Becoming Connor Davids Chapter 36 : Singular (A Day in the Life)
Author's Notes :
- Did something a little different with this chapter, but next chapter will be back to normal. Promise. ;)
- Tesco is an Irish grocery store, equivalent to maybe the size of a quarter of a Target in the States.
- Jelly Belly belongs to the Jelly Belly Candy Co.
- Minesweeper is not mine.
- Tá mo chroí istigh ionat. : My heart is within you.
- Edited content is on my homepage.
John lazily hit the alarm on his watch to make it stop beeping. Just like most days he woke alone, Connor was off running with Ronon, so he stretched a little and hopped out of bed naked, tripping on hastily removed clothes from the night before. John grinned as he remembered the events that took place and he bent down to pick them up. Both John and Connor were clean people, something that John appreciated, and they both tried to keep their room as tidy as possible.
John stumbled over to the dresser, pulling out black uniform pants to go with his black uniform undershirt and black uniform over-shirt. Then he pulled out some boxers, pausing briefly to make sure they were his, before piling them on top of the rest of his clothes. He grabbed a bundle of socks and trekked into the bathroom. John set the clothes on the counter and proceed to relieve his bladder, sighing in relief. Atlantis started the shower for him and John stepped into the warm stream of water. He rolled his shoulders as water cascaded over them, allowing his muscles to relax. He briefly wished Connor were here with him, and on the days John woke late or Connor finished early, sometimes he was.
The Air Force pilot reached for his shampoo and lathered the clear liquid into his hair before rinsing it out. He added some conditioner when the water ran clear of soap bubbles and washed himself off as it sat for a moment. John closed his eyes as he stepped back under the stream, letting the water wash away the slick liquid. He grabbed a towel and dried off before stepping out of the shower.
John briefly glanced at his appearance in the mirror before reaching for his toothbrush. Exactly three minutes after he started, he was spitting the foamy substance out and rinsing his mouth. Connor had some obsession with brushing his teeth, and while it didn't extend to John brushing his teeth, the older man still found himself being more aware of his own pearly whites.
He reached for his clothes, tugging on his boxers and socks followed by his shirt and his pants. He pulled the over-shirt on but left it unbuttoned. John stopped to put some coffee on to boil and made yet another mental note to talk to Connor about the outrageous amount of tea piled in the corner. Somehow the linguist kept worming out of the conversation every time John brought it up. He made a second mental note to some day be as evasive as his partner was, because really, it was awe inspiring.
John found his boots by the door and tugged them on, tucking the bottoms of his pants into them before double knotting the shoe laces. He slipped his ever present wristband on followed by his watch and as the coffee began to percolate, Connor entered the room, freshly showered, with some running clothes in his hand.
John pulled the younger man to him and greeted him with a kiss, one that Connor returned fervently. "Good morning." He greeted as he pulled away. Connor just blushed and ducked his head a little. He threw his clothes into their shared hamper, but John didn't let him go. "You could have showered with me." He said, inhaling the smell of the soap on Connor's skin, feeling his boyfriend's wet hair press against him.
"Next time." He promised and John was certainly going to hold him to it.
"You're late this morning."
"Yeah, sorry." No explanation, but then again, John didn't really ask for one.
John tugged the younger man around to their large chair and he sat, pulling Connor down on to his lap. They'd been living together for months and their routine was still the same. John liked the routine, it gave them time together each morning and they briefed each other on the day's coming events.
"You're off-world today?" John asked.
Connor's head was tucked in against John's neck and the older man had a tight grip around his waist. "Yeah."
"I'm making some coffee and then we can get breakfast." Because John needed to wake up enough to walk in a straight line to the transporter.
"Sure."
"Con." John started and slipped his hand into the back of his partner's pants. "We need to talk about this aversion to tea that you've picked up."
"Not really." Connor said. "It's nothing."
"No, it's something and we need to talk about it. No weaseling out this time." John warned. "Because your pile of tea is becoming precariously high and even if we started now I don't think we could drink it all by this time next year."
Connor sighed and his warm breath tickled John's skin. "John."
"No, Connor, talk to me, please." John pleaded. "Or maybe Johansen." Heightmeyer's replacement.
"I don't need a shrink, John."
"You need to talk about this."
"No, I don't." Connor began to shift his weight, but John held on to him firmly.
"What will it take for you to start drinking it again?" John asked gently.
Connor closed his eyes and leaned back against John, clutching his shirt. "I don't know."
"We can take it slow, Con. Start here, in our mornings and then maybe you'd feel safe drinking it in your lab again or at dinner or lunch."
"Please, John." Connor whispered. "Don't make me do this."
John felt his heart break just a little. "I…" He paused and licked his lips. "I'm not going to make you do anything you don't want to, Connor." He said finally. "But I think you should think about it."
"I…I can't. Not yet."
"It's been over a month, Con." The older man said gently.
"Not yet, John, please."
"Okay." John said softly. "Okay. Just know, that I'm here whenever you're ready."
"I know."
Eventually the coffee became ready and John gently dumped Connor onto the seat as he stood. "Want a cup?"
Connor shook his head. "No."
"Alright." John made himself a large cup of coffee, wincing as he downed it quickly before pouring another and moving back to his boyfriend. "Scoot over." Connor complied and John wedged himself onto the chair resulting in Connor half on John, half on the chair, but the younger man didn't seem to mind. "So where are you going today?"
"M3X-283."
John took another sip of coffee. "So where are you going today?"
Connor laughed softly. "A planet that's supposed to be uninhabited. We think there was an Ancient outpost there."
"And?"
The linguist shrugged. "That's it. It's low priority, been in the database for a while."
"How long will you be gone?"
"Dunno." Connor mumbled, leaning into John. "We have to check in every four hours."
"You taking a jumper?"
Connor shrugged. "Dunno."
"Pack lunch." The older man advised.
John could practically feel his partner roll his eyes. "MREs. Yum."
"Hey, Rodney swears by them."
"Dr. McKay would eat dirt if it looked like chocolate."
John couldn't argue that. "Eat." Is all he said. John savored the last few sips of his coffee before setting down the empty mug. "What time are you gating out?"
"Eight-thirty. Pre-briefing at seven forty-five."
"So we have," John looked at his watch. "An hour-ish?"
"Yeah."
"How fast can you eat?" Connor didn't answer. John looked down to find the younger man sleeping. "Connor." He gently shook him.
"Hm?"
"Wake-y, wake-y." John said in a sing song voice.
"Nuh-uh."
"You're really ruining my plans for a pre-mission blow job." John whispered in his ears.
"Mmm, sleep."
John shook his head. "Where did I go wrong with you?"
Connor laughed and kissed his chin. "You haven't."
"You'd rather sleep than experience my sexual prowess."
"Huh?"
John poked him. "Uh-huh."
"Prowess, huh?"
"Oh, yeah." John said haughtily. "Total prowess."
"Hm, I think you'll have to prove this prowess." Connor said with a smile.
John's hands were already reaching for his boyfriend's pants. "Prove, huh?" They came unbuttoned and John pulled the zipper down. "And how would I do that?" His fingers dived into the hole in Connor's boxers, stroking the flesh they found there.
"I, uh…can…ah, think of some ways." Connor said, his breathing increasing.
John leaned over and bent his head to Connor's neck. "Really?" He asked, licking at the skin there.
"Uh…" Connor stopped talking after that as John's hand teased him. John opened his mouth wider and lightly sucked on Connor's neck. "John." Connor whispered. He nipped at the skin with his teeth, sucking long enough to leave a mark.
