Note: Special note of thanks to Julie and Kathy for fixing several rough spots in this chapter as well as doing the beta thing. You guys rock.

Going Home - Chapter 14

Joe watched as the large platter of appetizers he'd ordered was set out on the table. He smiled when Ronon's eyes widened at the sight of the variety of food before him. Rodney immediately reached out to snag a potato skin loaded with cheese and bacon, while pointing to the chicken wings.

"You should try the wings, Ronon. Just try not to eat the bone in the middle. We don't want you hacking up bone splinters at the table."

The Setedan arched an eyebrow at the scientist even as he reached for a wing. "When I need your advice on how to eat, I'll ask for it."

Teyla frowned at them both and then looked at Joe apologetically. "I am sorry, Colonel Sheppard. Ronon and Rodney sometimes forget they are adults."

Joe grinned at the young woman, continuing to be impressed by her calm and diplomatic manner. "That's all right. Just remember who my son is."

Dipping her head once, a diminutive smile played across Teyla's lips. "Yes, I remember. John can be . . . trying sometimes as well."

Joe snorted and shook his head. "I can only imagine how the three of them are when they're together."

"It can be . . . interesting. But they are as family. I would not wish to do without any of them for very long. We have missed Rodney and John these past few days. Atlantis is not the same without them."

"Yeah, it's quieter," said Ronon with a chuckle as he wiped the sauce from his chin.

"Gee, how original," said Rodney in a monotone. "Your quick wit continually amazes me. Now that you're away, maybe the marines can recover enough to actually defend Atlantis."

They ate in silence for a few moments and Joe used the time to observe his son's friends. Ronon finished off the last chicken wing, leaving an empty platter in the center of the table. After licking the sauce from his fingers, he looked up at Joe.

"What happened to Sheppard?"

Joe sighed. Teyla and Rodney grew silent and still, waiting for him to relay the story. Joe told them about the visit to John's old high school and the series of events that had followed. He also told them about John's connection to Josh Byers from when they were teenagers and about Josh's recent history with the police. Although Rodney had heard the short version earlier, he hadn't heard all the details until now. Teyla and Rodney's expressions grew increasingly serious, but Ronon's reaction had Joe worrying. The man was furious.

"Where is this Josh Byers?" asked Ronon as he threw down his napkin.

"Jail, at least the last time I heard," answered Joe. "And his buddies too."

"Will he get out?" asked the big man, clenching his hands into tight fists as they lay on the table.

Joe shrugged his shoulders sadly. "If he makes bail, he could get out until the trial."

"I want to see him. I have something I want to tell him, or maybe show him," said Ronon firmly, a menacing glint in his eyes.

Rodney grimaced. "You know, that's probably not a good idea. I might have a hard time explaining to General O'Neill how I let you kill someone while you were out here."

Joe was thankful that Josh Byers was locked away in a cell. As much as part of him would like to see John's friend give the hoodlum a taste of his own medicine, he knew it would only cause more trouble in the long run. "It's okay, Ronon. I appreciate what you want to do and I wouldn't mind getting in a few licks myself, but it's better this way."

Teyla placed a hand on Ronon's arm and met his eyes. "John would not want you to cause trouble on his behalf. As Colonel Sheppard says, this is for the best."

"Please, call me Joe. You're John's family now and, in a way, that makes us family too."

The Athosian nodded, a soft smile curving her lips,"Thank you, Joe. I think John will be pleased that we have all been able to become aquainted. He does not talk of such things, but I can see that he feels them deeply."

Joe sighed and gave a short nod. "I guess that's my fault. I've never been very vocal about . . . well, you know, emotional stuff. His mom, she was the one that kept him talking."

"I would like to hear of John's mother," Teyla said. "If you do not mind talking about her."

The elder Sheppard frowned, "I haven't talked about Rachel in years," he replied softly. "Well, except for a few times with John the last couple of days. She was amazing, always happy, always positive. No matter what happened, she could find the silver lining. Even when she was dying . . . " Joe's voice trailed off as he felt the familiar surge of emotion. This was the main reason why he avoided talking about his wife.

