Chapter 30: The Day before the wedding
John sat on the infirmary bed waiting for Carson to come and give him a clean bill of health, so that he could leave the infirmary. The swelling around his left eye had finally gone down, so he could see again and his headache was barely noticeable, which was probably a good thing, since tonight was his brother's and Ronon's bachelor party and tomorrow they were both getting married. He had to be in good health, because he was the best man for both of them.
He had spent all day yesterday in the infirmary sleeping, since his headache had refused to let up.
His thoughts were interrupted when a loud voice spoke, "okay Laddie let's have a look at you and then you can go?"
There was no way that he was going to tell Carson to keep the volume down, because he really wanted to leave, so he sat still and let Carson carry out his checks and he answered all of the questions that were asked of him. Finally Carson announced that he was well enough to leave and then he was given a list of instructions and some pain medication.
"Can I go now Doc," he whined, when Carson seemed to be taking far too long.
"Off you go and remember if you have any problems, don't hesitate to come and see me."
He rolled his eyes and hopped of the bed and headed towards the holding cells, Lorne had left Lt James and Jones locked up for the past few days, waiting for him to speak to them.
"Arriving at the cells, he dismissed the guard on duty and entered. Immediately both men stood to attention.
"General Sheppard, sir," they both said giving him a crisp salute.
"At ease," he told them and then looked at them with a stern glare, before asking. "Why did you need to talk to me?"
"Permission to speak freely sir," Lt James asked him?
He nodded, "go ahead."
"I do not recognise Major Lorne's command authority. I think that he is the wrong person to take over the military."
Really, he thought, what is this guy's problem with Lorne.
"And who would you have had take over command, yourself?" He asked with impatience
"No sir, I believe that you should have stayed head of the military and someone else should have taken over Atlantis. I don't think much of your brother being 2IC either."
John didn't know what to say to him at the moment, so he turned to Lt Jones, "And why were you fighting."
"I disagree with James sir, I believe that the right decision has been made and I respect Col Lorne's authority."
"You are free to go then Lt Jones, go directly to see Col Lorne and he will talk to you and hand out your punishment for brawling."
"Yes sir," Lt Jones said, before leaving the room.
John turned to James and put on his sternest look, "You have two options, you can respect the decisions that have been made and accept Lorne's authority, or you can go back to earth and face a court martial for hitting a superior officer. I will give you two hours to decide. I will send Lorne back in two hours' time and you can tell him your decision."
"Yes sir."
John turned his back on him and headed home, wondering how many other people on Atlantis disagreed with his promotion. Lt James had only been in Atlantis for about a year, so he could understand that he wasn't used to the way things were, but anyone who had been her from the beginning seemed to be on board with the changes.
His head was beginning to throb again and his eye was becoming increasingly sore, by the time he reached his apartment. He knew that he had a meeting with Woolsey after lunch, but what he really wanted to do was to go to sleep for the rest of the day, but that wasn't an option. Woolsey needed to fill him in on a few last minute details of the job, before Woolsey left in two days' time.
Tonight he was heading off the dinner with Dave and Ronon for their bachelor parties as well, before they both got married the next day. He sighed knowing that the next few days were going to be incredibly difficult and challenging, so the minute he walked through the door to his apartment, he took some of the pain meds that Carson had given him. He had no idea where Teyla and the children were, but the apartment seemed to be quiet for the moment. Looking at his watch he realised that he had an hour before lunch time; just enough time for a nap.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Teyla returned home with Charin and Tobias to find that the apartment was quiet. She knew that John was supposed to be released from the infirmary that morning and that he had intended to go and see Lieutenants' James and Jones in the holding cells before he came home. The twins were asleep in their pusher, so she decided that she would put them in their cots for a while before lunch and then maybe she could have a look at one of her new romance novels. Peace and quiet was a rare treat for her these days, so she would enjoy it while she could and then perhaps she might be able to have a nap. She hadn't slept well the night before, as the twins had been up half the night crying, she had no idea why, but she suspected that they must be having a growth spurt.
After putting the twins to bed, she collected her book from the lounge area and went to her bedroom. Turning her lamp on, she was surprised to find that John was already in bed fast asleep. He was laying on his right side, so she could see the damage to the left side of his face. His eye wasn't anywhere near as swollen, a bandage covered the large gash on his forehead and the area below his eye was beginning to turn purple.
Suddenly his eyes shot open and he started to moan, she watched him as he begin to screw his eyes up. Suspecting that the light was hurting his head, she turned it off and she was relieved that he settled down again.