Connor was slowly hardening in John's hand and he pulled his partner's erection out of the front of his pants. John detached from Connor's neck and gently let the younger man slide the rest of the way off his lap as he sunk onto the floor in front of him.
[Edited Content]
After coming, Connor pulled him up into a wet, hot kiss and John felt himself harden even more. It was an incredible turn on to him to kiss Connor after doing that and he suspected the linguist knew it. Connor tongue swirled around John's mouth and John sucked on it lightly before releasing it back into Connor's mouth. John's mouth met Connor's in a series of hard kisses.
When John finally pulled away, breathless, he took in his fiancé's form. Connor looked ravished. His cheeks were burning red, he was breathing hard, his pants were open and his dick was hanging out the opening of his boxers. He was completely beautiful in John's eyes. When his gaze finally drifted back up to Connor's face he found his partner blushing deeper as he reached for a tissue. John watched him wipe himself clean before tucking himself back in. John reached his hands down to carefully zip his pants back up and button them.
John reached a hand out to stroke Connor's cheek. "Beautiful." He sighed.
Doubt flared briefly in Connor's eyes and John wondered if that would ever go away. "I…um…should I return the favor?" He asked softly, already reaching a hand down. John stopped the younger man from sliding off the chair and Connor shot him a confused look. The older man knew that sometime in the future they would probably have to talk about this again. About the fact that Connor didn't like to give blow jobs as much as John did, but did it anyways. As much as John liked receiving them, he knew he couldn't live with the cost to Connor.
"Not today." John whispered.
"But--" John put a finger on his lips.
"Shh." He grabbed Connor's hand and slowly unzipped his pants. With his free hand, John pulled himself free of his pants. He raised Connor's hand to his lips and licked his palm until it glistened with saliva. Connor got the message and his hand went down between them and began working John. His hand slid smoothly up and down John's erection, his thumb occasionally flicking over the top. John leaned forward and rested his head on Connor's shoulder while the younger man began to move him over the edge.
In the end he came pretty quickly which would have been embarrassing if John hadn't already gotten over the fact that his body pretty much loved anything Connor would do to it. He came all over Connor's hand and the linguist brought his palm up to his mouth and licked the liquid away and John thought that if he could be hard again so soon, that sight would have done it. When Connor finished licking his hand, John leaned in for a kiss. And before Connor he never would have thought it was hot to taste himself on someone else, but now, John couldn't get enough as his tongue assaulted Connor's mouth, licking at every corner.
While John was busy plundering Connor's mouth for hidden treasure, the younger man was wiping him clean and with as much care as John had used, was deftly tucking him back into his pants and zipping them up.
"Well," Connor said when they broke apart. "I definitely believe in your prowess now."
John grinned stupidly. "That's good." He stood up slowly, legs still a little shaky and Connor stood up with him. John pulled him into a tight hug for a moment before letting the younger man go. "Breakfast?"
"You mean that wasn't it?" Connor teased softly, heading for the bathroom.
"While high in protein…it wasn't very high in anything else." John teased back, following him and Connor blushed deliciously.
They washed their hands before John ushered his boyfriend out the door with a warm hand on the back. He led them to the transporter and then from there to the mess hall where various foods were already laid out. Not too many choices, as most people weren't up yet, but enough that Connor seemed to stare at the food for five minutes before John fixed him a plate of fruit and a plate of pancakes. He poured the younger man some orange juice and pushed him off in the direction of a table before fixing his own plate. John piled on some eggs, bacon and a couple pancakes before pouring another cup of coffee for himself. He had a feeling it was going to be a long day.
Food collected, John walked to the table that Connor had picked out, poked his already falling back asleep boyfriend, looked pointedly at his breakfast and then started in on his eggs.
John watched as Connor nibbled on a piece of cantaloupe. "Nervous?" He asked.
Connor looked up at him, wide eyed. "No." He denied. But John knew the younger man better than that.
"So why are you nervous?" John asked, tracing the top of his coffee cup with his finger.
"Did you know that topologically speaking a coffee cup and a donut are the same shape?" Connor asked softly.
John nodded. "I did."
"Right." Connor said. "Math…you."
John gently touched his foot to the other man's. "Connor?"
"I just…it's a slightly bad feeling." He admitted quietly.
"Like the bad feeling you had when that building imploded on us?"
"Maybe?"
John could feel a headache coming on. He hadn't listened to Connor's warning then and he and his team had paid the price, and now it was tempting to…"Should I cancel the mission?"
"Can you do that?"
John shrugged. "In theory."
Connor appeared to think about it as he pushed the rest of his fruit back and forth across his plate. "No," He said finally. "I'd be taking advantage of your position."
"It's not really taking advantage of if you don't try and persuade me and I offer. You only have to ask, Connor." John said softly.
"I know, but it just wouldn't be right."
"Alright, but if you get there and it gets worse, I want you to come back."
"John--"
"Really, Connor, come back." He pleaded.
The linguist nodded slowly. "Okay."
"And eat." John said, pushing a plate of pancakes towards the younger man.
"I'm full." Connor moaned.
"Just one."
"Really, John, I've put on four pounds in the past two weeks."
"You have?"
"Yes."
John thought that was probably the best news he'd heard all day. "That's…really good."
"So can you please stop shoving food down my throat every day?"
John put on a show of thinking about it. "Nope."
"But--"
"Connor," He said gently, meeting the younger man's gaze. "When I can hold you and not feel your ribs under my hands, that's when I'll stop."
The linguist blinked for a second and looked down at his fruit. "I…fine." He blushed a little and bit the tip off a strawberry.
"Pancakes too." John urged.
"Ugh, after my strawberries."
John smiled and drank his coffee. He watched as his boyfriend struggled through three more strawberries before tackling the pancakes. It was a stack of three and John was mildly impressed that Connor made his way through half of them before pushing it away and declaring he was finished. John ate the last of his bacon and piled their plates on top of each other.
"Seven forty, perfect timing." He said as he gathered their dishes. Connor took a swig of what was left of John's coffee before pushing the mug into John's hands, letting him finish it. He stood with the dishes and Connor followed him. He paused briefly to drop them off in an empty bin before escorting his boyfriend out of the mess hall and to the mission briefing room off of the control tower.
"Are you staying?" Connor asked, referring to the briefing.
John paused. "No, I'll come find you before you leave though."
"Okay." Connor said softly with a light blush.
John really loved how much he blushed. He fought the urge to brush a kiss against Connor's lips and settled for a light pat on the shoulder before turning and heading away. Hm, now he had about half an hour to kill. John's feet made the decision for him and he found himself in front of Teyla's quarters. He hesitated briefly before ringing the chime, he knew she would be up, but he didn't know if she would be alone.
Wow, he thought, just a year ago his whole team had been single, and now they all had someone to share their nights with and wasn't that a good thought? The door in front of him slid open and Teyla was on the other side. She had a smile on her face and her room smelt lightly of the Athosian tea that he and Connor liked.
"Hey, Teyla," he greeted. "Are you busy?"
She shook her head. "I am free." She stepped back and gestured John into her quarters.
John wasn't sure what he was expecting. Maybe some sign that Lorne was now taking up most of her time. He thought if you looked at his and Connor's quarters it would be pretty obvious that they both lived there, but beyond a black t-shirt thrown over the back of her desk chair, there was nothing different. Everything was the same.
