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Chapter 25

Epilogue

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"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to unite this man and this woman in holy matrimony…"

John heard the words but his focus was mainly on the beautiful woman standing next to him on the sand. O'Neill had come through and he and Teyla had managed to get a marriage license. Dave and Amy had gone to town and arranged everything else. John had said nothing big and they had respected his wishes.

So now here they were standing on the beach near the cottage getting married. And it was their last day here on the island. They headed back to Atlantis tomorrow. But for now he would get as much as he could from this time with his family. And he meant not only Dave, Amy and the kids but Teyla and TJ as well. Even though he now knew he wasn't the child's biological father, he knew he would still be very much a parent in his life. Being married to Teyla would assure that.

And gazing at Teyla now, he knew there was no one else he'd rather be with. He knew his first marriage hadn't been successful but he also knew what he felt for Nancy hadn't even come close to the emotions that were roused when he thought of Teyla. She was everything he'd ever dreamed of, literally. And it didn't hurt that she was amazingly gorgeous and so filled with passion.

He looked at her now and could feel all those emotions come to the surface again. Amy had taken her to the quaint little shops in town and gotten this pale colored dress with narrow straps and a long skirt that flowed around her ankles as the breeze from Nantucket Sound swirled around them. John had chosen to wear a pair of khaki pants and loose button down shirt. Dave and his family were also in nice but casual clothes and they were all barefoot. John had made it part of the deal. Scotty thought it was weird but Kristy and TJ loved it.

"Do you, Teyla, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband …" the Justice of the Peace continued and John thought maybe he should pay attention to the words instead of staring at his almost wife. He needed to make sure she said yes.

And sure enough Teyla looked at him with such love in her eyes and claimed, "I do."

"Do you, John, take this woman …" John couldn't stop staring at her and thinking about what this meant to them, to him. He and Teyla forever. Nothing to keep them apart.

He took a deep breath and staked his claim. "I do."

They exchanged rings, etched gold bands that that they'd gotten in one of the antiques shops in town and soon the JP was closing his book with a, "By the power invested in me by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and before God, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Congratulations"

The man grinned at John and said, "You may kiss your bride."

John's eyes gleamed. "Gladly!" and he reached for Teyla and pulled her close as his lips sealed the deal. They had done it!

Dave and Amy, who had been their only witnesses, quickly came over to congratulate them also. Hugs were given and the kids made sure to get in on those as well and John didn't even complain about so much love being so out in the open. This was his family. It had been a long time since he could proudly say that but right now, he could.

And it was with that family that they celebrated all through the afternoon and evening. Huge amounts of food were consumed and Torren was overjoyed that there was lots of cake and he was allowed to eat two pieces. John knew Dave was flying with the others back to the main land and staying at his townhouse in Boston for the night to leave John and Teyla to fully enjoy their wedding night. And they were taking Torren too so if he had an upset belly from too much cake, John figured Dave and Amy would have to take care of it. They already had two kids, they must be experts.

John walked out on the porch and saw his brother leaning against the railing watching the women with the kids walking along the beach. He had planned to join them though it would be a good time to chat with his brother. They had done a lot of it this week but he had never really said what he knew he needed to say.

"Dave," John cleared his throat, "I um, wanted to let you know … I really appreciate everything you've done for me."

Dave shook his head and smiled. "Don't thank me, Amy did most of the food and helped Teyla get her dress. I just provided the money."

John chuckled. "That's not what I meant and I think you know it. I know it hasn't been easy on you the last month or so flying back and forth to try and visit me often. And I still can't believe you were planning on just handing over the business that Dad had worked so hard to build."

Dave turned and placed his hand on John's shoulder. "John, you're my brother. I know it hasn't seemed like it for far too long but when push comes to shove … you're my brother. I honestly didn't even realize how much I'd missed you until you came home for Dad's funeral and we had that chance to talk. But then when I thought you died, … it just made a little part of me die, too. I'd do anything for you, John. You're my family."

