AN: MERRY CHRISTMAS! There's no JT here, please don't hurt me! The next chapter and the one after that will be filled with it, I promise! There is some cute Rodney/Katie stuff, though. As usual, enjoy! And thanks for all the reviews, I love them!
Chapter Six
Decisions
Carter groaned as she listened to Woolsey and Colonel Caldwell ramble on about Ilah. He had just gated in from Earth through the Midway Station.
"What did Sheppard say in the meeting?" Woolsey asked as he nervously paced Carters office.
"He was not happy with the choices." Carter said frankly. She wasn't even happy with the choices.
Caldwell leaned forward in his chair. "She is a security issue." He said lowly.
"She's a toddler." Carter said incredulously. Neither of the men in her company seemed convinced of anything else. "I think we should ask Dr. Heightmeyer." She said firmly.
"Why?" Caldwell and Woolsey hissed simultaneously.
"She is very attached to him, I don't want her or him to suffer." Carter explained irritatingly.
"That's not your choice." Woolsey spat.
"Actually, it is." Carter almost laughed. Caldwell and Woolsey shared uncomfortable looks. "Dr. Heightmeyer will evaluate both Sheppard and Ilah, and I will listen to her decision on the matter." She said in a final tone. Caldwell made a sour-like face while Woolsey shifted uncomfortably. "Until then, gentleman." She said nodding to the door of her office. The men begrudgingly took the hint and left the room.
Carter sighed as she closed her eyes and rubbed the sides of her temple. She was only alone for a moment before the door slid open quietly. She dropped her hands and opened her eyes to see a nervous looking Teyla.
"Teyla, how may I help you?" Carter asked with a slightly forced smile.
"I just received word from my people, two of the men that helped Corvel have escaped." Teyla explained worryingly.
"Do they know Atlantis' gate address?" Carter asked quickly.
Teyla sighed through her nose with an ashamed look. "I believe so." She said uneasily.
Carter was silent for a moment, a million thoughts going through her mind before she asked the question she had been thinking about. "Do you think they would try to finish what they started?"
"I do not know, but if they do, I am sure John will not be so kind if they try." Teyla said with a touch of anger in her voice.
"I can only imagine." Carter muttered under her breath. "Inform Chuck, tell him not to lower the Iris for anyone without a IDC." She ordered firmly.
Teyla nodded and turned to leave.
"Teyla," Carter interrupted, Teyla turned back to the commander of Atlantis. "Do you think Ilah should stay?" She asked almost desperately.
"She is a smart girl, and is already very close to John. I think in the future she could be of help to Atlantis." Teyla said with a confident tone.
"And John?" Carter added.
Teyla thought for a moment. "I do not think he would let her go alone." She said solemnly. Carter couldn't help but note the hint of sadness in the Athosian's voice.
Carter nodded. "Thank you," She said softly. Teyla gave her a small smile before she left the office.
Carter sighed as she once again thought about her options. She groaned and wished there was no such thing as politics on Atlantis.
"Alright Kiddo," John sighed as he tugged a brown shirt over Ilah's head, hiding the white under shirt she wore. She looked at him with knitted brows and pursed lips. "What, it's a nickname." He said incredulously. "Munchkin?" He asked.
She made a sour face and shook her head as she climbed into his lap.
"Shorty?"
She shook her head again.
"Lil' One?"
Another shake, no.
"I'm running out of names here." He said desperately. She lost the face and looked at him with a slightly tilted head. He sighed and started thinking of little girls nicknames.
"Princess, Sweetie, Darlin'?" he named off quickly, to make sure no one caught him saying the girly nicknames.
"Ilah," she murmured sadly. John cursed himself; she thought he was trying to re-name her. He thought about it for a moment and he couldn't come up with a good example to show her what he was trying to do. He sighed and pulled her closer to him.
"You just wanna be called Ilah?" He asked quietly.
She rested her head on his shoulder and nodded. John rested his hand on her head and nodded.
"Ilah, it is." He sighed.
He couldn't help but think back to the dreadful meeting. They wanted him to just drop her back with the people that hurt her in the first place. His blood was boiling then and it was boiling now. Ilah was his little black sheep. His thoughts skidded to a halt as he looked down at mat of brownish red curls.
She's not mine. He thought forcefully. He repeated it over and over and over, and it did no good. Not with her cuddling up to him as he tried to tell himself she wasn't his.
