Chapter 24: A difficult decision.

John stood outside Woolsey's office, waiting for him to look up from his computer. It had been over a week since he had been released from the infirmary and in that time, he had given a lot of thought to what Teyla had said about him commanding the troops from Atlantis. The truth was he loved going off world, but then he also knew that he had a responsibility to Teyla and his children as well, so in the end he decided that there was merit in what she had said. Finally, he had contacted Woolsey and arranged a meeting to discuss the issue, but Woolsey had told him that he'd wanted to discuss something with him as well, which made him a little apprehensive about the meeting he was about to enter.

He was due to go on his honeymoon in two days' time, so he really hoped that Woolsey wasn't going to pull the plug on that.

He was startled out of his thoughts by Woolsey inviting him into his office. Taking a deep breath, he entered and was surprised when Woolsey shut the door behind them.E wH

"Take a seat John, we have a lot to discuss today."

He sat down and looked at Woolsey, "Thankyou Richard."

"I understand that there is something that you want to talk to me about?" Woolsey asked clasping his hands in front of him on the table.

This was it, now was the time that he really needed to follow through on his decision, "I would like to be taken of the off-world roster and to command the troops from Atlantis." Once he had finished he took a deep breath. He had said it now, so he sat waiting for Woolsey's response.

"That is one of the reasons I wanted to talk to you."

"What do you mean?" He asked Woolsey suspiciously.

He sat and watched Woolsey for any signs that something may be wrong, but he knew that Woolsey was a master negotiator and had a brilliant poker face, so there was no way he was going to be able to tell anything by just looking at him.

"I have decided that I would like to return to Earth, the IOA have offered me a position there." Woolsey began, "I have also put your name forward as my replacement, the IOA want Coolidge, but I can think of no-one more qualified than you to take over my position."

He chuckled at the thought of being in charge, "I can really see the IOA going for that. They've always hated it when the military is in charge of the expedition."

"Well Generals' O'Neill and Landry, as well as Colonel Carter support the decision one hundred percent and I've told the IOA that if you took command a civilian would be instated as your 2IC." Woolsey explained.

"Who did you have him mind?" He asked looking bewildered.

"I have suggested that Dave would be the best person for the job. He is an excellent negotiator and administrator and I can think of no-one else that could do the job. Would working with your brother, be a problem for you?"

He wasn't really sure what to say, he would be working with Dave, just like his father had always wanted, but just in a different environment to what his father would have wanted.

"I'd love to work with Dave, but who would run the military? Would I still run it or would someone else do it?"

"That is another thing I wanted to talk about, I would like your recommendations for someone to take your place?" Woolsey asked him with a smile.

That was really a simple decision for him to make, "Well I would definitely recommend Major Lorne for that role and I would like to put him in for a promotion as well."

"That's what I thought, so I have sent the recommendation to stargate command."

John was shocked, Woolsey wanted to leave Atlantis, but he couldn't understand why.

"Why do you want to leave Richard."

"I have seen far too much death over the last few years and I really miss earth. You yourself have almost died on a number of occasions and I don't feel as if I can continue to watch good people putting their life on the line every day. I am not military and I certainly wasn't prepared for making life changing decisions every single day."

He nodded, he certainly understood where Woolsey was coming from, as he had thought about heading back to earth a number of times over the last few years.

"When are you thinking of leaving?"

"I was waiting until after Dave and Jane's, and Amelia's and Ronon's wedding."

"I certainly understand your decision Richard, but I can't say I'm happy about it. I have come to respect your leadership and consider you a friend, so I will miss you when you go."

"I have enjoyed working with you as well John and I consider you a friend as well, but I feel that it is the right time for me to leave."

"Have you told Dave about this as yet?" John wondered.

"I haven't talked to Dave about it as yet, because I wanted to talk to you first. I want you to consider what we have discussed today and talk to Teyla about it. Although it isn't official as yet. I don't think there will be any problems with it going through."

"Thank you, Richard I will consider it and let you know."

"Although it may be a little premature, congratulations John." Woolsey said, as he stood up to shake his hand.

John stood up and shook his hand, "thankyou Richard."