John felt emotion build up behind his eyes and he grabbed at the control he was just starting to find again. But he didn't use it too much this time. He realized maybe it was okay to show a little emotion, especially when it was with family.

"Thanks, Dave. I like having family again. And I hope you know that I'd do anything for you too. You, Amy or the kids. And I've got a lot of my own connections now; ones that you've never had. Might come in useful someday."

Dave laughed. "I'll remember that, John. And I appreciate that too. I'm glad we got a chance to spend this week together. It was way more fun that watching you sleep."

"Yeah," John grinned. "Hopefully Teyla will be the only one who watches me sleep now. I'll try and stay out of trouble … if I can."

"You've got Teyla to help you now," Dave reminded him. "Now that you're married maybe she'll have a bit more reason to keep you under control. Good thing you married her."

"Well, that and I get to keep the cottage," John quipped as Dave swatted at his arm and rolled his eyes. He saw the women still walking along the beach and patted Dave's arm.

"Come on, let's go join the family."

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Teyla watched as her new husband stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist. He then ran a smaller towel through his hair and turned to begin shaving. Teyla simply stood in the doorway gazing at the man she loved more than life itself.

Her glance lowered a tiny bit and she tried to hide the wince at the sight of the pink scars still crisscrossing John's back. They were not red and swollen any more but they were still very evident. She felt tears well in her eyes at the thought of what he went through but she quickly pushed them aside knowing John would not want her crying for him any longer. He was trying to get past what had been done and not dwell on it. But she knew that perhaps he still needed support in order to fully heal.

She quietly padded over and gently touched his back. When he flinched and turned frightened eyes to her, she felt regret surge through her.

"I am sorry, John, I did not mean to startle you."

He swiftly masked his emotions and smiled at his new bride. He never wanted her to feel bad about touching him. But he knew he still carried many demons inside that hadn't been erased yet. He wondered if they ever would.

He leaned down to press a kiss to her upturned lips then rinsed the residual shaving cream off his face. "Good morning, Mrs. Sheppard. Are you almost ready to leave?"

He reached down and wiped a tiny bit of cream that had transferred to her face when he had kissed her. She lifted her hand and ran it over the now smooth jaw. "Good morning, husband. I am ready however I truly do not wish to leave this place. It has been so peaceful and pleasant and holds many wonderful memories."

"Good," John replied then started for the bedroom but looked back at her. "We'll have to make it a point to come back next time we come back to Earth. Or maybe we could even squeeze in a small trip before Atlantis takes off for Pegasus."

"John," Teyla said softly as he pulled clothes from the travel bag he had already packed. "The scars on your back, do they still cause you pain?"

John's eyes flew to hers and she saw despair and shame cover his features before he quickly closed them off. He picked up his shirt and answered, "Not physically no. I'm sorry, I should really keep them covered so you don't have to see them. I know they can't be real attractive."

Teyla stopped him before he could don his top. "No, John, you should never be ashamed of your scars." She moved closer and placed her hand on his arm then stroked her fingers up to touch a few that could be seen on his shoulders. "They are a symbol of your strength and bravery and show how determined you were to live and survive."

John cupped Teyla's face with his hands and pressed a sweet kiss to her lips. "I'm not so sure about that. If it hadn't been for you, Teyla, I don't think I would have made it. I would have given up long before I was rescued. Being with you each day, even in my little fantasy world, was about the only thing that kept me going and kept me sane. Although I think the sanity part could be debated after the number of flip outs I had at the SGC."

Teyla allowed John his claim though she knew he was strong enough to have survived much more. She was relieved they had found him when they had but also regretted that they had not known sooner. "I know you are being required to speak with Dr. Martino, the psychologist on Atlantis, for a while but I want you to know that if you ever feel the need to confide in someone closer on a more personal basis, I will be here for you."

John gave a deep sigh and sat on the bed. He looked up at Teyla then tipped his head to indicate she should sit next to him.