"Connor's going off-world." John blurted.
Teyla tilted her head. "I see. And you are worried about him?"
She gestured to the two pillows on the floor and John sunk down heavily onto one. Teyla followed in a much more graceful fashion. "Terrified." John admitted. "Anything could happen. And he has a bad feeling about today."
"Similar to the one he experienced when we investigated Michael's lab?"
"Yeah."
"Hm." She frowned in thought. "And you are worried what this might mean. Do any of your people show a talent for prescience?"
John shook his head. "Maybe a thousand years ago. I mean, today there are psychics and stuff, but nothing anyone believes in. Connor certainly hasn't mentioned anything like it."
"And he would have informed you of this?"
"Yes." John said with certainty.
"Hm. Perhaps Atlantis is speaking to him."
"I think she sends actual words."
Teyla raised an eyebrow at that. "Really?"
"Yeah. I'm worried about that, too."
She reached a hand out and it landed softly on John's knee. "Does he worry you a lot?"
"It's not really him." John said slowly, trying to put his thoughts into words. "It's more like…everything around him worries me. I know that Connor can take care of himself, it's everything else I'm worried about." He admitted. Teyla's soft laugh surprised him a second later. "What?"
She gave him a large smile. "You are truly in love, John. I know you had said you were before, but this was perhaps the first time I've heard you…express it differently."
Oh, wow. John felt the tips of his ears redden as he ducked his head. "I…you…really?"
She laughed. "Yes. You truly sound in love. I am so happy for you." She said warmly and her hand gently squeezed John's knee.
"What about you?" John asked.
Her smile softened. "I have great affection for Evan, but I do not know yet if it is love." She admitted.
"Well, it's only been about five months." John offered. He had known at five months that Connor was the one, but he wasn't naïve enough to think that that was the case for everyone.
"I know."
They sat in silence for a few minutes before John's knees began to protest at the position. "Up for a visit to McKay?"
"Do you believe he will be awake this early?" She asked, but was already standing.
John stood as well. "Yeah, knowing McKay he's already bitching about a laptop."
Teyla laughed. "You're probably right."
John followed her out of her quarters and to the infirmary. He laughed as they approached the medical room.
"Coffee! I need coffee. You know, that brown stuff that makes the world go round? Not this cat piss."
"Dr. McKay this is what Dr. Keller has said--"
"I need coffee! And breakfast. Real food! Not just some of that oatmeal mush I know you have laying around."
"Dr. McKay…you've just had surgery, you need a few days to recover." A female voice persisted.
"I'm recovered. I need coffee. Oh, and my laptop."
John grinned as he turned the corner into the infirmary. "Bitching at the help already, Rodney?"
"Sheppard!" The other man said in relief. "Finally, someone with half a brain. Tell them I need coffee. And my computer…before Zelenka blows up the city."
John waggled his finger back and forth as he approached the bed. "Now, now, McKay, that's not what the good doctor ordered."
"Screw the good doctor." He whined. "I need coffee."
"I don't think Ronon would appreciate that." John said with a grin. "Now be a good boy and eat your mush."
Rodney glared at him. "Oh you're so funny, Sheppard. I'm not eating this."
"Dr. McKay, please." The nurse tried again.
John grabbed the spoon, filling it and held it in front of Rodney's mouth. "Let's go, McKay. This first, coffee later."
"I can feed myself." Rodney said, grabbing the spoon. "Ugh." He moaned, but obediently ate it.
"How are you feeling today, Rodney?" Teyla asked from beside him.
"Same as I felt yesterday." Rodney offered. He turned to John, his blue eyes piercing, "How did you know, anyways?"
"Huh?" John decided playing dumb was probably the best way to go. "I don't know what you're talking about, McKay."
"How did you know something was wrong with me?"
"A hunch." John shrugged.
Rodney snorted as he swallowed another bite. "Please, Sheppard."
"I had a couple people tell me you were acting…unusual." John admitted.
"People? What people?"
"Eat your mush, Rodney." John could definitely feel that headache starting up again.
"Not until you tell me who." He persisted. "Was it Zelenka?"
John frowned. "What did you do to Radek?"
Rodney waved the question away. "Who was it?"
"McKay."
"Sheppard."
"Just random people, Rodney." John sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Not that random if you decided that they might be right." Rodney said triumphantly.
"Just eat, McKay."
John glanced at his watch. He still had ten minutes. John decided he would just walk really slowly to the control room. "Hey," he said, turning to Teyla. "I'm gonna go catch Connor before he leaves, do you mind staying with Rodney?"
She shook her head. "Go ahead, John."
"Thanks. I'll be back later, Rodney."
"With coffee."
"We'll see." John left his two teammates there and went to find the nearest transporter.
He hit the button for the control level and the lift moved him, ending a few seconds later. He arrived in time to see SGA-4 plus Connor exit the briefing room. John waited until Connor passed him to join them.
"Hey." John offered.
"Hey." His boyfriend returned.
"How was the meeting?"
"We're taking a jumper." Connor told him.
"That's good." John was already thinking of the MREs and medical supplies that were more readily available on the jumpers than what they could carry in their packs. The jumper also meant that if an accident happened they could get back to Atlantis quicker. "You driving?"
"Yep." And that John thought was pretty funny considering his boyfriend wasn't licensed to drive a motor vehicle on the planet they were from but he was trusted to pilot an alien spaceship in another galaxy.
"Good." John walked with him to the tac room.
"Help me with my vest?" Connor questioned softly.
"You never had to ask." John whispered in reply. SGA-4 was already there and gearing up. Connor pulled his designated vest, something he had received after his tenth away mission, off his rack and pulled it on. John began checking the back over for him as the younger man did up the front. John frowned. "Where's your sidearm?"
"Eric has it." John didn't know why but sure enough a second later the corporal was offering Connor the M11 that John had given him for Christmas. He clipped the gun belt around his waist and bent to fix it around his thigh as John turned him around and started checking the front of his vest. Satisfied, John gave it a small tug, before letting go.
"Good?" Connor asked.
"Yep." John walked him over to get a P-90 off the rack. He watched with pride as Connor checked the weapon over before clipping it to the front of his vest. John glanced around the room, and if any of Connor's unofficial team had been staring at him, they weren't when John looked at them. "C'mon, I'll walk you to the jumper."
"'kay." Connor agreed quietly.
John followed his partner out of the room and up to the jumper bay. Connor chose jumper seven, his personal favorite. John like jumper one the best. John glanced around quickly, noting that none of the team had followed him. He tugged on Connor's vest, bringing the younger man closer to him and gave him a quick, hard kiss. "You better come back."
Connor swallowed. "I will."
"Okay." John ran a hand nervously through his hair and let go of Connor's vest. "I love you."
"I love you, John." Connor said in response, quietly but passionately.
"Then come back."
Connor nodded once and hit the button on the back of the jumper to lower the ramp. John watched as his other half walked up the ramp and began the pre-flight. A knot of worry began to settle in his stomach and John took one last look before walking away from the ship and out of the jumper bay. He passed Smith and Ramsey on the way, returning their salutes.
He grimaced as he looked at his watch. The next hour of his life belonged to the scientists who wanted him to turn on yet more Ancient stuff. Seriously, shouldn't they have run out of stuff by now? He made his way to Zelenka's lab and a few people milled about.
"Radek?" He asked, looking for the crazy haired, Czech guy.