He smiled and turned around and left Woolsey's office. It certainly was a lot to think about, did he want to be commander of this entire city and did he really want to work with Dave, as much as he loved his brother, he wondered how they would go working closely with each other. What would others in the city think of him and Dave holding the top two positions. He knew that Dave was well liked in the city, as was he, but the two of them leading the whole expedition was a completely different matter.

Looking at his watch he realised that he didn't have to be home for another two hours, so he decided that he would head out for a walk. He had many favourite places in the city that he could go when he wanted to be alone, but his most favourite of all was in the lower levels, so that is where he headed. His ankle still ached a little when he walked long distances, but right now he didn't care; he definitely wanted to be alone.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Teyla had just finished putting the twins down for their morning nap and was starting to pack for their honeymoon when she received a call.

Tapping her earpiece, she answered, "Teyla here."

"Teyla it's Rodney, where is Sheppard? He was supposed to meet me in my lab fifteen minutes ago."

"I have no idea Dr McKay all I know is that he had a meeting with Mr Woolsey this morning and I have no idea what his plans were after that. Have you tried to radio him?"

"Yes, I have and he doesn't appear to have his radio on."

"All I can suggest is that I contact you if I hear from him Dr McKay. Now if you don't mind I have a lot to do before the twins wake up wanting their lunch. Teyla out."

She cut the connection, before Rodney had a chance to say anything else. She didn't really have the time to talk to him right now. The next couple of days were going to be very busy for her, if she wanted to actually relax and enjoy her honeymoon.

She started taking things our of her draw and lying them on her bed, she hadn't had much time alone with the John since the twins had been born and although things were a little easier than when they had first been born, it still didn't leave much time.

She was hoping that they would have a chance to be intimate, as they hadn't had the time since Charin and Tobias were born. Even if that opportunity didn't eventuate, they would still be together without any interruptions from children, or demanding friends.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

John finally arrived in his favourite hiding place; he certainly had a lot to think about. He had never dreamed of being in the position that may be offered to him, but the question was did he actually want it, or was he happy just being the military commander and having someone to answer too. The truth was that he would still have to answer to someone; the only difference was he would have to answer to the IOA and the military on behalf of the entre Atlantis expedition. He knew how they had treated Elizabeth, Sam and even Woolsey, who were all exceptional leaders, could he possibly hope to lead as well as his predecessors.

He knew that he should talk to Teyla about it, without her support there was no reason for him to be considering the offer. That's if the IOA even wanted him for the position. Remembering back to one future that he had seen, he knew Coolidge was in charge, but that was in a timeline where he had died. But he had no idea who the leader of Atlantis should be in this time line. All good questions, but right now they were making his head hurt. He settled back with his head against the wall and tried some of the meditation techniques that Teyla had tried to teach him. He would talk to Teyla first and then make his decision when he came back from his honeymoon.

Looking at his watch he realised that he had less than an hour before he was due home to help Teyla with the lunch time routine, so he decided that he would have a nap, as he hadn't slept that well this week. He was drifting off to sleep when he remembered that he was supposed to meet Rodney in his lab over an hour ago. He can wait; I have way too much to think about right now. I'll deal with him later; these were his last thoughts before he drifted off to sleep

When he awoke again, he felt disoriented and he wondered where he was. It took him a while, but he realised that he was in the lower levels of the city. Then he remembered that he was supposed to be helping Teyla with the lunch time routine. Looking at his watch he realised that he was five minutes late.

He knew that it would take at least ten minutes to get there if he was walking, so he set off running, his ankle still felt a little sore, but he knew that she really needed his help, as soon as possible.

He ran all the way to the transporter and then all the way to his apartment and he made it in five minutes.

When he entered he found that Teyla was busy feeding Charin and Tobias was screaming at the top of his lungs.

"I'm sorry I'm late Sweetie, I'll tell you about it later. What do you need me to do?"

"Can you feed Tobias his pureed apple please and then I will feed him, while you give Charin her pureed apple."

He picked Tobias up of the floor and sat him in his highchair and started to feed him his lunch. His ankle was really aching, so he decided that he needed to sit down in a chair with his foot up on another.

"What have you done to your foot John," Teyla asked with suspicion.

"My ankle aches that's all. I was down in the lower levels thinking and I realised that I was late home, so I ran all the way here."