"I know I should probably talk to you about it, Teyla," John said as he picked up her hand and held tight. "But I worry that you'll be appalled at some of the things I went through and I wouldn't ever want to do anything to make you think less of me."

"John," Teyla breathed out his name, her voice soft and filled with sadness. "What you were subjected to was not of your making and in no way would lower you in my eyes. I hope someday you will trust me enough to speak of your fears and emotions so that I may better understand the best way to assist you in healing both mentally as well as physically."

John closed his eyes and shook his head. "It has nothing to do with trust. I trust you more than anyone else in … well two galaxies anyway." He now gazed into her moist eyes. "And I guess maybe you have a right to know, just so you can give me a hand when I start to feel anxious and crowded. I still don't like anyone being too close unless it's one of the kids. There was this guard, I called him Guido …"

Teyla listened as John described the abuse and torture he received at the hands of this man. How any tiny infraction on his part would lead to brutal kicks and assaults from him. He spoke of the degradation of having this man strip him naked and bath him while fondling his private parts. "He never actually touched me with anything other than his hands but that was enough. And there was absolutely nothing I could do about it. I felt so damn helpless and Athena just stood by and watched. And many times she would laugh and ask if I was enjoying it."

John took a deep breath and looked at the ceiling. "God, Teyla, I wanted to break her neck so badly I could taste it. And Guido, well, you saw me shoot him even though he was already unconscious. And then I shot his hand, yes I do remember it clearly now even though I didn't seem too lucid at the time. But I think the memory of that helped me to come to terms a bit with what they did. It didn't take away the shame or embarrassment but it gave me a little satisfaction."

Teyla's eyes were filled with pain and she wanted to make the pain she saw in John's eyes go away as well. "When I touch you, does it remind you of what he did?"

John actually managed a smile. "No, your touch is so beautiful and gentle and I can feel every little bit of love you have for me drifting right off your fingertips. Your touch helps the memory of his fade away. Hopefully soon I won't have that memory at all. You'll just have to keep touching me as much as you can until it's completely disappeared."

Teyla sent a sassy look in John's direction. "Should I start now? Do we have time?"

John's eyes lit up at her playful grin. "Well the pilot is waiting at the airport to take us to Boston to pick up TJ but … he can wait for a little while. As long as we're in Atlantis by tonight we should be fine. I don't think another few minutes will hurt anything."

Teyla stood up and pulled her top over her head and began to shimmy out of her shorts. When she was standing in front of John completely nude, she pushed at him until he was reclined on the bed. She lowered herself to align with his body and said, "What I have in mind may take much longer than that. I hope he will not be bored."

John wrapped his hands around her gorgeous ass and rolled so she was now under him. "I don't really give a crap about the pilot at this point. I know I won't be bored." And he lowered his head to capture her lips.

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"Colonel, please tell me I can take this thing off right after the ceremony," John whispered to Sam Carter who was standing next to him on the bottom stair of the gate room. "It reminds me of funerals and court martials."

Sam looked at the man standing so proud and strong in his dress blues waiting to receive his new promotion. It had been almost two months since he'd been brought to the SGC battered and fractured in more than one way but he'd been back on Atlantis for a few weeks now and she could tell he was well on his way to being himself. The only difference was now he had a family to take care of, though she knew he'd always thought of the people of this city as his family, too.

But John's brother and his wife had been invited as well and she thought John seemed pretty happy about that. Both Dave and Amy though seemed a bit overwhelmed at actually being in the mythical city of Atlantis and kept looking around lost.

"But this isn't either of those things, John," Sam reminded him. "It's a happy occasion. And maybe I'll let you dress down if you actually start calling me Sam. We'll be the same rank now so don't even try giving me that excuse."

John smirked as he said, "It's a deal, Colonel. And you don't get the name until I get my wings."

Sam smiled. "Fair enough. Here's Jack now."

General O'Neill walked to the podium set up in front of the Stargate and waited for the crowd to quiet down.

