AN: Hello! I hope you all enjoy this update!
Chapter Twenty One
Last Day On Earth
Someone was in the room. Ronon could hear the quiet steps even though they didn't want to be heard. He gripped Gavin tighter and opened one eye, seeing Aunt Minny about to sneak up on Anna. He was not in the mood for her family and their odd traditions. He wanted her out of the room, so he could be alone. Well, alone with Anna and Gavin.
"What do you want?" Ronon growled lowly.
Minny jumped and almost screamed. "Are you trying to kill me?" she hissed.
"What do you want?" He repeated, his tone becoming more annoyed as he unraveled from Gavin and got to his feet.
"It's four, we are leaving in fifteen minutes, Anna was supposed to be coming with us." Minny said sternly with her hands on her hips.
Ronon looked over his shoulder down to Anna who was still sleeping, rather peacefully. "She's not going." He said firmly.
"Excuse me?" Minny hissed.
"Leave," Ronon ordered, grabbing her arm and pulling her toward the door.
"Get your hand off of-" Ronon shoved her through the doorway and shut the door in her face before she could finish her sentence.
Anna jumped and snapped up, staring at him with wide eyes. "What's goin' on?" She asked sleepily, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
"Nothin' go back to sleep." He said casually, like nothing had happened.
"Okay," she murmured, laying down on her back. A little fist caught a handful of her hair and tugged. "Hey Gav," she winced, untangling his little hand from her hair and bringing him to rest on her chest, his hands grabbed at her dress while he tried to suckle on her dress. "Did he wake up?" she asked suspiciously, sitting up in the bed.
"No," He answered slipping back into his spot in the bed.
"So someone is hungry?" She said looking to Gavin, who continued to try and get milk out of her dress.
"I can get a bottle." He offered.
"No, that's fine." She said sweetly, flashing him a thankful smile. "You can go back to sleep, that's what I'll be doing once he's happy." She pulled the sheets over her shoulder to cover most of her upper body, including Gavin and used her chin to hold the sheet in place was she tried to get one side of her dress down.
Ronon slipped back into bed, leaning against the headboard, staring out over the room as he waited. He had just gotten used to staying with Anna as she breastfed, but he respected her privacy and wouldn't look any were near her as she fed Gavin.
The shuffle of feet could be heard down stairs, he let out a growl that carried from his stomach to his lips.
"What's wrong?" She asked worryingly as she slipped the strap of her dress up to rest on her shoulder. Ronon growling was usually a bad sign.
"Minny," He growled lowly.
"What?" She asked confused.
"She tried to wake you up to go somewhere." He answered.
Anna realized it was the morning after Thanksgiving which meant Black Friday shopping. She had no will or want to go and Ronon made sure she didn't. "She'll get over it." She said with a shrug.
He grinned a little and settled back down into bed with them. "Sleep, its not even dawn yet."
Anna nodded with a yawn and passed Gavin to Ronon before curling back into the blankets. She stayed facing them and Ronon watched her as she slowly went back to sleep.
Gavin's big green eyes looked up at Ronon through the dawn sky. "You too," Ronon muttered, wrapping his arms around his fully fed son. A smile spilt Gavin's face to show off his toothless gums. Ronon chuckled and settled into bed.
Anna had slept very peacefully through the rest of the morning, even in her dress and the little interruptions from Gavin. So, when her sister slipped into the room, letting in all the sunlight that had been blocked by the door, and a phone in her hand, she wasn't even a little angry.
"Anna, you have a phone call." Jen whispered, having learned her lesson about yelling near Ronon and Gavin. Anna sat up and rubbed her eyes, taking the phone out of Jen's hand and then she left them alone again.
"Huh, what? Who?" She mumbled, sleep still fresh in her voice.
"Hey, sleepy head!" A familiar, and rather loud, voice chimed back.
"Becka?" Anna asked astonished. She didn't think she would hear from Becka until they met up in the gate room at SGC.
"Duh, how's my little man?" Becka asked happily.
Anna looked to her side to see Ronon and Gavin still asleep, well, they both looked asleep. She had a suspicion that Ronon never actually slept. "Asleep, with his daddy." She whispered with a smile.
"Aw, how cute. You ready for lunch?" Becka asked excitedly.
"What?" Anna asked looking to her other side to see the numbers 10:13 glaring back at her from the clock on the bedside table.