"Colonel!" Radek called and waved an arm. John spotted him over in the corner, doing what, John wasn't sure and remembering the last time he asked, John wasn't about to ask again. "We have some good stuff for you to touch today."
John thought he'd probably already touched all the good stuff he was going to touch today and a grin spread across his face. "What do you have for me Radek?"
Radek pulled John across the room towards a big table with several items spread out across it. The scientist pulled out a chair for John and reached for the first item. "If you would, Colonel."
It buzzed lightly when John touched it, but other than that John had no idea what it did. "Nothing, sorry."
Radek looked momentarily sad, "Ah, well it's fine. This one please." He said pushing another artifact into John's hands. While he was certainly more polite that McKay, he was still just as pushy.
After an hour and ten minutes of what John sometimes liked to call 'Guess what flavor Jelly Belly this is' because really, it seemed just as useless and boring with just as much guessing involved, he finally made his escape…to his office. Because paperwork piled up faster than John could explain and Lorne would only do so much of it before remembering that it wasn't his job and John was left with the rest.
He briefly checked his e-mail and smiled to himself when he saw one from Connor time stamped 0547 that morning.
John,
I promise to be safe, eat, and come back. And to take a P-90 (because I really don't want an out of his mind with worry partner). Ronon said that you and he are training with some Marines today on the mainland, try not to break too many because Keller is still putting Dr. McKay back together. I asked Ronon to be careful and he offered me a ruthless grin that helps me remember to never piss him off.
Tá grá agam duit.
- Connor
p.s. Remember to eat all your vegetables.
John couldn't help but laugh at his boyfriend's e-mail even as a small piece of him loved hearing Connor say 'partner'. He saved the e-mail and went on to checking/ignoring/forwarding the rest.
An hour and a half into the piles of forms and reports on his desk, Lorne came in looking like he ate the canary and John so didn't ever want to know why.
"Good morning, sir." He said, taking the seat on the other side of John's desk.
"Morning, Major." And hm, wasn't Connor bugging him about promoting Lorne? And wasn't it time that John's second in command got his own office? "Want your own office?"
Lorne looked up from his computer where he was probably answering all the e-mails that John had just forwarded to him so he didn't have to deal with them himself. "Sorry, sir?"
"I just realized that you should probably have your own office."
Lorne squirmed a little. "I do, sir."
That was certainly news to John. "Really?"
"Yes, sir. It's a couple levels up."
"Um…" That's it John, baffle him with your intelligence.
"Why don't I use it, sir?"
"Yeah, totally what I was about to ask."
"I did, sir, but no one could find it and when it became apparent that no one could find you unless you wanted them to…" John filled in the blank as 'and you don't want them to', "…so I sorta moved into yours so people could find me instead, sir."
John thought that was a really good plan. "Oh, well, carry on then, Major."
Lorne grinned. "Yes, sir."
"And tell Perelli's team to stop submitting things in triplicate." John said with a groan. "Paper only grows on trees in the Milky Way galaxy. Get them to start submitting digitally, it's been four and a half years."
"Yes, sir." Lorne answered promptly.
After another forty-five minutes of sorting through the stack, John shoved the rest at Lorne and took a short break playing Minesweeper, one of his favorite games, especially since P vs. NP had always been one of John's favorite Millennium problems. While he was playing, John discreetly looked up Lorne's record. Air Force for…John glanced over at Lorne, was he really that old? Air Force for sixteen years and was actually three years older than Connor. He entered when he was twenty-one and John was mildly impressed at how young he had been when he'd made Major. But Connor was right, in four months Lorne would have seventeen years under his belt which was on the low side of time for lieutenant colonel, but not unheard of, and really, John thought Lorne probably deserved it what with fighting the life sucking aliens and everything. He made a mental note to talk to Carter about it and anyone else floating around on base that should be promoted.
"Colonel?"
John looked up to see Lorne staring at him. "Yeah?"
"I haven't been able to offer you my congratulations yet, sir." He said with a friendly smile.
"Congratulations?"
"On your, um, engagement, sir."
Oh. John felt a goofy grin take over his face and he couldn't help it, not that he tried hard. "Thank you, Major."
"Do you know when it will be?"
John nodded. "July twentieth, I hope your schedule's clear."
"It will be, sir."
"Good. I know Connor wants you there. It's at midnight."
"Midnight, sir?"
John shrugged. "Athosian tradition, either midnight or noon and Connor and I both liked midnight better."
"Sounds good, sir."
"And, uh, I'm not sure if he's mentioned it to you…about the ceremony?"
Lorne shook his head. "Not yet, sir."
John sighed and rolled his eyes. "You don't have to tack on sir at the end of every sentence."
"Of course, sir."
"Whatever. So everyone there is expected to share a story about the couple…Teyla could probably tell you more."
"I'll think of a good one, sir."
"Make sure you do."
"Um…"
"Yeah?"
"What else is there to the ceremony if you don't mind me asking, sir."
John rubbed his forehead as he tried to remember everything Teyla had said. "Everyone drinks something out of the same cup…vows…we're adding rings…and the thing Connor is most worried about, apparently there's some kind of test to make sure you know each other well enough. He's been asking me questions for days."
"What kind of test, sir?"
"Well I don't think we'll be fighting to the death." John told him sarcastically. "Teyla says hardly anyone fails, but that doesn't stop him from worrying about it. I'm more worried for myself because he remembers everything."
"Except when to eat, sir." Lorne said with a smile.
And didn't John know that was the truth. "We're working on that, Major."
"Yes, sir."
"Okay, listen, most of the guys in my unit called me Shep, McKay and Ronon call me Sheppard, Teyla and Connor call me John, just call me something other than sir." John said with a glare.
"Yes, Colonel."
John sighed. "Sir was better."
"Yes, sir."
"Now you're just being obstinate."
"Would I do that, sir?"
"Yes."
"Oh. I suppose you're right then, sir."
John was really starting to wonder what Connor saw in Lorne. "Hm." John went back to his Minesweeper, grinning as he won his twelfth game in a row.
"Ugh." John groaned.
"What?"
"Lost again."
"Solitaire?"
"Minesweeper."
"You know there's sorta a tactic to playing that."
"Really?"
"Yeah." Connor came up behind him and leaned over his shoulder, his right hand landing on the mouse. He started a new game, playing one through, winning as John watched.
"Wow. Show me."
"First you just click anything, that's random…as much as random is…then you…"
John smiled. After Connor had shown him how to do it, John rarely lost a game and while some might thought that took the fun out of it, John was all for winning, he really was. But as the minutes ticked closer and closer to SGA-4's first check in time, the small knot in John's stomach slowly grew. He wondered if Connor's bad feeling was contagious.
His radio beeped. "Colonel Sheppard?"
"Here."
"We've received an unscheduled dial in from M3X-283."
M3X-283. M3X-283. Fuck that was Connor's planet. John was out of his seat before he even thought about standing, already jogging to the gate room. "What's their status?"
"They haven't transmitted an IDC yet, Colonel and what we believe to be weapons fire has hit the shield."
Fuck, fuck, fuck. John ran faster he burst into the control room and clicked off his radio. He winced as another shot hit the shield. A few seconds later Lorne came running in after him and Carter was down out of her office. Now all they could do was wait. John looked at his watch, if no one came through they had thirty-six more minutes.