Teyla reached over to take his hand and squeeze. "I am sorry. I had no right to ask you such a question. Please forgive me."

Joe took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "No, it's okay. I . . . just needed a minute. It's just that . . . it's been so long and the last couple of days have been so hard. John looks a lot like his mother. He has her eyes, her hair, her sense of humor when he's not tired and worn down. She and John . . . they were my life for a long time. Then, she was diagnosed with leukemia when John was eleven."

The retired Colonel was quiet a moment, then he suddenly chuckled, "She was always stubborn, a fighter. She went through chemotherapy and had a brief remission, but it didn't last long. She fought it for fifteen months before it finally took her from us. John was twelve, almost thirteen. They had been really close, probably because I was gone so much. He was so brave for her, but I could see in his eyes it was killing him, just like it was killing me. I didn't realize until after she was gone, but she had been the glue that held the family together. Without her, I was lost; I didn't know what to do. I was hurting and confused and . . . I didn't know how to comfort John. I couldn't seem to get over the pain of losing her and I was terrified of having to go through it again."

Gently, Teyla pressed his hand again, making him realize she was still holding it. "You pushed John away."

Dropping his gaze to the table in shame, Joe just nodded.. "After that . . . every time I looked at John . . . I saw his mother . . . and it hurt. I just . . . I couldn't deal with it. I know that's no excuse. It was cowardly and it was wrong. Everything John did, all I could see was what was wrong with it. All I could feel was disappointment. And now . . . looking back, I can't understand what was wrong with me. I can't believe what I put him through."

Unable to understand what had made him confess these things to a table full of strangers, Joe closed his eyes, . His face burned with embarrassment and he wished he could think of way to leave without making things worse. These were John's closest friends, the people who had cared for him the last three years. How could he look them in the eye again?

"Joe, what you did to John was not right, but it is understandable. You did not knowingly hurt him. You were afraid and confused and in pain. Some have done much worse under similar circumstances. John has turned into a fine man, a good friend and a well-respected leader. I think you have done well by him."

The table was silent for a few moments and Joe managed to lift his head, gathering all his courage so he could look at Teyla. "Thank you. I guess he did turn out all right, in spite of me."

"Well, except for the excessive almost-dying thing," said Rodney. When everyone looked at him, he bobbed his head once to the left. "What? You know it's true."

"Seems to me that you and John are a lot alike," observed Ronon.

Joe snorted when he looked up at the Satedan. "I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not."

The mood was broken by the arrival of their food. It took a couple of minutes to distribute the plates and refill everyone's glass. Joe looked over to Ronon's plate, a bit amazed at the sight of the "monster steak" that the big man had ordered. Even Rodney seemed mesmerized by the amount of meat.

"Can you eat all that?" asked Rodney, his eyes wide.

Ronon just grunted as he picked up the knife and fork. "Get your own food, McKay, 'cause you aren't getting any of this."

Joe glanced at Teyla and they both smiled at the exchange. Teyla nodded at him, comfort in her eyes that Joe appreciated. He was beginning to understand why his son depended on these people so much.

"Now it's your turn. I want to know all about Atlantis and puddle jumpers and, well, everything." Joe could feel his sadness turning around as he thought about finding out more about his son's life the past three years.

Rodney moaned in pleasure at the bite of steak he was chewing. When he swallowed, he glanced over at Joe. "That is the best steak, maybe the best meal I've had in years. For this, I'll tell you anything you want to know."

Ronon chuckled. "Good thing our enemies don't know that they should just feed you instead of torture you for information."

"Hmph!" snorted Rodney indignantly. "Not funny, Ronon, not funny at all. Why don't you just be a good boy and don't talk with your mouth full."