"We're meeting up for lunch at posh Chinese place in Colorado Springs." Becka explained.
"You're back in the States?" Anna asked confused. There was no way Becka would come back so soon. She always wanted to go to Europe.
"Yup, just landed in Denver." Becka declared proudly, probably because she surprised everyone and Becka loved to surprise.
"Oh," Anna muttered with a slight frown.
"You've got… Two hours," Becka hung up before Anna could say anything else. Anna let out a long sigh and slipped back into bed, dropping the phone on the bedside table.
"Who was it?" Ronon asked suddenly, almost sending Anna out of her skin. She threw him a look and he gave her a slightly apologetic smile. Gavin was still fast asleep in his father's arms.
"Becka, apparently were having lunch together." Anna answered. She was really tired of plans being made without her.
"Why?" He asked confused.
"There's no good Chinese food in Atlantis." She answered with a shrug as she settled next to him.
"Whatever," He said rolling his eyes. He had given up trying to understand Becka.
After returning from the Bennett family Thanksgiving, Teyla, John and Molly settled in to watch the Macy's Day parade, that he had recorded. Until they fell asleep on the on the plush couch.
John woke up around eight in the morning and had been enjoying reruns of a crime-drama he missed on Atlantis while he let Teyla and Molly continue to use him as a pillow. The couch was a large sectional, and they had crashed in the corner with the large matching footstool tucked in the corner as well, basically turning the couch into a bed of its own. Molly was on his chest while Teyla was tucked between him and couch with her head resting comfortably on his shoulder.
Just as he started the third episode, John started to hear the muffled sounds of his cell phone. He frowned and slipped his free hand, his occupied hand was around Molly, under one of the cushions and pulled out the phone and pressed talk, resting it on his shoulder just above Teyla's head.
"Hello?" He whispered, not wanting to wake up Teyla and Molly who looked so peaceful.
"Sheppard, good, you're up. We're having lunch." The voice was familiar and the bossy tone was a dead giveaway.
"Becka?" He asked incredulously.
"Yes," She answered.
"What are you doing back?" He whispered confused.
"Would everyone stop asking that?!" She shrieked, frustrated.
"Shush!" John whispered harshly.
She let out a sigh and he could see her eyes rolling. "Meet us at the Ming Court, it's not far from your hotel, and wear something nice your brother is dining with us." The line went dead once the sentence was out of her mouth and John began to panic.
"What?! Wait! Becka!" He yelled into the phone.
"John?" Teyla asked sleepily, sitting up from the position she once had.
John cursed under his breath just as Molly started to fuss. "I'm gonna kill her." He muttered angrily.
"What is wrong?" She asked worryingly, placing a comforting hand on Molly's back and patting her back gently.
"We're having lunch with Becka." He ground out.
"What is wrong with that?" She asked confused.
"She invited my big brother." He spat, shifting uncomfortably at the thought.
"Do you not want him to meet us?" She asked, her brown eyes full of hurt.
"What?" He asked stupidly. Teyla scooped Molly up and looked at John expectantly. "No! He would love you. Are you kidding, he would probably love Molly more than he ever loved me. I just haven't seen him in… eight years." He muttered guiltily.
"Eight years?" Teyla gasped.
"Yeah," He mumbled under his breath, avoiding eye contact with Teyla as she knew how to pile on the guilt just by looking at him.
"John," She chided with a disbelieving look.
"Look, I was in Antarctica for a few years before we went to Atlantis." He spat defensively.
"You chose that position." She pointed out.
"Throw it in my face why dontcha?" He grumbled, embarrassment tinting his cheeks a light pink.
"He will be happy to see you." She said with a kind smile.
John looked at her unsure. Teyla had never seen him this insecure with himself. She moved closer to John and passed Molly to him, laying her on his chest and taking his hands and resting them on Molly's back on head. John sighed and held Molly's little body tight to him.
"John," She said calmly, resting one hand on John's hand and the other on his shoulder. "You need to do this, if not for you, then for Molly. She needs to know your family." She said knowingly with a serious look.
"Okay," He sighed, defeated. She could always talk him into anything.
She smiled sweetly at him and gave him and Molly a brief hug before she took Molly into her arms. "We should get ready to go." She said as she stood from the couch.
"But I just started watching this." He pouted pointing to the TV.