Minutes ticked by and weapons fire hit the shield every few seconds. Until an IDC came through, the weapons fire was the most reassuring thing, it meant someone was alive to still be fighting back. By the seventeenth minute, Teyla and Ronon had arrived, decked out and ready to go, each carrying a tac vest with them. John slid into the one Ronon offered as Lorne slid into the one Teyla held out. Two more teams of Marines were behind them, all waiting
"How is the gate still up?" John wondered aloud.
It was Carter that answered him. "A signal is coming through the gate to keep it open but not an IDC."
"But it's something of ours?"
"We're not sure."
Nineteen. Twenty. John counted the minutes.
At thirty-seven minutes Chuck had his hands poised over the DHD.
At thirty-eight minutes the gate shut down and at thirty-eight and two seconds Chuck dialed out.
At thirty-eight minutes and twelve seconds John was walking through the gate, P-90 held tightly in front of him.
At thirty-eight minutes and fifteen seconds John was firing his P-90 like there was no tomorrow.
What they found on the other side of the gate was chaos. There were dead Wraith littered on the ground, P-90 shells scattered about, dust was in the air, grass was trampled and there was so much noise. P-90 fire hit John's ears from the right as Wraith blasts were heard from the left. Every few seconds John could hear people shouting in English. He and his team, including the Marines were already firing back at the Wraith while making their way to the boulders that sheltered SGA-4.
John clicked his radio with his left hand while firing with his right. "Sheppard to Ramsey, come in."
"This is Ramsey." He heard spill over the radio.
"What's your position?"
"About twenty yards from you, sir, on your left."
John turned his head and saw the glint of a gun reflecting in the sun. "I've got you. What's the situation?"
There was a brief round of gun fire before Ramsey responded. "We found the outpost, sir, but the Doc says that the power drew the Wraith from orbit. We tried…" John heard more weapons fire and Ramsey yelled something out to someone near by. "…tried to fly out, but they hit our ship and we went down hard. After that we started making our way to the gate on foot when they interrupted us. We had dialed out with the jumper but weren't close enough to do anything about it, but before the gate shut down the Wraith jammed it. We've been here since."
"How's your team?"
There was a longer pause there and John began to worry even as he shot another Wraith. "We're…holding out, sir."
"How many Wraith do you see left?"
"I've got two in my scope…my guys say a total of twelve."
John clicked his radio again to open the channel to everyone. "Alright, I need the second squad of Marines to circle around and get the Wraith from behind. Team one will approach from the right, my team, including Lorne, and Ramsey's team will stay where we are. Let's get this done, people."
He heard a chorus of 'yes, sir's as the men around him moved into position. A red shot burst past him and a second later another Wraith went down. Ronon grinned at John. "Nice shot." John offered.
And eleven minutes after he stepped through the gate, all the Wraith dots on John's life-sense detector disappeared leaving only Atlantis personnel. John wasted no time in tapping his radio. "Connor where are you?" John really began to worry when there was no answer, he started jogging towards Ramsey's location. "Connor?"
"This is Sgt. Smith, sir. Dr. Davids' radio was…broken during the fight."
"But he's with you?"
"Yes, sir."
"Everyone make your way to the gate."
A minute later John's Marines had appeared along with Ronon and Teyla. John waited anxiously for SGA-4. Ramsey came limping out from the boulders a second later with an arm wrapped around Corporal Johns for support. Connor and Smith appeared next. Smith had an arm wrapped around Connor's waist and the linguist was walking gingerly. John scanned his body for any obvious injuries, seeing none he deducted any injuries were probably internal.
"Dial it up." John ordered whoever was closest to the gate. He rushed over to Connor's side and wrapped an arm around his waist, relieving Smith. "Hey." He greeted softly.
Connor's arm circled John's waist and his hand was clenched around the top of John's pants, right under his vest. "Hey." He replied weakly.
"Where are you hurt?" John asked as the gate whooshed open. He heard Teyla call ahead for a med team.
"I…" He trailed off.
"Connor." John said sternly. "Tell me."
"I think I might have bruised a couple ribs in the crash." Connor admitted. "And my head is killing me."
"Did you hit it?"
"I don't know."
"Anywhere else?"
"I…I'm not sure, it's hard to tell."
John definitely didn't like the sound of that. They neared the event horizon and John tightened his grip on Connor as they walked through. "Let me call you a gurney." John said quietly.
"No, John, I can walk, I'm fine."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah."
So John waved off the gurney and followed the med team back to the infirmary. "Tell me what happened on the planet."
Connor winced but started talking. "We got there and found the outpost. It's so cool, John, it's the lab where puddle jumpers were created or manufactured or something like that."
"Really?"
"Yeah, and all the equipment seems to be working." Connor offered with a grin. "I think it works similar to the food hub replicators. So, uh, anyways, we're checking the stuff out when we get a warning that the Wraith are flying overhead. I checked the HUD on the puddle jumper…and really it seemed like we just hit some bad luck. The planet was uninhabited but the Wraith seemed to be stopped above it for repairs. So we, uh, tried to make it back to the gate in the jumper but we were shot down." They had reached the infirmary and John helped Connor onto a bed. He subtly pulled off Connor's dog tags, placing them carefully into his pocket. "We were a mile or so from the gate and had already dialed Atlantis. We hadn't sent our IDC through yet so we knew the shield wasn't down but the Wraith didn't and they tried to send people through, eventually giving up but jamming a signal through so the wormhole couldn't close. They were waiting to go through if we ever sent our IDC. They started firing on us as we neared the gate, and that's it. Really, I'd consider the mission a success."
"Oh yeah?" John carefully helped Connor out of his vest, taking his weapons and then pulling the linguist's shirt gently over his head. "Ouch." John said, looking at the deep purple bruises already forming on Connor's chest.
"It's not as bad as it looks." Connor said shyly, wrapping his arms around his torso in an attempt to cover up.
A nurse came over and began examine Connor. John reluctantly stepped back as she listened to his lungs and heart and shined a light in the younger man's eyes that Connor clearly did not appreciate.
"I'll wrap up those ribs for you, Dr. Davids and I can give you a few painkillers if you'd like."
Connor opened his mouth to decline but John beat him to the punch. "He'll take them." John said with a lopsided grin, ignoring the glare Connor shot his way.
A few minutes later Connor was cleared, as was John, his ribs wrapped an a bottle of pills in John's pocket. The older man watched as his boyfriend went around to the various members of SGA-4 making sure they were okay before meeting John by the door. "Lunch?" Connor asked.
John smiled. "Sure." He turned to the other members of his team there. "Teyla, Ronon, Lorne? Care to join us?"
Ronon nodded as Lorne and Teyla verbally offered their acceptance.
Connor frowned and faced John. "Do you have to report to Colonel Carter or something?"
"She'll let me eat first, but in about an hour I will, yeah, otherwise she comes after you with a whip." He said, whispering the last part in Connor's ear.
The other man blushed and they made their way out of the infirmary and back towards the tac room to drop off their gear. "The lab was really cool, John." Connor said softly. "Like everything you ever wanted to know about puddle jumpers."
"I know Zelenka will be happy, Rodney too."
"And you?"
"And me." John assured his partner. "Maybe we can fix one up a bit, add on some stuff."
"Like what?" Connor asked as they turned into the tac room. John placed Connor's vest back on it's rack, handing the weapons off to the younger man. Connor took his and John's P-90 and placed it back where it went. He re-strapped his M11 to his thigh.
John un-clipped his vest. "Like…more guns."
"Hm." Connor said and John thought he actually was pondering the notion of adding more guns to a puddle jumper. "It would take a lot of calculations, even just to install the hardware…"
"Need to off set the weight." Ronon chimed in from behind John.