"Wanna go somewhere?" He asked with a tight throat.
"We stay here?" she asked slowly and quietly. Her green eyes gleamed as she looked up at him. It was so hard to say no to her…
"Okay." He croaked. "Whaddya wanna do?" he asked after a few moments of silence.
She climbed out of his lap slowly and padded awkwardly across the room, she was still getting used to her Athosian shoes, she stopped in front of the guitar and looked back to John.
"I did say I would show you how to play." He sighed, standing up. He strode over to her and grabbed the guitar with one hand as Ilah slipped her own into his free hand. He looked down at her and couldn't help but smile at how small she looked next to him, how small her hand was compared to and how oblivious she was to the fact.
He sat back down on his bed and scooped Ilah up with his right arm to sit on his lap and brought the guitar to rest on his knees in front of her. He took her right hand in his and pulled it over the guitar to reach the strings. With her little thumb he strummed the strings. She looked up at him with bright eyes and a smile. He couldn't help the half grin that took over his face.
She took her hand out from under his and strummed the strings on her own. The sound wasn't as smooth, but she was still happy. She continued playing little notes, not noticing John move his fingers along the fret board. She strummed the strings one at a time, then plucked them, then strummed them all together. John made a mental note to try and get the Daedalus to bring her, her own little guitar.
He watched her as she mindlessly played the guitar. The concentrated look in her eyes, her pursed lips and knitted brow made him smile just a little bit more. He was so used to seeing her scared it was refreshing to see her with any other look.
There was a soft knock on the door and Ilah looked up at John with a frown, knowing he had to answer it. He sighed and placed the guitar, laying flat, on his bed and set Ilah next to it before standing and striding to his door. He waved his hand over the palmer to show Carter.
"May I have a word?" She asked motioning to the hallway.
John glanced over his shoulder at Ilah to see her strumming the guitar. He nodded and stepped out into the hallway.
"I'm sure you remember yesterday's meeting?" Cater said cautiously, watching John's lips purse into a thin line. "I would like you and Ilah to be evaluated by Dr. Heightmeyer before I make my decision."
John scowled for a moment; he hated talking to shrinks. But he knew Dr. Heightmeyer would hear Ilah out more than Colonel Caldwell and Woolsey would. "I can live with that." He mumbled.
Carter nodded. "We'll be in the observation room." She said with a quick smile before she turned and left.
John walked back into his room, Ilah looked up to him quickly with a confused frown. He sighed and crouched down in front of her.
"We have to go see Dr. Heightmeyer again. Remember her?" He asked softly.
Ilah nodded slowly.
He sighed, relieved and scooped her up quickly. The walk to the observation room was brisk, John wanted to get all of this over with as soon as possible. When he got there Rodney and his girlfriend Katie Brown were waiting.
"Rodney?" John asked confused.
"I – uh – heard about it, figured someone had to watch her. You said she liked me." Rodney stammered, as he scratched the back of his head. Truthfully, Katie was the one who suggested it, and Rodney couldn't say no to her.
"Thanks," John mumbled with a half hearted grin. He set Ilah down on the couch just outside the door and sat next to her for a moment. "Rodney and Katie are gonna watch you for a little bit, okay?"
Ilah could tell John was upset so she nodded and reached out to pull him into a hug. As John hugged her back he swallowed the tight feeling in his throat. He rested his head against hers for a moment before pulling away and looking down at her. She fought to keep the pout at bay and John had to smile at her attempt at a front.
"We're ready." Carter said as she left the observation room, Dr. Heightmeyer stood behind her with a kind look in her eyes. John sighed heavily and patted Ilah's back.
"Be good." He muttered before standing. As he walked into the observation room Katie and Rodney sat on either side of Ilah. John glanced back at Ilah once he was standing next to his seat.
"Hi, my name is Katie." Katie said sweetly as she pulled a small stuffed monkey from her pocket. "And this is Meredith." She said handing the stuffed animal to Ilah, who took it with a sad smile.
"Oh no." Rodney moaned before letting his head fall into his hands. John smirked as the door of the observation room slid closed.
John sighed with a rumble in his chest and sat in front of Dr. Heightmeyer gingerly, trying to avoid looking up and to the left at all costs. If he caught sight of Woolsey and Colonel Caldwell now, he would probably tear them a new one.