"Do you want to tell me why you were down there?" She asked him, not taking her eyes off him.

He looked her in the eye, he really wanted to talk her, but now wasn't the time. "Can we discuss this when the twins have their afternoon nap please? I actually need your opinion of something."

"Are you going to contact Rodney and tell him why you did not show up to his lab as well, he has contacted me twice in the last hour wanting to know if I knew where you were?" She asked him and John thought that she sounded annoyed.

"I will contact him later. What I have to talk to you about is important, so Rodney can wait."

"I will wait until later to hear what you have to say then."

He continued to feed Tobias in silence, as much as he was going to miss his children when he was away, he certainly wasn't going to miss the routine of feeding them every three to four hours.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Rodney was quite upset when he'd spoken to Teyla a third time and she had told him she still didn't know where Sheppard was. He wondered whether he should try and track his subcutaneous transmitter, but then if Sheppard wanted to be alone maybe he should let him. He was quite aware that the brooding colonel had his favourite places to hide when he wanted to be alone and he suspected that this was one of those times. Paying attention to the experiment that he was working on he decided that he would chase Sheppard up at lunch time and then he would give him a lecture about skipping out on important work.

He worked in silence for another half an hour, relieved that none of him minions had bothered to blow anything up for a while. Zelenka had left him alone for a while as well, which was always a bonus.

Looking at his watch he realised that it was time for lunch and he should probably get something to eat, but he decided that he would go and find Sheppard first and ask him to help with testing some ancient devices for the afternoon.

He arrived at the Sheppards' apartment ten minutes later and sounded the door chime, there was no response, so he sounded it again, he was about the sound it a third time when the door opened to reveal John and Teyla sitting down eating lunch.

"Come in Dr McKay, would you like to have some sandwiches." Teyla asked with a smile that he knew was fake.

"Uhm thanks, Teyla, but I was here to speak to Sheppard."

"Well you might as well sit down and join us for lunch then, because I'm not talking until I've eaten." John suggested, while stuffing a turkey sandwich in his mouth.

"Okay then I will join you. Where are the twins? He asked looking around the room, almost afraid that he would actually have to interact with them.

John smirked at him, "relax McKay, they are asleep in their room, so you won't have to be near them."

"What, oh…I didn't mean…"

Teyla interrupted him before he could embarrass himself, "do not worry Dr McKay we understand, now have a sandwich."

"Sheppard why didn't you come to my lab this afternoon?" Rodney asked, grabbing a plate full of sandwiches.

John shot him a warning look, "I said eat first and talk later!"

"How are Charin and Tobias? He asked trying to make polite conversation.

"They are both well, they are sleeping through the night and taking two naps a day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Things are a little bit easier then when they were first born." Teyla explained, using the fake smile that she had used earlier.

"So, McKay what did you want to talk to me about? I've finished eating now, so you can talk while I get the coffee." John told him, while getting and walking to the kitchen.

Rodney picked up his plate of sandwiches and followed him to the kitchen, "Sheppard, you stood me up this morning. You said that you would help me in my lab and you didn't show up."

"What can I say, I'm a busy man who has a lot on his mind at the moment, so I forgot and besides it wasn't a date. "John smirked.

Rodney felt a little upset, by his friend's response, "can you come and help me this afternoon then?"

"Sorry McKay, but I really need to talk to Teyla this afternoon, maybe tomorrow if I get a chance." John told him and then asked him, "do you want some coffee or do you have to get back to something important?"

Again, Rodney was stunned by his friend's response, "I think I'll get going and I'll catch up with you later."

"Thank you for sharing lunch with us Dr McKay and we shall talk soon." Teyla soothed as she led him to the door.

Once Rodney had left John and Teyla's apartment he went back to this lab to continue on with his experiments. He was sure that there was something up with Sheppard, and he was going to get to the bottom of it.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

John watched as Rodney left the room, he knew that he had been a little rude to his friend, but he really needed to talk to Teyla right now and if Rodney hadn't left when he did, he would have thrown him out.

His thoughts were interrupted by Teyla talking to him, "John why were you being so rude to Rodney?"

"I didn't think that I was that rude, but I really needed him to leave. I have something important to discuss with you and if Rodney was here for too long the twins would wake up and I wouldn't be able to talk to you."