"Yeah." Connor beamed. "You read the book!"
"Yup." The larger man offered.
Now John was baffled. What book? He could read a book, why hadn't Connor shared the book with him? He shot his boyfriend a wounded look and Connor gently patted his arm. "You wouldn't be interested." He whispered lightly.
"You got Ronon to read a book?" Teyla asked interested.
"Ronon reads lots of books." Connor defended and John hung his vest up. Connor's eyes drifted over John's body and the older man knew he was checking for injuries. He turned away from his team and Lorne to allow Connor to lift his shirt, checking for bruising or injury. When the linguist was satisfied he dropped the hem of John's shirt, allowing it to fall back into place.
"Satisfied?" John asked lightly.
"For now." Connor mumbled. "Everyone's watching us." He moaned, embarrassed.
"I think it's cute, Doc." Lorne put in from behind them. John shot him a glare over his shoulder. The other man simply returned it with a grin. But John got the last laugh when Teyla gave his second in command a whack on the head.
"Lunch." John said firmly and led them out of the tac room and to the nearest transporter. A few seconds later they were in the food hub and they each made their way to a different machine, except for Connor who stayed with John. "What are you getting?" John asked.
"Stew."
John looked at him skeptically. "Stew?"
"Irish stew." Connor said with a nod, grabbing a tray. "It's good, you should try some." He said with a smile. John caught a twinkle in the younger man's eyes and knew that Connor was teasing him. When they had first gotten together John had insisted on trying a lot of the Irish food that Connor grew up with, until, that is, he quickly realized that most of the food was…bland by American standards and pretty high in carbs. And since John was on the far, far side of thirty he watched what he ate a little better.
"Maybe another time." John grinned as he ordered a turkey sandwich and a salad.
Connor placed his replicated bowl of soup on his tray and stuck his tongue out briefly at John. John laughed and grabbed some silverware for him and Connor before following the younger man to the table that Ronon was sitting at. Connor sat down his tray and turned to John. "Want something to drink?"
"Water." John requested.
Connor nodded and left, presumably to get them some beverages. John sat down across from Ronon and smiled at the Satedan who was busy using two forks to shovel mashed potatoes into his mouth. Teyla and Lorne came next and Teyla sat down gracefully next to Ronon while Lorne sat next to her. Connor would end up across from Teyla.
A glass of water appeared in front of John and he smiled his thanks at his fiancé as Connor took the seat next to him. He had some sort of soda in a glass and John leaned over and took a sip earning a poke from Connor. "Root beer?"
Connor shrugged. "We don't have it in Ireland and I grew to like it in the States…"
"Just wondering, I've never seen you drink it before."
"John." Connor said softly, but his voice had a bit of warning to it.
John nodded his apology. "Sorry."
John figured the hand on his upper thigh was acceptance of his apology and if it wasn't, the foot that was currently wrapped around his ankle probably was. But John knew how Connor felt. He wanted nothing more than to disappear with the younger man for a few hours to reassure himself that he was alright.
"Was this your first run in with the Wraith?" Teyla asked, breaking John out of his reverie.
Connor shook his head and then nodded. "Um, sorta. I've flown rescue on a couple Wraith missions but I've never fought one in person before."
"You did well." Ronon offered with a proud look on his face.
Connor blushed. "Thanks."
"Pretty ugly, huh, Doc?" Lorne asked.
Connor nodded. "I, uh, wouldn't put them on Miss America."
John choked on his food as he laughed. "I would hope not. Since most of them are guys."
Connor frowned and gestured to his hair with his left hand. "But their hair…"
John shrugged. "Men."
"Hm."
"Your hair is getting quite long as well, Connor." Teyla added.
Connor swallowed some of his soup and flushed red. "Um…" John smirked. "Yeah."
"I like it." Ronon chimed in, mouth full of food.
Teyla frowned at the Satedan as she passed him a napkin. "Manners, Ronon."
Ronon shrugged but accepted the napkin and grinned at John. John took a bite of his turkey sandwich. How Rodney had reprogrammed the replicators to create human food was still somewhat of a mystery to John, but he definitely wasn't complaining. Next to him, Connor seemed to be enjoying his food. John shot him a sideway glance, silently begging him to eat faster. Connor nodded almost imperceptibly and John shoved the last bit of half of his sandwich into his mouth.
Ten minutes later he and Connor were making their excuses…except not really because from the grins on Lorne and Ronon's faces and the smile on Teyla's, they all knew what John and Connor were going off to do…for the most part. They only had half an hour before John needed to report to Carter, and as much as John would love to do any number of the hundreds of things running through his head, they had time for very few of them and John wasn't really the kind of guy who liked to have sex and then leave a few minutes later. He was definitely an afterglow person, more so than Connor was, for sure.
Once they reached Connor's lab and the door had slid shut, locking behind them, John didn't hesitate to wrap his arms firmly around Connor in a tight hug. The linguist was shaking lightly as he returned the hug and John ran his hands up and down Connor's trembling back. "Shhh." He murmured. "I've got you…shh…Connor, it's alright…shh." It took a few minutes for the trembles to stop but they did eventually. John pulled back slightly and rested his forehead on Connor's. "Tell me."
Connor took a slightly shaky breath and his hand wormed into John's pocket, pulling out his dog tags. John took them from the younger man and slipped them around Connor's neck. "John…I…I was so scared." He whispered.
"Oh, Con." John murmured. He pressed a kiss to Connor's forehead and pulled back, gently leading the linguist to the couch where he pulled Connor down on top of him. John was sitting up and Connor landed on his lap, facing him, his legs straddling John's waist, a knee on either side. John had his hands wrapped around Connor's lower back, fingers dipping into the linguist's pants. Connor leaned forward against John and buried his face in the older man's neck, his arms around the back of John's neck.
"We-we were stuck there fighting and couldn't get to the stargate and the jumper crashed and we were running out of ammo and Ben was injured and my head was killing me, is killing me and--"
"Shh." John whispered. "You're okay." He said gently. Although truthfully all of those things were running through his mind as well. They were lucky that no one had been taken by the Wraith and that all four men came back alive and relatively uninjured. John stuck a hand in between him and Connor, pulling out the bottle of pills. He shook a couple into Connor's hand and the linguist dry swallowed them. "Okay?"
Connor nodded and burrowed further into John's body. "I…" He paused and took a deep breath. "I don't think I want to go off world anymore, John."
Inwardly John loved hearing those words. But outwardly he wasn't sure what to do at this point. He couldn't lie to Connor and tell his partner that he wanted him back in the field, nor would he give him false platitudes. "Why don't you think about it a little longer, okay?" Connor nodded against his neck. "I know today wasn't very good, Con, and I won't lie, situations like this are scary, but you need to know that I will always come for you."
"I knew you would." Connor admitted in a small voice. "I was scared you would get hurt, too."
"I'm stronger than I look." John joked lightly. "But I wouldn't leave you there, ever. And neither would Ronon, Teyla or Lorne. Besides, your Marines know my rules."
"My Marines?"
"Your team."
"Your rules?"
"I only have three." John said softly into Connor's ears. "Rule one: protect the geek, rule two: come home alive, rule three: never leave a man behind."
"I've never heard these rules."
"Lorne started spreading them around a couple years ago. He thinks I don't know it was him. Although, I think there's a fourth rule now."
"Yeah?"
"Rule four: never come back with out the Doc."