Teyla raised an eyebrow at him then looked to the TV and back to John. He let out a long sigh before he hauled himself up and trudged to the bedroom.
Two hours later Anna found out her parents, her brothers and Jen were invited to the lunch, as well as Becka's father and sister and John's brother. It was going be a sight to behold but less and less were wanting to behold it. Anna was talking to her mother while Ronon swung Gavin in his car seat as they waited for Marc to finish a conversation with his wife. Once he hung up the phone and joined the rest of the group, Cole looked to his parents with a confused look.
"How are we all going to fit?" Cole asked scratching his head as he looked at the two lone vehicles in the drive way of his parent's home. All of the wives had taken the cars and the kids out to go shopping.
"Jen, you can drive Ronon, Anna and Gavin. I think the rest of us can squeeze in the Tahoe." Vera said rolling her eyes.
"We all ready?" Rob asked walking up to his wife and children.
"Yup," Marcus said smoothing his dark blue button-down shirt.
"Okay then, lets go, Dad you lead the way." Jen said motioning her arm toward the street.
"Sure thing Pumpkin." Rob said with a grin, knowing she probably didn't know where the restaurant was, but was too stubborn to admit it.
Everyone went into their assigned car, Ronon sat in the back of Jen's white sedan while Anna sat up front. Just as they got Gavin settled into his car seat, Rob left the driveway and Jen followed.
"So, John has a brother." Jen said curiously, looking between Anna and Ronon.
"I didn't know." Anna said, still surprised about the news.
"I did." Ronon grumbled from the back.
"Why didn't you say anything?" Jen spat angered.
"You didn't need to know." Ronon growled, his eyes narrowing on the back of Jen's head.
"Excuse me?!" She yelled, looking between Ronon and the road frantically.
"Jen, please drop it, it's none of your business." Anna said firmly. She didn't need the driver fighting with a passenger with her son in the car.
"Fine," Jen muttered, defeated.
The ride there was eerily quiet for Jen, who wanted nothing more than to start a conversation with Anna or even Ronon but they were both comfortable with the silence. Anna had only looked back at Ronon to check on Gavin and he would only nod his head. It was unnerving for Jen, she had never seen her sister communicate so well with someone other than her family without words.
After losing Rob twice, they finally arrived at the Chinese restaurant. Jen took the empty parking space next to her father's Tahoe. Jen fixed her hair and makeup while Anna and Ronon gathered Gavin and his things.
Jen stepped out of the car and locked it with the remote and turned to her sister. "Looks like we're late." She sighed. Ronon gave her a blank look as he slung Gavin's diaper bag over his shoulder.
Anna rolled her eyes and resisted the urge to smack both of them and carried Gavin in his car seat to the covered entrance of the restaurant where her family, Becka and Anya waited. Ronon followed closely behind as did Jen. Becka hadn't changed in the few days they were apart, she was still short, with curly brown hair and matching eyes.
Becka rushed up to Anna with Anya cradled in her arm, hugging Anna with her free arm. "Anna! I love the hair!" She squealed. Anna couldn't stop smiling at her friend, it was almost like she was back in Atlantis again, only Ronon was still in jeans and a tee shirt.
"Did you have fun?" Anna asked looking around for Radek, who was nowhere to be found.
"It was a blast, there was a bit of a language barrier between me and his sister and brother though." Becka frowned.
"Not everyone can speak Spanish." Anna laughed.
"I know," Becka sighed.
"Sheppard here yet?" Ronon asked crossing his arms in front of his chest.
"He's not, we should go in, the table is ready for us." Radek said looking to Vera and Rob. Rob nodded and started for the door, Marcus in line with him and Cole and Eric falling behind them.
Anna looked up at Ronon who stared out over the busy road, looking for the Impala. "Um, we'll wait. Can you take Gavin in?" She asked her mother, passing the car seat that held Gavin carefully, trying not to wake him.
"No problem Sweetie." Vera whispered, kissing Anna's cheek, sparing a glance to Ronon.
"Thanks Mom," Anna said sweetly. She watched as her family and friends disappeared into the Chinese style building then turned back to Ronon. He hadn't moved at all. She stepped close to him so almost all of her side was touching his and rested her hand on his arm.
"Don't worry." She whispered reassuringly.
"He thinks he's brother hates him." He grumbled, tightening his fingers around his arm.
