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Chapter 27: Home again.

When John awoke again he started to panic, he had no idea what time it was and he knew they had a dinner reservation, looking at the clock he realised that it was only 8:30 and their reservation was for 9:00, so they still had time to make it. It didn't take him long to realise that Teyla was no longer in bed with him and he wondered where she was, the shower wasn't running, so she definitely wasn't in there.

He got out of bed, pulled on some shorts and a t-shirt and headed out to the lounge area and he was amazed by what he saw. Teyla had set a beautiful table with flowers which resembled roses as a centre piece, she had lit candles around the room and she had poured two glasses of champagne. But what took her breath away more than anything else was the black satin dress she was wearing; it was perfectly straight and showed every curve of her body. It had thin straps covering her shoulders and it was low at the front.

Looking down at what he had on he realised that he was totally underdressed for the occasion, "Happy anniversary Sweetie. I think I'll just go and change into something nicer, before we eat"

"Do not worry John; I am happy with whatever you choose to wear."

"Are you sure Sweetie, I feel I am a little underdressed for the occasion, since you look so beautiful tonight?"

"This is a nightdress John, so I don't think you have anything to worry about, now sit down and hopefully dinner will be here in a moment."

Great that was all he needed to hear. How the hell was he going to be able concentrate if Teyla was sitting across him in nothing but a thin satin nightdress? "Ummm…. Teyla I'll be right back." He told her remembering that he had left something in the bedroom.

She sat down at the table and clasped her hands in front of her. "Alright John I will sit and wait for dinner."

He groaned, before turning around and heading to the bedroom wondering if he was going to be able to keep his hands off of her. He reached the bedroom and pulled a long rectangular box out of his suitcase. He knew that they had discussed not giving each other anniversary gifts, but he couldn't resist. He tucked the box in his pocket and left the room.

Arriving back in the main room a few minutes later he found that dinner was on the table and a glass of wine had been poured for both of them.

"Sit down John, I hope you don't mind but I ordered you the steak again. I know that it is not like steak on earth but you seemed to enjoy it the other night when we had it."

He couldn't resist staring at her, she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen and not matter how many times he had told himself that, he still couldn't believe that she had chosen to spend her life with him. "That's fine Sweetie and thank you for organising all of this."

"It is out anniversary and I love you, so arranging this is my gift to you Honey," she crooned, as she took a sip of her champagne.

"Are you missing the children yet," he asked wanting to know if she was missing them as much as he was?

"I would have to admit, although I am enjoying this time alone with you I miss them terribly. What about you?"

He sighed and took a sip of his champagne before answering her, "yeah, I feel the same way. We haven't been away from Tody or Charlie, since they were born, so it's actually taking some getting used to."

"Well we have another day before we have to go home, so I intend to spend as much time as possible enjoying your company."

"And what will that entail," he asked raising an eyebrow and giving her his trademark grin?

"Well I believe I would like more of this," she said and waved her hand across the table, "and I would like more time drinking cocktails by the beach and I definitely think we need more showers." She told him with an evil glint in her eye.

"I'm sure we can manage that. Now, why don't we eat this food before it gets cold?"

She nodded at him and they ate in silence, which gave him plenty of time to contemplate what life would be like when they got back to Atlantis. The day after they arrived home Woolsey was going to announce his retirement and Generals' O'Neill and Carter were coming to hand out the promotions his staff.

He had been so happy for Sam when he'd heard about her promotion to Brigadier General, but he wasn't so happy when he'd found out that all of the starship Commanders had been promoted to the Brigadier General as well, which meant that they were his superior officers again and when it came to Atlantis matters, he would be answerable to them. But that would only apply if the Hammond, the Daedalus or the Apollo were docked in Atlantis.

A few days after that Dave and Jane, and Ronon and Amelia were getting married and then after that Woolsey would be gone and he would be in charge. He'd barely had a chance to think about what that may mean and how it was going to play itself out, as it was a huge responsibility. He wondered what his father would say if he could see him now, he really hoped that he would be proud of him.

He came back to the present when he realised that he had finished his food and Teyla was staring at him.

"What," he asked her?

"You seem lost in thought, are you alright?"

"Sorry Sweetie, I was just thinking about, what happens when Woolsey leaves."

"Well please do not worry about that now, because we are supposed to be taking a break from work and family and spending some quality time on our own."

"I know Sweetie." He thought that he'd better get the focus back on the evening, so he looked around the room and asked," what's for dessert Sweetie?"

"I think there is some kind of chocolate pudding and ice cream would you like some? I can order some if you like and would you like some coffee?"

"That sound's awesome Sweetie and after we've enjoyed out dessert I have something to give you."

