them off.
Once they were through the portal, Sheppard made his way up to Woolsey's office to find Richard still writing in the reports on his desk. John didn't wait for him to acknowledge him before he started. "So, these limited resources that I have for this mission. . .do they include the extended use of a jumper?"