"Let us sit down now and you can tell me what is going on? Teyla suggested picking up her cup of tea and sitting at the table.

John sat opposite his wife, he didn't quite know how to tell her what was on his mind, but he knew that in and hours' time the twins would be waking up and then Torren would be home not long after that, so if he didn't do it now, it would have to wait for another day.

Taking a deep breath he started to tell her about his meeting with Woolsey that morning, "has Richard told you that he has been offered a position back on earth?"

"He did mention to me that he was thinking about heading back to earth, but he never told me that he had been offered a position." Teyla told him with surprise in her voice.

"Well apparently the IOA has offered him a position back on earth and he will be leaving after the double wedding."

Teyla just sat there with her mouth open and he really wished that she would say something, so he knew what she was thinking.

"Are you okay Sweetie?"

"Yes, it is just a bit of a shock. I never imagined Richard leaving Atlantis; he seems so at home here. Do you have any idea who is replacing him?"

"Well the IOA want Coolidge…"

Before he had a chance to continue Teyla interrupted him, "if that man comes to Atlantis I will be leaving. He is very distrustful of women in the stargate program especially if they are alien. If he ever calls me honey again I will break his nose!" She said the anger evident in her voice.

He smiled at her, totally loving the fact that she could defend herself if she had too. "Calm down Sweetie, Woolsey has requested that someone else take his place and the military agree with him."

Teyla looked at him suspiciously, "and who might that be."

"Colonel John Sheppard."

Teyla got a glint in her eye, the one she always had when she was about to tease him, "who might this Colonel John Sheppard be? Will I like him or will I have to break his nose?"

"Well I think that he may end up calling you Sweetie, so I'm not sure what you want to do about that."

To his surprise Teyla leant in and gave him a passionate kiss on the lips, "I may have to show you in a few days, when we are away from all of this."

He really felt like taking it further, but right now he had to get back to the matter at hand, before the twins woke up and Torren came home.

"So what do you think Teyla, do you think that I should take it, if they offer it to me?"

"I think that it is a wonderful opportunity that you should think about carefully John. Who would be your second in command?"

"Woolsey has recommended Dave, seeing as I am not much of an administrator."

"And what about the military, would you still run that?"

"No, I have recommended that Major Lorne lead the military contingent and I have recommended that he be promoted to Lt Colonel as well. My role would be to oversee everything that goes on and report directly to Stargate Command and the IOA."

Teyla looked at him thoughtfully, "would you have to go off world at all?"

"There may be times that I am required to go off world for diplomatic reasons, but as a rule no."

Teyla took his hand in hers and she looked into his eyes. "That is certainly a lot to think about. If you are closer to home more often, it would make me happy, as I will be doing a lot of work from Atlantis from now on. It would have to be your decision though and I will support whatever you choose to do."

"Thank you Sweetie, Richard doesn't know for sure what the outcome will be, but I've already made up my mind I will take it if it's offered to me."

"Well congratulations then honey." Teyla said; as she leant down to kiss him again. He kissed back passionately, but pulled back, as he knew that now wasn't really the time to start anything.

"Can you keep it yourself for now, as Woolsey doesn't want anything announced until after Ronon and Amelia's, and Dave and Jane's wedding. He was thinking of leaving a few days after that."

"I will not tell anyone, but I wish to celebrate with you on our honeymoon. It will be something else we can celebrate, along with our wedding anniversary."

He had no idea that Athosians placed importance on things like that, or was it that her friends had told her how important anniversaries were on earth.

"I remember Sweetie, now do we have some time to do some packing before the twins wake up and Torren gets home?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I was just heading off to start when Rodney kept annoying me this morning." Teyla explained to him.

"Well let's go then." John suggested.

He was heading down the hall way to their bedroom, hoping for something more than just packing, when Charin started to scream.

Sighing he looked at Teyla, "feeding time again."

They walked into the twin's room he picked up Tobias, who was just beginning to wake while Teyla picked up Charin.

Following Teyla out to the lounge, he went to the cupboard to get some baby food out. He put Tobias in his highchair and started to feed him, while Teyla fed Charin.

Two more days and he would be alone with Teyla for three whole days and they could do whatever they wanted, without any interruptions.

TBC…