"The President of the United States, acting upon the recommendation of the secretary of the Air Force, has placed special trust and confidence in the patriotism, integrity, and abilities of Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard. In view of these special qualities, and his demonstrated potential to serve in the higher grade, Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard is promoted to the grade of Colonel, United States Air Force, effective the 10th day of September, two thousand and nine, by order of the Secretary of the Air Force."

O'Neill looked over the crowd then said, "Mrs. Teyla Emmagen-Sheppard, would you please come forward and help pin on your husband's new rank?"

Teyla walked up to the podium as Sheppard took a few steps forward. O'Neill stepped over to them and together he and Teyla pinned on John's shiny new wings. John now raised his hand and repeated his oath after O'Neill.

"I, John Sheppard, having been appointed a Colonel in the United States Air Force do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same, that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office which I am about to enter, so help me God.

O'Neill looked up and smiled as he presented, "Ladies and Gentlemen, Colonel John Sheppard."

The crowd broke out in thunderous applause and John looked around awkwardly. O'Neill stuck out his hand and said, "Congratulations John. Well deserved. You want to say a few words?"

John grimaced but knew he should say something. He walked over to the podium, Teyla by his side and he cleared his throat nervously.

"I'm not real big on talking so you'll all bear with me and I'll keep it really short. Looking around here today I see so many familiar faces and many of you I haven't had a chance to actually talk to since I 'came back from the dead'."

Soft laughter broke out among the crowd and John tried to keep from rolling his eyes. "But I wanted to thank each and every one of you who was there for me while I was recovering. I know most of you didn't have a chance to come visit, which was probably a good thing as I went postal a few too many times before I finally got my act together, but I know you were there in spirit."

He glanced at Teyla as he said this knowing the connection they'd had while he'd been gone. Then he looked back to the assembled audience and nodded. "I'm glad to be back home. Thanks."

O'Neill looked at him and said, "Short and sweet; just what I like. Now I only came because I heard there'd be cake. Let's go find some."

John nodded and put out his hand to allow O'Neill to go first. But when he tried to follow he didn't get very far. He was bombarded with people wanting to congratulate him and welcome him back to Atlantis. He wanted to remind them that he'd been back for over two weeks but he'd been stuck in the chair room for much of the time and many of the troops had only been recalled in the past few days.

It was a half hour before he was able to actually get to that cake O'Neill was talking about and he found most of it gone. He stuck his finger in a glob of frosting that was left on the tray and stuck it in his mouth, looking around to make sure no one saw him. As he did he saw Torren toddle over with Teyla right behind. And she was holding a plate with a large piece of cake on it.

"You didn't save that for me, did you?" he asked with the best pathetic eyes he could muster.

TJ jumped up and down a few times yelling, "Tate, Dada!"

Teyla smiled as she handed John the plate. "Yes, I knew you would want some but feared there might not be any remaining by the time everyone wished you well. Torren has already had some as exhibited by his energy level at the moment."

John looked down and saw the boy still hopping around with exuberance. "He's just excited because I got promoted today, aren't you, Pal? Glad Daddy finally got a big boy set of wings."

John looked curiously at Teyla but knew she was fine with John calling himself Daddy to Torren. The child thought of him in that regard so his title should fit. She knew Torren would most likely call Kanaan father as that was the traditional Athosian name.

John moved to sit on one of the steps and called TJ to sit near him. "Come here, TJ, if you sit quietly for a while I'll let you have a bite of my cake, okay? There're too many people around here for you to be jumping all over the place."

TJ nodded and hopped over to sit next to him. Teyla joined them and John ate his cake, sharing it with his new family. He looked around the gate room noticing who was talking to whom and trying to figure out who hadn't returned. He didn't know everyone that had been on Atlantis by name but he knew most of the faces and he thought a few were missing. But there were also quite a few new ones too. Must be those idiot scientists that Rodney would need to babysit.

Once his cake was gone he pulled TJ into his lap and began to sing him a little song close to his ear. Teyla heard him and knew it was one of the silly ones that he had most likely made the words up for. She was surprised that he was doing this in a public place, though she knew with the noise of so many socializing people, most could not hear him.