"I don't think he does." She said shaking her head.
"I don't either, but Sheppard does." He said glancing back to the road. He knew how Sheppard was with his family, seeing as he didn't have the best reputation with his family.
"You think he won't come?" She asked with furrowed brows. She already knew the answer she just liked keeping Ronon talking since it happened so rarely.
"Teyla will make him either way." He mumbled shifting on his feet.
"That she will." Anna sighed with a faint smile just thinking about the conversation that would transpire.
Ronon slipped into silence after that, like he always did, and Anna didn't do anything to arouse another conversation. They waited quietly, looking more toward the road than the parking lot. A few people passed them without notice but one man stopped in front of them.
"Are you here for Becka's lunch?" He asked politely. He was as tall as John, with gray speckled brown hair, blue eyes and trim physic. Anna noticed the silver wedding band on his left ring finger.
"Yes, I'm Anna, this is Ronon." Anna said sweetly, holding her hand out. He reached out and shook her hand gently.
"I'm Dave," He said with a charming smile.
"They're inside, we're just waiting for Becka's sister." She said looking over her shoulder toward the glass doors.
"Thank you," He said kindly before walking passed them and for the entrance of the restaurant.
Anna followed him with her green eyes, and so did Ronon. "The other Sheppard," she murmured under her breath. Good looks definitely run in the family, she thought to herself.
"He looks older than the picture Sheppard has." Ronon pointed out. Anna turned to look at him with a confused look. She never knew he was so good with keeping secrets.
Anna opened her mouth to say something but noticed the Impala pulling into the parking lot instead. "They're here," she said, nodding to the car. Ronon let out a quiet breath of relief. He didn't want to go drag John down to the restaurant.
They both started walking to the car, Ronon helped Teyla out of the car while Anna helped John with Molly. "Are the others here?" Teyla asked curiously as she looked around.
"They're inside." Anna answered over the hood of the Impala.
John pulled Molly's car seat from the back seat and stood rigidly. "What about…?" He trailed off and shuffled his feet, agitation clear in his motions.
"We haven't seen him yet, he might be." Anna answered before Ronon could. She understood how nervous John felt, and she hoped it would be easier for him if he went into the building without knowing his brother was really in there.
"Should we go in?" Teyla asked as she walked around to John and looped her arm through his.
"Go ahead, just tell the host you're with Becka Lopez, he'll show you to the table." Anna explained with a smile.
"What about you two?" John asked with knitted brows.
"We're waiting for Becka's sister, she's a little late." Anna answered yet again.
"Oh, okay." John said with a shrug and led Teyla into the restaurant, still on his arm.
"Since when did you learn to lie?" Ronon asked with amusement in his voice once John and Teyla were in the building.
"Technically, it's not a lie." Anna said defensively.
Ronon snorted a laugh.
"You can go in with them, I can wait for her." Anna said nodding over her shoulder.
"No," Ronon answered simply ending any protest she might have thought up.
Anna and Ronon waited for almost ten minutes before a flashy red BMW sped into the parking lot, practically fish-tailing into a parking spot. Not three seconds later the car was off and someone was getting out. She was as short as Becka, same curly hair, only hers was dyed auburn, her physic was more of a curvy one with less muscle.
"Anna?!" She called out, almost running for them when she spotted Anna.
"Talia," Anna said with a smile as Talia got to her and pulled her into a hug.
"Oh my god, you look great." Talia cooed, stepping back to look Anna over. Anna silenced any thoughts of telling Talia about the spandex long johns she found.
"So do you! I love your hair." Anna said fingering one of the reddish brown curls that called out to her. Ronon looked between the women with a cocked brow, still confused on how they greeted each other. Anna noticed Ronon giving them the look. "Oh, Ronon this is Talia, Talia this is Ronon." She introduced with the smile still stuck to her face.
"Hello, so where is my good for nothing sister?" Talia snapped after she gave Ronon a polite smile.
"In the restaurant." Anna winced. There was a lot of tension between Talia and Becka since Becka couldn't tell her family where she was for eleven out of the twelve months of the year.
Talisa started rambling in Spanish as she stormed for the front doors.
"This is going to be fun." Anna groaned, letting her head fall back. She had been playing mediator with Becka and her sister for almost six years.
"No, it's not." Ronon grumbled.
"No, it's not." Anna repeated with a sigh.
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