"I know you don't like these, but it shouldn't take long." Dr. Heightmeyer said sympathetically. John nodded curtly and shifted in his seat. The eyes staring down at him made him twenty-times more uncomfortable than talking to Dr. Heightmeyer. "Can you tell me what happened when you found Ilah?" She asked curiously, leaning toward him as she rested her elbows on her knees.
"I heard a scream, a kid scream, the planet was crawling with Wraith so I ran for it. I killed the Wraith and she latched onto me." He explained simply.
"Were you okay with her doing so?" She asked.
"She's not even three-years-old and a Wraith tried to feed on her, I was okay with her hiding in my neck for a while." He answered in an incredulous tone.
"When you brought her back to Atlantis, did you think she was a threat?" She asked seriously.
"I just wanted to make sure she was okay, Atlantis' security wasn't really on my mind." He muttered, looking away from Dr. Heightmeyer.
"In the infirmary, Dr. Keller had to treat Ilah from your lap, correct?" She asked lacing her fingers together in a pensive way.
"She pouted." He answered simply, like it would answer all other questions. She nodded to the observation deck as discreetly as she could and John started to elaborate. "That pout could end wars. Or start them." He grumbled.
"So, you wanted to keep her content?" She asked, almost happily.
He sighed through his nose and shifted in his seat again. "Yeah," he said with a dry throat.
"If Ilah wanted to go back to her people, how would you feel about that?" She asked slowly.
John felt conflicted. He couldn't say what he felt in front of his bosses and the shrink. But, he had too. "Angry, frustrated." He gritted out.
"Would you let her?" she asked leaning back in her seat.
"Probably not." He answered quickly.
"Why is that?" She asked with knitted brows. John had to stifle the growl of annoyance at her act, but played along none the less.
"They beat her, for being smart no less. At least here I know she'll be safe." He muttered the last part in hopes only Dr. Heightmeyer heard it.
"Would you take sole responsibility of her if she was allowed to stay?" She asked seriously with a firm look.
John paused for a moment. He knew what that meant. Become her father. He blinked and nodded. "Yeah," he said gruffly. There was a long pause before Dr. Heightmeyer sat straighter in her chair.
"I think we're done." She said giving him a thankful smile.
John launched out of his seat and strolled out of the room without another word. He needed to get out from under all the prying eyes. The door slid open to show Ilah smushed between Katie and Rodney on the couch.
Katie was braiding Ilah's curls with a bright smile on her face while Rodney was showing her something on his laptop. She clutched the little monkey to her chest as she listened to Rodney with wide eyes. Something told John that Ilah belonged in Atlantis, probably more than he did. He chuckled lowly and Katie and Ilah's attention snapped to him, while Rodney was too caught up listening to himself. Katie tied off the long braid and Ilah jumped off the couch and bolted for John's legs.
John let out an "omph" before scooping her up into his arms. He figured she had to be a mind reader too because she looped her arms around his neck again for another hug.
"So, Mr. Mom, how did it go?" Rodney asked once he realized Ilah was no longer next to him.
John ignored the Mr. Mom comment and shrugged. "Okay, I guess."
"So, what do you think?" Carter asked Dr. Heightmeyer wearily.
"John is very attached to her. He cares a lot about her safety and well-being. I don't think-" Dr. Heightmeyer started to explain and was swiftly cut off by Colonel Caldwell.
"You should evaluate Ilah again, alone this time." He said sternly.
"That is not a good idea, Colonel. She was hardly complaint last time, with John. Alone, I doubt she would even stay in the room without crying for John." Dr. Heightmeyer said firmly.
"We still need too." Woolsey said.
The room was silent as they all looked at each other. Carter broke the stale air. "I'll go tell him." She sighed and left the room.
"John," Carter said as she came upon him sitting on the couch with Ilah in his lap and Katie and Rodney still with them.
"Yeah?" he asked grimly.
"We need to talk to Ilah, alone." She said with an impassive look.
John's jaw tightened as so did his grip on Ilah. "Okay," He muttered through his clenched teeth. He set Ilah down and tried not to look directly into her pleading green orbs. "You're gonna talk with Dr. Heightmeyer now. By yourself." He choked out. Ilah's bottom lip started to shiver. "It won't take long and I'll be out here the whole time, okay?" He said rubbing her arms soothingly.
Ilah sucked in her bottom lip and nodded. He flashed her the only smile he could muster.
"Come on Ilah." Carter said sadly as she held out her hand for the little girl to take.
AN: Cliffy! Review!