And she remembered all the times in the last few weeks, since they had been back and living in their new larger quarters, that John had played his guitar and sung to them. He had even gotten Teyla to sing along a few times, keeping his promise from before. Teyla took a deep breath when she remembered how she had hated seeing his guitar so silent and still in his room after they had heard of John's supposed fate. But no more. He was here and they had finally been able to reveal their feelings to each other.

John saw Teyla twist the ring on her finger and touched his own. He knew there were a lot of people who had been more than a little surprised when he and Teyla had come back married but he honestly didn't care. He knew they would still remain professional in public and what they did in private was nobody's damn business. And he had to admit he really liked what they did in private especially now that TJ had his own room.

John noticed Dave speaking with O'Neill and General Vidrine and wondered what they possibly had to talk about. But then both Dave and Amy had been very curious about the city and had been asking a million questions since they had gotten here. He wasn't sure if they were actually getting any answers.

The party started to wind down and John found himself back in his quarters with Dave, Amy, Teyla and TJ. Teyla and Amy were cleaning the child up and getting him ready for a nap and John took Dave out to the balcony to show him the great view they had.

"Although the planet we were on before you couldn't actually see San Francisco," John told him remembering the wonderful few days they'd enjoyed there last week courtesy of O'Neill and Carter. They'd insisted they needed at least a small honeymoon. John hadn't been able to refuse nor had he wanted to.

Dave rolled his eyes at John's jest and shook his head in wonder. "This is truly amazing, John. I can't even begin to describe what a magnificent place this is. I can't believe this is where you were all those years. No wonder you didn't always get my messages."

John gave a tiny chuckle. He really didn't want to think about the times when he and Dave were at odds or the fact that he hadn't been able to make up with his Dad before he died. That was a regret he'd just have to live with.

"You seemed awfully cozy with General Vidrine and O'Neill earlier, Dave," John jokingly accused. "Anything interesting you learned from them?"

Dave got a glint in his eye and John grew suspicious. "Well, John, now that you asked, I should probably tell you that I made a little business deal today with your two generals. Seems they've been looking for a company to manufacture some of their power components and Sheppard Industries might just fit the bill. And it was just an added bonus that I already knew all about this secret stuff and that I can work Ancient Technology."

"Wait!" John cried. "How do you know you can work Ancient Tech? I mean, I figured you probably could since you're my brother but …" He picked up an LSD that was lying on a nearby table and handed it to Dave.

"Your friend McKay grabbed me as soon as Amy and I got here today. You were still getting ready and hadn't come down yet. He gave me some gadget that looked kind of like this and asked me if I could turn it on. Apparently I could."

John grinned though wasn't surprised at McKay's actions. The man was obsessed with work. He looked as Dave turned the device on and off a few times. "Congratulations, Dave, that's great that you got more business and now you might understand a little more of what I do."

"And I'll be in contact with people who actually know what you're doing. And maybe I can keep better tabs on you now."

John looked like he was about to complain so Dave cut him off with another question. "But I was wondering, this connection you have to the city … can you actually feel it?"

John paused for a second before answering. "Well, yeah but I usually don't tell anyone that. They'd think I'm a freak."

"But you can feel it, like maybe a buzzing in your veins or a … I don't know … humming?"

John nodded and was amazed that now he and his brother had one more thing in common and they both had a connection to this city. He heard a slight sound and turned to see Teyla standing in the doorway. Amy was with Torren still in the living room and she looked like she was reading him a story.

"A humming?" Teyla said stepping out onto the balcony and looking confused. "And if you close your eyes do you feel it whispering to you?"

John's eyes were now confused. "Yeah. But how do you know that?"

Teyla took the device from Dave and John saw it turn on at her touch. His confusion grew. Understanding began to dawn as he saw her rest her hand on her flat stomach and her mouth twisted into a crooked smile.

"John, there is something I need to tell you."

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~ ~ finis ~ ~

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