Joe laughed, relieved at the upturn in the mood. Between bites, John's team told Joe about his son's connection to Atlantis and how he could operate the Ancient technology with ease. Rodney complained at the way he could make the lights go up and down, as well as operate doors and other things almost without thinking. They talked about the Ancients, puddle jumpers, and the Wraith. Ronon and Teyla told Joe a little about their people and their life in the Pegasus Galaxy.

By the time they returned to the hospital, Joe felt like he'd known John's team for years. They were different in so many ways, and yet they were united in their support of one another and their love of Atlantis. Joe was really beginning to feel his son's love of and dependence on these people.

As the group left the elevator and approached the ICU, Joe saw Isaac Knighten standing in the hall beside the door to the waiting room. "Isaac, I wasn't expecting to see you." Joe motioned toward his companions as he introduced them. "This is Rodney McKay, Ronon Dex, and Teyla Emmagan. They're friends and coworkers of John's." Joe then indicated Isaac with a wave of his hand. "This is Isaac Knighten. He's the detective in charge of investigating what happened to John."

Isaac gave the group a curt nod. "Joe, I need to talk to you." He led Joe into the empty waiting room and turned to find the whole group had followed.

The detective eyed the group warily and Joe added, "Isaac, these are the people John depends on every day. Anything you need to tell me can be said in front of them."

Pursing his lips momentarily, Isaac finally sighed and bobbed his head once. "Okay. Josh Byers got out on bail earlier today. I put a team on surveillance duty, keeping an eye on him. They lost him about an hour ago. I've already assigned a unit to protect the Cravens. John is the other witness that can identify Byers and his men."

"Do you think this man will try to harm John?" asked Teyla, the worry in her face mirrored by her companions.

Isaac looked at Joe hard. "Josh Byers has never even made it through a full trial. The witnesses have always backed off at the last minute, usually with unexplained injuries. John isn't going to back off and Byers knows that. I think we've got enough evidence to convict him without John's testimony. His blood was all over John's shirt, as well as your carpet, and we found a smudge of John's blood in Byer's car." The detective grinned in satisfaction. "He thought he'd cleaned the car up, but our forensics unit found it anyway. Byers also left us three hairs in the house and took carpet fibers from the house to his car."

"Then it wouldn't do much good to try and scare the Colonel off," said Rodney. "Does he know this?"

Shifting his weight, Isaac scratched the side of his head, obviously uncomfortable. "He knows. But I don't think it matters. He and John have a history. He took down Byer's son and now he's the one that's going to finally put Byers away for a while. This is about revenge more than testimony. His level of violence has been steadily escalating lately and I'm . . . well, I'm concerned that he wants to do more than scare John."

Joe's eyes widened and his brows shot up. "Like what?"

Sighing, Isaac frowned at the people in front of him. "I think he may plan on ending this little feud permanently."

The color drained from Rodney's face and his voice was high pitched. "You think he's gong to kill him?"

"I do."

Ronon smacked his fist into his hand loudly. "Not if I can help it."

"I need to talk to John," said Joe, wondering how things could possibly get worse.

"We need to protect him," added Rodney strongly.

"We will," agreed Ronon.

Crossing his arms, Isaac allowed a slow smile spread across his face. "Funny you should mention that. I talked to John just a few minutes ago when the doctors got through with him, explained the situation to him. He has an idea."

"Oh, God," moaned Rodney.

oOo

John felt more than heard that someone had entered the room, bringing him to sudden awareness. He'd tried to stay awake, but as the hour got late, he'd kept drifting off. His head throbbed and his body ached, both from the heat of the fever and from the injuries, both old and new. The discomfort had given him something to focus on in his determination to stay awake, but it just hadn't been enough. Now, with the jolt to consciousness, he felt disoriented and uncertain.

Soft rustling drove him to open his eyes. Josh Byers stood over him, feral grin on his chubby face as he held a pillow to his chest.

"Glad you're awake Sheppard because I want you to know what's happening... I'm anxious to see how Mr. Air Force faces his own death."