Yawning she climbed in bed with him, cuddled up to him closed her eyes and it wasn't long before she fell asleep.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
When John awoke again, he felt someone lying beside him. For a split second he thought it was Hannah and he started to panic, but he soon settled down when he realised that it was Teyla. The dull throbbing in his head had eased up a little, but it still felt as if there was a knife behind his left eye.
Moaning he slammed his eyes shut, not wanting to deal with the pain right now, he knew that it wasn't time to take his pain meds as yet, but he suspected by the time that it was he would be in agony again. What was he supposed to do? The pain in his head and eye had to go by this evening, as it was Ronon and Dave's Bachelor party and he was the best man, so he knew that he had to make and appearance.
"John, are you alright," Teyla called from beside him.'
"I'm fine."
He was relieved when Charin began to scream, because although it hurt his head and eye, it gave him something to focus on right now. Tobias chose that moment to start screaming as well.
He attempted a smile, but it actually came out more as a grimace, "I guess its lunch time."
By the time they had finished feeding, his head was pounding and the pain behind his eye was worse than it had ever been. Looking at his watch he realised that it was time to take his pain meds again and for that he was grateful.
The rest of the day flew by quickly and as long as he took his pain meds every four hours, his pain was kept in check. Now he stood in front of the closet trying to decide what to wear for Dave and Ronon's Bachelor Party. They had decided that seeing that it was the night before the wedding they would just head down to the Rec room, watch movies, eat pizza and drink beer. Initially he thought that it would be a problem for Ronon and Dave to share a bachelor party, but much to his relief they both had very similar taste in food and movies.
In the end he decided to change into a pair of dark blue jeans, a white button up shirt and his sneakers.
Once he had quickly changed, he kissed Teyla and the twins on the cheek and headed to the rec room, with the pain in his head and behind his eye muted for the moment.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Dave stood and looked at himself in the mirror, wondering if he was too old to be having a bachelor party with Ronon, he was a few years older than John and John was a good ten years older that Ronon, so he had no idea whether it was a good idea or not.
The ladies had gotten together before John and Teyla had gone on their honeymoon for Jane and Amelia's hen's night and apparently it had been a huge success, but then Jane was closer to Amelia's age than he was to Ronon's.
Sighing he grabbed his jacket and headed out the door, Jane and Amelia were staying with Teyla tonight and John and Ronon were coming to stay with him, so that in the morning John could help them both get ready. He really hoped that John's headache was better, because the last thing he needed was for his best man to be out of action on his wedding day.
When he arrived in the rec room he was surprised to find that John was already there, putting finishing touches on the decorations.
John winked at him as he walked in, "hey Dave how are you feeling, It's your last night as a single man?"
"I haven't been a single man since the day I met Jane."
"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" John asked looking confused.
"It's all good," Dave replied with a smirk, before asking him. "What happened with the two lieutenants who were fighting?"
"Well in the end James decided that he'd rather stay and accept Lorne's authority than to go back to earth and face a court martial for hitting a superior officer, so Lorne has them both scrubbing the gate room floor. That was Lorne's idea not mine."
"What was my idea," Lorne asked joining them in the Rec room."
Dave looked up to find that he looked very casual in his jeans and t-shirt; he had never seen Lorne looking so relaxed and casual. "John was just telling me how you are making James and Jones scrub the gateroom floor."
"I told them that they got off easy this time, because next time they will be scrubbing the sceptic tanks out." Lorne replied with a smirk on his face.
Dave looked horrified, "Remind me to never cross you Colonel."
"How are you feeling tonight Sir," Lorne asked turning to his superior officer?
"I'm feeling a lot better than I was and please call me John, as we're off duty now?"
"Hey Lorne, I just saw Jones and James scrubbing the gate room floor and they were complaining rather loudly." Rodney informed him, as he walked through the door.
"Okay, how about we stop talking about work and enjoy the evening." John suggested grabbing a bottle of beer out of the fridge.
"Where's the pizza I'm starving," Todd announced walking through the door?
David shuddered, as Ronon walked up to Todd and slapped him on the back, "Hey Todd I bet I can eat more pizza and drink more beer than you can tonight." Ronon told the wraith and chuckled and it was obvious to Dave that he'd already had a beer of two.
John interrupted, before Todd had a chance to answer. "Now Chewie there will be no betting tonight, I need you on your feet for your wedding tomorrow and if you're not, Amelia will punch me in my other eye."
"Come on Sheppard, this is my bachelor party,' Ronon whined.
"Stop being such a he man Conon, Amelia will kill Sheppard and the last thing we need is for him to be injured again!" Rodney Chastised.
"What about and eating competition when you get back from your honeymoon," Todd suggested?
"Great idea Todd, have a beer and the pizza will be here in a minute," John told him and handed him a beer.