"John, how much more could you possibly give me than you've given me already?"

"You'll just have to wait until we've had dessert." He said winking at her.

She glared at him before answering, "I had better go and order it then."

He watched her walk across to the other side of the room looking for the phone, she looks good from any angle, he thought to himself and he couldn't help grinning.

Ten minutes later when they had both finished their sweet chocolaty treat and were drinking coffee, John began to feel nervous. He checked in his pocket to make sure that the gift was still there and took a deep breath before bringing the box out.

"Teyla you are the love of my life and I brought you this gift to remind you every day how you've captured my heart." Wow I've said it now and I think I really sounded romantic.

She took the box from him and all he could do was stare as she opened it, she really hoped that she liked it, as Dave had picked it up for him on his last visit to earth.

"John this is absolutely beautiful!" She exclaimed.

He watched as she ran her fingers over the delicate 18ct gold chain and then she fingered the two small gold hearts, which were intertwined. Each heart was solid with a tiny diamond at the centre.

"Can you please put it on for me?"

He stood up and took the necklace and put it around her neck, brushing her neck with his fingers along the way, when he had clasped it, he leant in a whispered in her ear, "this way you can take my heart with you wherever you go."

Placing the necklace around her neck brought back memories of when he had first met her and put a necklace around her neck in the caves on Athos. He had loved her since he first met her, but he didn't do anything about it for six years. Despite the fact that they were together now and had three beautiful children, two of which were his own flesh and blood, he still regrated not telling her how he felt about her sooner. But if he had told her earlier on, she wouldn't have had Torren and he couldn't imagine his life without Torren in it, so he decided that his line of reasoning was pretty useless.

He looked up to find that Teyla had left the table and was standing by a mirror admiring the necklace, "It looks beautiful on you Sweetie," he told her walking up to her and putting his arms around her.

"John I did not get anything for you."

"You have already given me so much over the past few years, you have given me three beautiful children and you are here with me now. What more could I ask for?"

"When did you become so romantic Honey?" She teased, before turning around to kiss him.

"How can I resist with such a beautiful woman as my wife."

She rolled her eyes at him and grabbed his hand and led him to the bedroom, "I would like to cuddle my gorgeous husband and go to sleep."

He had no complaints with her request, so he climbed in bed beside her and they just cuddled each other. The day had been incredible and despite spending half of the morning in bed, he still felt exhausted from the day's activities. Closing his eyes he smelt the scent of Teyla's hair and the soft silky feel of her skin and it wasn't long before he fell into a deep contented sleep.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

John awoke slowly on the final morning of his honeymoon and although he missed his children, he really didn't want to go home. The last two days were the same as the first day of the honeymoon and he was surprised at how quickly time had flown.

He rolled over in bed looking for his wife, but she was nowhere to be seen. He listened for the shower, but couldn't hear anything, so she obviously wasn't in there. Climbing out of bed he looked around for the clothing that he had placed out the night before. Finally he found it on a chair over by the window and quickly got dressed, before heading out to the main room to look for Teyla.

"Teyla, Sweetie, where are you?"

"I am out on the balcony enjoying the cool morning air. I cannot believe that our honeymoon is over and we are going back to Atlantis today."

He walked up and put his arms around her, "I know what you mean, I certainly could have done with a few more days here, but three days is all that Woolsey would let me have off."

"I know Honey, but the minute we go back you have to get back to work and in a few days you'll be the head of the expedition. I guess I feel as if we will have less time for each other than we do now."

Taking her face in his hands, he looked into her eyes, "Teyla I promise that whatever happens I will always try and make time for us and our children. Family it one of the most important things in the world to me and for a long time I didn't have one, so I will make it a priority the best I can."

"I know you will and however busy I get with my work I will always try and make time for you and the children as well." He felt the warmth of her smile, before she continued, "would you like to go down for one last breakfast before we have to go home?"

"Yeah let's head down now and we can finish packing after breakfast." He suggested.

"What do you mean John? I have already finished packing," she smirked.

"Alright, you can help me finish packing."

They left their suite together and five minutes later they were sitting down to enjoy a breakfast of bacon and eggs.

"John, Teyla I hope you have enjoyed your honeymoon," Grinfo stated taking a seat at the table.

John smiled his crooked grin at him, "It was great and I hope that Teyla and I can get back here when we get some time off in the future."

"Perhaps you can bring your children next time you come, I'm sure my children would love to meet them?" Grinfo suggested.

"They are still very young at the moment. Torren is almost three and Charin and Tobias are only three months old, so it will be a while before we can bring them here." Teyla informed him.