"M-me?"
"Yes, you. He made that one right after you started going off world."
"For you?"
"For himself." John said seriously. "And for me." They sat there in quiet for a while with just the sound of their breathing and the beat of their hearts.
"John?"
"Hm?"
"Weren't you supposed to train on the mainland today?"
John glanced at his watch. "Yeah, we were supposed to leave about twenty minutes ago."
Connor gave him a weak push. "Than you should go."
"It's probably too late. I have to brief Carter and Ramsey on your mission."
"That'll only take half an hour."
"So by then we're already an hour behind."
"You still have time." Connor mumbled.
"Are you trying to get rid of me?"
Connor looked up at him, eyes wide as he shook his head. "No! I just…know that you have other duties."
John gave a short laugh. "I'll talk to Carter about it and see what she wants to do."
"Oh. Okay." He pressed a warm kiss to John's neck. "John?"
"Hm?"
"Do you like grape juice?"
"I hardly think they're going to ask us if the other likes grape juice, Con." Connor was silent so John sighed. "Not really."
"White and red?"
John frowned lightly. "I think I've only had the purple."
"Oh. Okay."
"I'm not the biggest fan of wine, either."
"I like it." Connor offered softly, his hand worming between them to clutch at John's dog tags. "I mean, it's not my favourite way to get smashed, but it's fine."
John smiled. "I'll remember that."
"Okay."
The feeling of Connor's body was comforting. It was a warm weight settled on top of him. He could feel Connor's chest expanding as he breathed, reassuring John of his presence. His breath was warm against John's neck where his lips occasionally latched on for a moment or two. Connor's hand was solid against John's chest where it was tightly gripping John's dog tags. It didn't pull them down, but instead rested on his chest as it would if they were laying down. His knees were hard against John's hips and John really hoped that the safety on his gun held as it was pressed into the side of Connor's leg. John thought it must be uncomfortable but Connor didn't seem the least bit bothered by it. But Connor wasn't really in the habit of complaining unless John was waking him up.
So John moved a hand from Connor's back and reached between them to shift his gun around until it wasn't poking his boyfriend quite so much. And yes, John realized all of the jokes that could come from that.
"Thanks." Connor mumbled.
John shook his head lightly. "You can tell me when my gun is boring holes into your skin."
"It wasn't that bad."
John let it slide. For now. A glance at his watch told him that he had about five minutes before he had to meet Carter. He moved his hand back to Connor's back, sliding it up the back of his shirt, caressing warm, smooth skin, feeling the rough edges of the wrappings around his ribs. John could still feel the outline of Connor's ribs from underneath them.
"You need to eat more."
"I'm trying."
John sighed. "I know. I'm sorry I bug you so much about this, Con." But it was scary. None of the girls John had ever slept with were this skinny. He hadn't been able to count ribs with his fingers and they had all been smaller than Connor, more petite.
"It's okay."
"I love you." John said quietly. "And I want you to stay healthy."
"I know." He mumbled and lips ghosted John's neck again.
John wondered how he had gotten so lucky in life. He and Connor had been dating for almost a year. A day spent without the younger man was torture and John wondered how he had lasted thirty-eight years of his life without him. Connor had been on the base for months when John had randomly found his lab and offered him jumper lessons on the spot. The spark had been there from the beginning, just a little nudge and a little feeling of something extra.
It had freaked him out at first, dating a man, and such an inexperienced one at that. But Connor had blossomed in the year he'd been with John. He still got nervous around too many people and John didn't think that'd ever change; his boyfriend was definitely an introvert. John would also reluctantly admit that Rodney was right that Connor stuttered a little, mostly around people he didn't know and sometimes when he said something he thought John would be mad about. But John didn't really care about any of that, the way Connor talked had never really bothered John. Sure he was quiet, shy and when he spoke it was generally so soft that John had to strain to hear him, but that was how he was. John knew that Connor hadn't spoken in the past as much as he did now. His boyfriend was a wallflower.
John knew that people wondered about them, how two men so supposedly different worked so well together, and he never knew what he would tell them if they asked. John was solitary; before Connor, he had Ronon, Teyla, Rodney and Elizabeth, but even before Atlantis, before he met his team, he'd led a singular life, maybe even more so than Connor. He hadn't been as isolated from the world, sure, but he hadn't been as open to the world as Connor had been.
"What are you thinking about?" Connor mumbled into John's neck.
"You." He answered honestly.
Pause. "Something bad?"
"No, just the differences between us, how far we've come, that sort of thing."
"Have we come far?"
"Maybe."
"Maybe?"
John smiled. "Well you call me John now, that might be the only change." He teased.
"I can go back to calling you Colonel if you want."
"Maybe tonight." John said with a grin.
Connor poked him in the chest. "We'll see."
John laughed and then breathed in Connor's scent one last time. "I've got to go meet with Carter."
Connor reluctantly pulled himself away from John and rolled to the side, landing softly on the couch. "Ow."
"Ribs?"
"Yeah."
"How's the headache?"
"Fading."
"That's good." John said, standing. He stretched a little and then bent down and pressed a soft kiss to Connor's forehead. "I'll see you later."
"Bye."
"Don't work too hard."
"I won't."
"And if I'm not back by dinner, eat."
"I will."
"And if your head hurts, take another pill." John said, placing the bottle next to Connor.
"I will."
"And if you get dizzy or feel worse, call someone."
"I will."
John was pretty sure that Connor was humoring him by now. "I love you."
"I know." Connor smiled shyly up at him. "Tá grá agam duit."
John left the room and his boyfriend, who he was pretty sure was about to take a nap, wondering when he had turned into such a mother hen. It was probably only with Connor…John imagined trying to get Ronon to eat when he didn't want to…okay, it was definitely only with Connor. He hit the transporter button, running into Corporal Johns who was leaving as John entered.
"Sir." He saluted.
"Corporal." John offered, sloppily returning the salute. "You better be quick, I think he's about to fall asleep."
"Yes, sir."
Without waiting for more, John stepped into the transporter, letting it whisk him away to the control room. All was quiet when he got there. A few personnel were mulling about, but other than that it was pretty silent considering about an hour ago I was filled with John's team and Marines waiting to enter a hostile environment. He climbed the stairs up to Carter's office and knocked gently on the glass.
"Colonel?"
"John, hey, come in. We're waiting on Lt. Ramsey and Major Lorne. How is everyone?"
And by everyone, John could only assume she meant Connor since he was the only one John really knew about. He had made sure the rest of Connor's team was fine, before feeding his boyfriend, but didn't hear the specifics on any of their injuries. "They're fine as far as I know, Connor has a couple bruised ribs and Ramsey sprained his ankle or something like that."
A few minutes after John sat down, Lorne came in, offering a salute to each that they returned. Carter gestured him into the chair next to John's. "Good afternoon, Major." Carter offered.
"Good afternoon, ma'am, sir." He nodded towards John and Carter.
John nodded back before turning back to Carter. "Are we still going to make a run to the mainland today?"
She frowned in thought. "I don't see why not, there's still plenty of time."
"Sounds good." John replied, even though it really didn't.
They waited in silence for another minute before Ramsey showed up, slight limp but no crutches. He saluted everyone and John sighed as he lifted his hand to his forehead. Really, when Elizabeth had been here, people hadn't saluted him half as much…although granted there had been a much smaller military presence and the expedition leader had been a civilian. Ramsey took the last seat in Carter's office, on the other side of Lorne.