Summoning up all his energy, John gave Josh a big, lop-sided grin. The fear and dread and even the pain were all pushed aside as he observed the confusion in his attacker's face. "Not tonight . . . I stacked the odds . . . this time."

Frowning, Josh tilted his head a little then narrowed his eyes. "What are you talking about?"

John wasn't sure if Josh felt the presence behind him or if he got a glimpse of the shadow falling across the end of the bed, but the bully suddenly whirled around and looked up into the face of a very angry Ronon Dex.

"Josh . . ." breathed out John tiredly. "Meet Ronon . . . and he's . . . a little angry . . . with you."

The only regret John had was that he couldn't see Josh's expression just then. However, a weak, but satisfied smile spread across his face as Byers dropped the pillow and tried to throw a punch at the big man in front of him. The Satedan's hand flashed out and caught Josh's, stopping it like the man had punched a brick wall. Gripping the now terrified man's hand firmly, a smile very slowly developed across Ronon's mouth.

"Let me show you how we deal with coward's like you where I come from," Ronon's deep voice rumbled. John would have laughed if he hadn't been certain about how badly it would hurt.

oOo

"Rodney . . . please stop that," pleaded Joe.

Rodney stilled his pacing and turned to snap at the man, but stopped when he saw the fear and exhaustion on Joe's face. Standing for a moment with his mouth open as if poised to speak, Rodney finally sighed and nodded. "Fine, fine, I just wish something would happen already." He walked across the employee break room to pour a cup of coffee, but the pot only held a thin film of darkened liquid laced with a smattering of grounds.

"This is just nasty. Why didn't the last person make a new pot?" he complained as he forcefully slid the pot back in place.

Teyla cleared her voice without looking up at him. "Rodney, I believe you were the last person to get coffee."

"Really?" he asked, surprise on his face and in his voice. "Oh . . . well . . . oh. What time is it?"

"0220," answered Joe. "Which is about three minutes later than the last time you asked."

"Well, I'm sorry if I'm bothering you. I just happen to be worried and when I'm worried, I tend to –"

"ramble . . . yes, I know," said Joe without irritation. He walked over to take Rodney by the upper arm and turn him toward a chair, giving him a gentle push in that direction. "Sit down, Rodney. They'll let us know if anything happens and you need to sit down and rest. Aren't you supposed to be recovering from injuries as well?"

Obediently, Rodney sat down in the chair Joe had indicated. "Yes, I am." He looked down at the cast on his arm. "They broke my arm, you know, when we rescued Sheppard. They were going to beat him with that metal pipe and I had to stop them. I just . . ." Rodney looked up at Joe, meeting his eyes. "I couldn't let them. He already looked so . . . he was so pale, I thought . . . I thought he was dead for a second."

Rodney closed his eyes and rubbed the side of his neck with his good hand. Joe noticed the faded yellows and greens from still healing bruises on the scientist's arm, neck, and the side of his face.

"But he wasn't," said Joe softly. "And Ronon is with him now. He'll be fine." Joe just wished he felt as confident as he sounded. They all flinched at the sound of crashing from down the hall. Freezing where they were, everyone stared at the door as the noises increased and became more frantic, as if expecting the answer to somehow appear there.

The first one to break from the spell was Rodney. A moment of sudden, unexpected silence seemed to kick start him from his fog and he sprang for the door, jerking it open and almost running for John's room. Joe was half a step behind him. Swarming the hall near John's door were police and medical personnel and Joe felt his already rapid heart rate kick up another notch. "John," he breathed out softly.

A policeman stepped out to stop them, but they were all forced to step aside as two officers lead Josh Byers from John's room. They were partially supporting the fugitive, who walked hunched over as if he could barely stand. He lifted his head for a few seconds to reveal a bruised and bloodied face.

Joe stared at the man as he was led by, glaring at the watchful group. "What happened to him?"

"I'm betting Ronon," grinned Rodney proudly, pushing past the officer and into the room. Joe and Teyla followed.

