Chapter 14 - Everything Changes

One by one the Athosians entered through the gate and into Atlantis. Some were injured, most were dirty, and almost everyone was crying.

Izzy stood on the balcony overlooking the control room alone while she watched her father, Major Lorne, and Landon help clear people away from the gate and start dividing them into groups based on injuries. Carson was prepping the infirmary and Jason was helping getting some rooms set up for their new guests.

Teyla approached Izzy with Torren in her arms.

"Izzy, can you watch him? Please?" Teyla asked, not waiting for an answer before she passed a bundled Torren into Izzy's arms.

Izzy nodded and took the baby who started to stir from his nap.

Izzy left the small balcony and descended the steps, stopping about halfway down.

"Kanan? Kanan where are you?" Teyla went from person to person, searching for the father of her child.

"Teyla!" Halling called. His voice carried through the entire Gate Room.

Izzy couldn't hear what was happening, but by the looks of both Halling and Teyla's face, she knew that Kanan was dead.

Izzy squeezed Torren a little tighter and gently bounced him as he stirred awake.

She knew what growing up without a father felt like... the only difference between her and Torren was that she had been reunited with her father and Torren never would be.

She made eye contact with John, and without saying anything, she knew how bad this situation was.

The wormhole disengaged as the last of the Athosians stepped through. Halling was holding Teyla as she sobbed. Kanan had moved to Atlantis to live with Teyla and Torren, but had gone to visit the Athosians for a few days. In those few days, the Wraith culled their planet, wiping out almost the entire population.

Izzy sat heavily along the wall on the steps and watched the scene unfolded in front of her. John was still sorting people into groups, Landon was comforting a child who had lost both of his parents, and several marines and medical staff were escorting people to the infirmary. Teyla wasn't sobbing anymore but she still clung to Halling. Jinto stepped up and helped John as they determined the preliminary extent of everyone's injuries.

It was complete chaos.

Izzy looked down at Torren. He was staring at her with dark wondering eyes, and she did her best to smile back at him even though she felt like crying herself.

Once Teyla pulled away from Halling, she looked at Izzy questioningly, silently asking if she could still keep an eye on Torren. Izzy nodded back and Teyla nearly fled the scene, surely going to a secluded place so that she could process what had happened.

Several more minutes passed and the Gate Room was mostly empty. The injured and their families were in the infirmary while the others were being escorted to the rooms that Jason had helped several others put together.

Izzy stood and wandered through the halls, Torren gradually falling back to sleep. As she walked, her desire to break down and sob grew. Those were Teyla's people that were just slaughtered at the hands of the Wraith, and now the baby in her arms didn't have a father. She knew that feeling all too well, and pushed it down before she had a meltdown. Her mind automatically went to her mother. She felt a pang of guilt at not having a better relationship with her, and sorrow for losing her before she got the chance to make it better.

However, the pain of losing her mother and the guilt of not knowing her as well as she should have has diminished as her father's love continued to heal her, leaving faint scars behind. She figured they would never completely go away, but maybe they would diminish enough so that the discomfort vanished.

She rounded a corner and nearly collided with Jason.

"Sorry." Izzy said quietly, hastily wiping a tear that had fallen upon thinking of her mother's death.

Jason smiled at her sadly and seemed to realize exactly what she was thinking about.

"Did you hear?" Izzy hastily asked before Jason asked any pressing questions about the feelings she didn't want to discuss.

"Hear what?" Jason inquired.

Izzy paused and looked at Torren, who was blissfully unaware of the world around him as he slept.

"Kanan didn't make it." She sniffed before running a finger along Torren's cheek and kissing him lightly on the forehead.

Jason didn't say anything. Izzy looked up at him and shifted Torren to her left arm so that she could lean into Jason's side.

"Poor kid is gonna grow up without a dad." Jason said sadly, stating the obvious.

"Yeah." Izzy said.

"I've got to get back to helping everyone move in. You gonna be okay?" Jason asked.

"Yeah." Izzy said. "We'll be good."

Jason squeezed her shoulder and left. Izzy took Torren to her quarters so that she could put him down. She had no idea how long she would be watching him. Teyla disappeared, most likely to mourn, so until she came out and looked for them, the baby was her responsibility to take care of.

Torren was still young, so he slept a lot. Izzy was exhausted and decided to take a nap as well, laying Torren on the bed, setting a few blankets around him in case he suddenly decided to start rolling over.

Izzy woke up a couple hours later when the door to their quarters slid open.

"Hey, Dad." Izzy greeted, stretching before standing and going to check on the baby. Torren was awake and started to fuss when he realized that there were others in the room that could attend to his needs.

"Think he's hungry?" Izzy asked.

"Probably." John said, glancing at his watch. It had been three hours since the Athosians came to Atlantis, and about three and a half since Torren had last eaten.

"Where's Teyla?" Izzy asked.

"Her quarters. I think they have some formula in the infirmary though. Dr. Keller can help you." Izzy nodded and left with Torren. John waited a couple minutes before going to Teyla's quarters. He heard that Kanan had died. He knew that Teyla must be feeling pretty shitty, and he wanted to help her.

John waved his hand over the control panel, ringing the chime in the room.

"Teyla?" John called. A few seconds later the door slid open to reveal Teyla. She had wet cheeks from her tears and her face was puffy. John's chest ached at the sight of his friend, and he tentatively stepped into her quarters.

"I wanted to check on you." John said gently. "I heard what happened."

Teyla sniffed and stepped forward into John's arms. True, John wasn't good at giving or receiving physical affection except when it came to Izzy, but in this case he made an exception. He held Teyla gently and let her cry for the loss of many of her people and the father of her child.

It was several minutes before Teyla pulled away.

"I'm sorry." Teyla said, wiping at her cheeks. There was a wet spot on John's shirt from her tears but he didn't care. Nor did he feel that she had to apologize to him for anything.

"You don't need to be." John replied.

"Does Izzy still have Torren?" Teyla asked, sitting on the seat in front of her window.

"Yeah. She took him to the infirmary to get him something to eat." John said.

Teyla nodded.

"I must go help my people." Teyla said, hastily wiping at her cheeks and rushing towards the door.

John stopped her before she could brush past him.

"Pace yourself, Teyla. People will understand if you need time to grieve." John advised, squeezing her shoulder gently.

"I know." Teyla said, softening. "And I will take the time when my people have settled in." John opened his mouth to protest before Teyla cut him off. "I promise."

John nodded. Teyla gave him a soft smile and left.

John exhaled sharply, ignoring the warm feeling that was rising in his chest that always got stronger when he was close to Teyla. But he would suppress his feelings, just like he always did.

A/N: It's short, but I'm posting it because I'm a jerk for not posting sooner. You know what helps me write faster? Reviews. If I get 10 reviews I'll post a chapter that's twice as long by the end of this week. Less than that? Who knows when the next one will come. :)