"I would love to meet them one day, but for now I must get back to work. It has been lovely to meet you John and Teyla and I hope that the next time we meet the galaxy will be free from the wraith."

"Goodbye Grinfo," John told him.

"Goodbye Grinfo and thank you for looking after us so well on our honeymoon." Teyla told him and then she kissed him on the cheek.

John sat and watched him leave. He had met so many people since he'd been in the Pegasus galaxy, some were nicer than others and some were absolute psychopaths, but Grinfo was defiantly one of the nicest people he had met. He really hoped that he would get to meet his family one day; perhaps he would come back here with his family when the galaxy was at peace.

His thoughts were interrupted when Teyla spoke to him. "John, are you finished yet?"

Looking down at his plate he realised that he had no food left on his plate, so he'd obviously finished without knowing it. "I think I am Sweetie, are we walking back to the stargate this morning?"

"I must admit although I have thoroughly enjoyed our time away, I really want to get back to the children. If I knew that we had another day or two I would not feel like getting home right now, but since we are going home I cannot wait to get there. Am I making any sense?"

"I know exactly what you mean Sweetie, so let's go and get our things and go home?"

An hour later after finishing John's packing and checking out of their hotel they were approaching the stargate and John was relieved to be almost home. He couldn't wait to see his children again and although he was apprehensive about the responsibility of leading Atlantis, he was looking forward to the challenge.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Rodney walked into the gateroom at 0900 hours, John and Teyla were due back this morning and he needed to talk to Sheppard straight away. He had been so secretive and rude in the days leading up to his honeymoon and Rodney suspected that something was up and he wanted to get to the bottom of it.

He stood watching the stargate expecting it to spring to life any minute and he was shocked when a little voice spoke to him.

"Uncle Wodny, what are you doing here?"

"Hello Torren, I have decided to come and welcome your Momma and Daddy back."

"Really, why?" Another voice asked joining the conversation.

"Dave, why are you here?" Rodney asked with surprise.

"He has brought the children to welcome their mother and father back and he thought that he might like to see his brother too," Jane told him entering the gate room.

Rodney looked down and saw the two babies in the pusher and he shuddered, afraid that he might have to interact with them. "I see you brought the twins with you?"

"Of course we did Dr McKay, I am sure that they want to see their parents," Jane said rolling his eyes.

"Oh," was all that he could say to that comment.

Before anyone had a chance to say anything else, the chevrons started to light up and it wasn't long before the wormhole sprang to life.

Rodney watched, waiting for Sheppard to come through.

"It's Colonel Sheppard's IDC," Chuck announced from the control room.

"Lower the shield," Woolsey told him coming down the stairs and standing by Dave.

"What are you doing here Mr Woolsey?" Rodney asked looking perplexed.

"I need to talk to Colonel Sheppard as soon as possible."

Rodney looked back towards the wormhole just in time to see John and Teyla walk through.

"Daddy, Momma, I missed you so much!" Torren exclaimed loudly.

"I missed you to buddy." John said leaning down to scoop him into his arms.

Rodney watched as Teyla knelt down in front of the twins and he was really beginning to feel uncomfortable at the scene unfolding in front of him. He wondered if one day he would be a family man, he shuddered at the thought. He hadn't discussed having kids with Jennifer, but he was pretty sure that she wanted to have them.

Shaking himself from his contemplation, he approached John, "Hey Sheppard, can I have a word with you?"

"Not now McKay, I'm busy with my family." John replied shortly.

Rodney was upset at how rude he sounded yet again. He knew that he had to talk to him, but rather than harass him now he would visit him again later. He quietly left the room and left Sheppard to his reunion.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

John watched Rodney leaved and he was relieved. As much as Rodney was his friend, he could be a real pain sometimes and right now he wanted to be with his family. He also wondered why Rodney had been so painful lately.

A voice pervaded his thoughts and he looked up to see that Woolsey was talking to him.

"I'm sorry Richard, but can you say that again."

"Welcome back John, can you come and see me first thing in the morning. I have some things I want to discuss with you before the ceremonies tomorrow afternoon."

"I will see you in the morning then Richard, right now I want to go and spend some time with my family."

"Enjoy your afternoon John and I'll see you in the morning that is unless there's an emergency." Woolsey joked.

John turned to him and gave him a dead pan look, to let him know that he wasn't amused, "Funny."

"See you later John," Woolsey told him, before heading up to his office.

"Daddy, put me down!" Torren demanded once Woolsey had left.

John quickly acquiesced to his youngest son's demands and picked up Tobias, who seemed to be squirming about in the pusher. Teyla was already holding Charin and seemed very content in her mother's arms.