Carson Beckett and Dr. Shoemaker were both at John's side, along with a nurse, while Isaac Knighten talked to Ronon, who stood protectively at the foot of John's bed. Another officer was taking notes while talking to a nurse in the far corner of the room. Rodney strode purposefully over to Ronon.

"Nice going, big guy."

Joe went past the men to stand beside Dr. Beckett, eagerly looking over his son's prone form. "John, are you okay?"

John blinked heavily, obviously fighting sleep, a big sloppy grin on his face. "I'm good . . . never touched me. Got my . . . body guard."

Joe let out a long sigh and gripped the bedrails, feeling the tension drain out of his body, leaving him dead tired. "Thank goodness," he murmured.

"And Josh Byers just added attempted murder to his already long list of crimes. We had the room bugged, so we have him on tape pretty much confessing that that was what he was going to do," said Isaac. "He's going away for a long time and I couldn't be happier."

"Fighting crime all over the universe," mumbled Rodney with a small shake of his head and a smirk. "Guess we'll have to make Ronon sheriff or some such nonsense." He turned his head to look down at John. "Carson, is he really okay?"

"Aye, as okay as he was anyway. Ronon took care of that Josh fellow before he could harm the Colonel. But it's late and we need to wrap this up soon so the lad can get some much needed rest."

"Already got the happy juice," John said, still grinning lazily.

Rodney chuckled. "I think we can tell. You look like a drunk at a New Year's Eve party."

John waved weakly with his good hand. "Was cool . . . shoulda been here . . . thanks Ronon."

Crossing his arms in a firm stance, Ronon smiled down at John. "No problem Sheppard, but we've got to get you out of this bed soon and back on your feet. I can't keep this up forever. Anyone that stays in as much trouble as you do needs to be able to defend his own skinny butt."

"Hey," John slurred, blinking furiously in an effort to stay awake. "Not skinny . . . and can 'fend self . . . Chewie." Snorting loudly, Ronon gave his head a slight shake.

"Colonel Sheppard can defend himself another time, right now he needs sleep, which means all of you need to leave," insisted Carson.

"No," John pleaded, squirming in the bed and reaching his good hand out almost in a panic. "Stay . . . please."

Joe watched with interest the war on Carson Beckett's face. Shoemaker and he must have had quite a talk, because the hospital doctor was obviously deferring to Beckett. Carson sighed and patted his patient on the shoulder. "I know, lad, I know." Directing his comments to the team, he looked up. "You know the drill. You can stay if you are quiet and let him sleep. So get yourselves settled quickly or I'll kick you out."

Fifteen minutes later, the room was cleared of excess medical and police personnel. Four chairs had been moved up around John's bed in such a way that still allowed the nurse to get to John and the equipment for the regular checks. Joe sat in his chair beside John's left arm, studying the team before him.

Ronon's chair was near the end of the bed, his feet propped up on the bed frame, his arms crossed. Teyla sat opposite Joe, holding John's hand and speaking softly to him, her gentle voice lulling him to sleep. Rodney sat on the other side of Teyla, his computer in his lap. He periodically seemed to study what was on the screen and then type one-handed for a moment before looking up to watch John for a while, as if confirming that he was really there.

There would come a time when Joe would have to let John go, let him return to Atlantis in a different galaxy such a very long way away. It would be hard to say goodbye after getting to know the man his son had become. But for the first time since he'd opened that door and seen John on his porch, he knew he would be able to do it. Because he knew, without a doubt, that there were people to watch his back and take care of him. John would have family with him.

TBC

I have bad news. I have officially caught myself. I honestly thought when I started posting that I was far enough ahead to keep this from happening, but I seriously underestimated how exhausting my schedule would be. I will do my best to post ASAP, but it may not be every two days like it has been. My fault and for that I apologize profusely. I could have chapter 15 finished if I hadn't gotten sidetracked with my Tabula Rasa tag. Anyway, I'm sorry for the error in judgment and the way my mind wanders and for the delay all that will cause.