"Well, let's begin." Carter said. "What can you tell us, Lieutenant?"
"We arrived on the planet, and found it uninhabited. The outpost was about ten clicks from the gate and Dr. Davids set the jumper down near it. The outpost lit up when the Doc got near it and…came to life. When we got inside it quickly became clear that we were looking at a jumper outpost. The Doc started pouring through the archives and believes that jumpers were created and manufactured there. The info we had on it is still in our jumper. The cloak still worked, so the Wraith shouldn't be able to find it. But, uh, anyways, so we spent a couple hours there before some warning system started going off, signaling that Wraith were in the area. I ordered my men back to the jumper and we tried to make a run for the gate as we were outnumbered. There was a hive ship in orbit, randomly according to the Doc, and Connor said it was attracted to the amount of power that the outpost put off. A few darts entered the atmosphere, but we ignored them, until they started firing blindly. They hit us and we went down about a click from the gate. We abandoned the jumper and began to make our way on foot. That's when the problems started. We had dialed Atlantis on approach but after we went down we knew we wouldn't make it before the Wraith, something they knew too as they started sending some sort of jamming signal through it. When we finally made it to the gate there were several Wraith on the ground waiting for us. I ordered my men to stay low as we were outnumbered and outgunned, but they began firing on the woods. We fought back as we waited for a rescue team." He finished.
"Do you think the Wraith have gained access to the outpost?"
"No, ma'am. The doors refused to open for anyone but the Doc, including Smith who has the gene."
Carter looked pensive at this before turning to John and Lorne. "We'll need to send people through to see if the Wraith have cleared out or not and once they have I'm sure McKay and Zelenka would love to get their hands on the information there."
"We should probably wait a couple days." John said. "Make 'em think we lost interest."
"Agreed. Lt. Ramsey? Your team is okay?" Carter asked.
"The Doc bruised his ribs in the crash, but other than that, they're okay."
"Okay. Well, you're dismissed, I still expect submitted reports from all of you."
"Yes, ma'am." Lorne and Ramsey chorused. A few seconds later they were out the door.
"Is there something else, John?" Carter asked warmly.
"Hm? No, sorry." John said standing. "I'll go get Ronon and start putting everyone together."
"Alright. Have fun." She smiled.
"Thanks." He turned to leave passing Jackson as the anthropologist stumbled into Sam's office with a pile of books in his arms. John nodded to him, receiving a smile in return before he headed down the steps to track down Ronon. Ronon, it turned out, was not a difficult man to find. John found him in the first place he looked…the gym. "Hey!" He shouted towards the bigger man.
"Sheppard."
"We're still heading out to the mainland." John informed him.
Ronon grinned and John totally saw what Connor meant when he said it reminded him to never piss the Satedan off. "Cool."
"I'll get everyone gathered up, meet me in the jumper bay in ten minutes."
Ronon nodded and John went off to gather his Marines. Ten minutes later John was flying the first of three jumpers headed to the mainland. He had 'borrowed' Lorne for the afternoon as well as Samuels to fly the two other jumpers. Together there were almost fifty Marines that they were taking out. John set the jumper on auto-pilot and turned to face Ronon. The divider between the front of the ship and the back was closed, giving them a little privacy.
"So…anything new with you and Keller?"
Ronon shrugged. "Should there be?"
Good point. "I don't know."
"We're good."
"That's good."
"You and Irish?"
John felt a goofy grin take over his features. Eventually he was going to stop doing that anytime he thought of his partner, but for now John really didn't care. "Great. I think I'm crazy in love with him." John added.
Ronon laughed. "I can tell, Sheppard."
"He's just…perfect."
Ronon laughed again. "Sure, Sheppard."
"So what book did he have you read?" John asked curiously.
"Book on physics."
"Physics?" John asked shocked. "As in…gravity, force…that sort of stuff?"
"Yeah."
"Physics."
"He's been teaching me a lot."
"Really?"
"Yeah. At first it was a lot of medical stuff, but now it's other stuff."
Wow. "Cool."
"You found a good partner, Sheppard."
John smiled. "I know."
Seven hours later John was staring up at the sky, lying on his back on the pier under a blanket with Connor. Connor's hand was in his and their heads shared a pillow. It was a clear night, no clouds in sight just thousands of stars and a few bright, slivers of moons.
Connor was pointing out another constellation for John but John kept glancing away from the stars and at something even more beautiful. Connor looked amazing in the moonlight. His hair shimmered lightly and the blue of his eyes was reflected in the white light shining down.
"John." He said with a quite laugh. "The stars are that way." He gestured upwards.
"I'd rather look at you."
And the blush that fell over Connor's features only served to make him look more delicate than John knew he was. "And, um, that one's called Cassius." He continued, even though John wasn't looking anymore. "And next to it is Lexin, it's sorta shaped like a sea otter."
"A sea otter?" John asked without looking.
"Yeah."
Connor turned his head then to look at John, their noses touching. John reached his free hand up to trace Connor's features, gently floating over his cheek, down his jaw and then tracing his lips.
"I want to stay like this forever." John whispered. "Just you, me, Atlantis, the sky, the ocean…"
"It might get a little cold." Connor breathed.
"I'll keep you warm."
Connor moved closer to John, their sides flush against each other's as the linguist settled his head on John's shoulder. John rested his head on top of Connor's. "Okay."
"Okay?"
"We can stay like this forever." He said, squeezing John's hand. "Forget everyone else, forget the world."
John smiled, somewhat sadly. He knew that at best they had another eight hours or so out there. After that the world got them. John had duties to perform, people to help, lives to command. Connor had a job to do, words to translate, lives to improve.
"Connor." John said suddenly.
"Yeah?"
"If you…" John swallowed. "If you ever want out of this, if you ever," John closed his eyes. "Ever stop loving me, promise me you'll tell me."
"John?" Connor asked softly.
"Promise me." John suddenly need to know that Connor would always be happy, even if it was without him.
"I won't stop loving you." Connor said fiercely. "I can't breathe without you, John. If you ever start thinking that I want out of this, don't let me go. I wouldn't let you go. This is our life now. We're tied together. I spent so long alone, John, you spent so long alone, and I don't want that life back, for me or you. I love you as more than just someone to sleep with at night or share all my secrets with. I love you as someone that fills me, someone who makes me who I am. So don't you make me promise something that will never happen. If one day you wake up and don't love me anymore, I'll fight for you, John. I'll fight until I can't anymore and then I'll fight some more. You don't get to just walk away from me. And you'd better fight for me, too."
John blinked tears out of eyes. When he'd broken up with Sarah she had cried a little and accepted it, just walked away. When Charlotte had broken up with him, John had nodded and left her money to cover both of their dinners. He hadn't fought for either and they hadn't fought for him. When he'd told his father he was joining the Air Force, his dad didn't protest that it was too dangerous, that John could die serving his country. He had nodded and driven John down to the recruitment center.
This was something different. This was…permanence in a way that John had never experienced. This was no way out. This was home.
"I'll fight for you." John said roughly. "If that's what you want, I'll fight for you."
"It's what I want." Connor answered.
"Thank you." John whispered.
"Tá mo chroí istigh ionat." Connor said softly. "If you left, how could I live?"
"I love you." And John knew at that moment he was so stupidly in love with Connor that it was ridiculous.
"I love you as well, a chuisle." Connor pressed a soft kiss to John's chin. "So much."
The wind blew and Connor shivered, pressing tighter against John and that, was love.