Once Tobias was settled, he looked at Dave and Jane, "are you guys coming back to our apartment with us?"

"Don't you guys want time alone with the children," Dave asked looking a little confused?

"We would like to tell you and Jane everything about Lucida, just in case you want to go there for your honeymoon." Teyla informed them.

"Do you guys know where Ronon and Amelia are going, because I wouldn't want to steal their honeymoon spot," Jane asked, as they started to head back to the apartment.

"I have no idea; all I know is that it's some fighting planet, definitely somewhere you guys wouldn't want to go." John informed them with a grin.

A grin spread across Dave's face and he took Jane's hand, "well in that case you'd better tell us all about it, because we don't really want to go back to earth if we don't have too."

Jane started to drag Dave towards John and Teyla's apartment, "It sounds wonderful and I agree with Dave we don't really want to go back to earth if we don't have to."

They reached John and Teyla's apartment and John thought the door open. The minute he walked through the door he knew that he was glad to be home, as much as he'd enjoyed spending some alone time with his wife, he knew that he wasn't complete without his family, or Atlantis.

"It's about time that the twins were fed again." Jane announced as she walked through the door.

"I'll get you a bottle for Charin and I'll do Tobias," John suggested and headed for the kitchen to prepare the milk.

He finished just in time as well, because before he knew it the twins started to scream letting him know just what they wanted, he was thankful that Dave picked Tobias up and tried to calm him.

John took Tobias off of Dave and handed a bottle of too Teyla for Charin.

"Hey Toby don't fuss Daddy has your bottle." He soothed his son, as he put the bottle in his mouth.

To his relief both of the twins settled down and happily suckled on their bottles. Teyla had discussed changing them to formula while on their honeymoon and luckily the Daedalus had dropped some off on their last run to Atlantis.

"So what was it about Lucida that was so special," Jane asked sitting down.

John looked at Torren who seemed to be playing quietly playing in the corner of the room and wondered whether to send him to his room, but quickly decided against is, because he looked as if he would fall asleep any moment right where he was.

"The beaches were gorgeous and they had enormous beach umbrellas and the most incredible fruity drinks and the hotel was the most luxurious, thing I have ever seen."

John smiled at her excitement. She acted like a little girl discovering something for the first time and that is one of the things that he loved about her.

"The water was amazing and there were some sweet waves. I think I'd like to go back there and go surfing at some point in the near future." John told them with just as much excitement as Teyla had displayed.

"Okay, okay, you've sold me," Jane chuckled, before turning to her fiancée, "what do you think Dave shall we go there?"

John was amazed when Dave leant down and kissed Jane, "whatever you want darling. If you want to go there then I'm happy to take you there."

John rolled his eyes and cleared his throat, feeling a little uncomfortable with Dave's public display of affection.

"I'm just going to put Toby down for a nap, so make sure you're finished making out by the time I come back," he smirked before turning to his wife, "I'll put Charlie down once I've put Toby down if you like."

"No I think I'll leave these two alone," she said smirking at John. She looked around the room for a moment before she continued. "When you have finished with Toby, maybe you can put Torren in bed for a while before lunch. He is fast asleep in the middle of the floor."

Twenty minutes later when he and Teyla walked back into the lounge room Jane was in the kitchen making coffee and tea.

John sat in his recliner chair, while Teyla headed into the kitchen with Jane. "So Dave, how do you feel about Woolsey's announcement tomorrow?"

"I'm pretty nervous about it; I still have no idea what people are going to think. Have you told Ronon and McKay what's going on yet?"

"That is first thing on my agenda tomorrow morning," John sighed before continuing, "I think that Rodney is suspicious, because he seems to be more annoying than usual, since my accident on our last mission."

"He had been constantly asking me if you're hiding something the last few days as well, he claims that you are more annoying than usual."

John snorted. "Me, annoying that is the funniest thing I have ever heard."

Dave chuckled at him and before long they had both broken out into laughter.

"Are you okay?" Jane asked entering the room a few minutes later.

John tried to keep a straight face, as he answered her, "Rodney think's I'm annoying. Can you believe that?"

He was bewildered when Jane rolled her eyes, "yes I can't imagine why anyone would think that," she said sarcastically.

"John I do believe that people may find you annoying at times," Teyla told him, as she entered the room.

"Oh…" he answered practically speechless.

As he lay in bed later that night he thought about the fun and laughter they had all experienced that day. Dave and Jane had stayed the whole day and helped them out with cooking meals while they looked after the children.

He knew that as of tomorrow things were going to change and there would be far less of these times and a whole lot more responsibility on his and Dave's shoulders.

TBC…

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