A few minutes later, the pizza arrived and the room was quiet while everyone ate. Dave sat in awe and watched the big wraith eat pizza after pizza. John had told him how much Todd could eat, but he had never believed him until now.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Teyla had just put the children to bed when Jane arrived. Amelia was on duty for this evening and was going to come over once her shift had finished and spend the night along with Jane.
"Come in Jane, would you like a glass of wine?"
"I'll have a glass of chardonnay if you have any?"
"I've ordered some Roast chicken, it should be here soon." Teyla told her with a smile.
"Thanks Teyla."
Teyla looked at Jane and sensed she felt a bit apprehensive. "Are you alright Jane?"
Jane sighed, "I honestly don't know how you do it Teyla."
Teyla felt confused by her question, "what do you mean?"
"How do you find the time for one another. You and John have three children; you both work in responsible jobs, not to mention the fact that John spends so much time in the infirmary."
"We always try to make time for one another and believe sometimes it is hard, but whenever we are apart I know that John really loves me." She pulled out the necklace that John had given her on their anniversary and showed it to her. "He gave me this necklace, so that whenever we are apart his heart in always with me."
"For someone who doesn't like expressing his emotions, he sure is romantic."
Teyla blushed and was relieved when the door chime rang, she walked over to the door and opened it and found that one of the kitchen staff was there with a rolling table full of roast chicken and vegetables, with sticky date pudding for dessert.
When Teyla had thanked the staff she wheeled the food to the table, she put a serving out for her and Jane, then put the rest in the oven to keep it warm for Amelia when she'd finished work.
Teyla sat down at the table and looked at her friend, "are you worried about marrying Dave?"
"Yeah I am what happens if it doesn't work."
"Why would it not, you two are perfect for one another." Teyla said and gave her a reassuring squeeze on the hand.
"I don't know why it wouldn't, but what if it doesn't" Jane said making no sense.
"I think that you are having cold feet," Teyla furrowed her eyebrows, before continuing, "is that the way you say it?"
"Getting cold feet but close enough." Jane chuckled.
"I think you need another glass of wine, perhaps it will make you feel better," Teyla suggested.
Jane looked at her and smiled. "I think I'll need more than one."
Teyla laughed and filled up both of their glasses again, she knew that they probably shouldn't have too much more, Teyla because she needed to be sober if the children needed her and Jane because she was getting married tomorrow.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
John sat eating his pizza and drinking his beer in silence, his head was beginning to bother him again and he could sense that his eye was still swollen. He looked across the room and noticed that Carson was staring at him and the last thing he needed right now was Carson going into mother hen mode.
Smiling he turned to watch Todd and Ronon in the middle of an arm wrestle and he was surprised to see that Ronon was actually winning. Rodney and Radek were deep in a scientific conversation. Dave and Lorne were talking business and Woolsey and Carson were deep in conversation, although Carson seemed to be keeping an eye on him.
Sighing he closed his eyes thinking that he should rest his aching head and eye, it must have been seconds and Carson was next to him and taking his pulse.
"Doc, I'm fine!" He spat out, definitely not in the mood to have this conversation.
"I don't think you are Laddie, so why don't you tell me what is hurting and then we can get this over with." Carson said glaring at him.
He sighed, he knew that the doctor was right, but then he didn't want to miss the rest of the evening. But then he knew that he couldn't really miss his brother's and best buddy's wedding tomorrow, so perhaps he should let Carson take a look at him now.
"Okay Doc, but we're not doing this here."
When Carson nodded he went over and whispered in Dave's ear, "I'm just going to the infirmary for Carson to check me out. I'll see you in your quarters later."
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah my head and eye are still hurting, so Carson wants to check it out."
Dave nodded, "I'll see you later then."
John followed Carson to the infirmary and he wasn't happy that he'd had to leave Dave's bachelor party; in fact all he could do was remember back to his own wedding day when he was in a wheelchair. He had been abducted not long after Rodney and Jennifer's wedding as well, so that must mean that Weddings just brought bad luck for him, or perhaps he was just plain cursed.
Arriving in the infirmary, John hopped on the scanner bed and let Carson run the scanner over his face and head.
Carson tutted as he saw the results.
"What's the problem doc?"
"Your eye still seems a bit swollen and you're obviously still experiencing headaches, which you were supposed to tell me about if they continued," and he could tell that Carson was not happy with him.
He shrugged his shoulders, "sorry, but I've slept most of the day, so it hasn't really been bothering me."
"I'm going to give you some stronger pain meds, which will probably make you drowsy and I want you to stay here for an hour, so that I can keep an eye on you. Then you can go to Dave's quarters for the night, as long as you come and see me in the morning before the wedding." Carson told him in a much gentler tone.
He sighed; he knew that he wanted to be free from the pain, so if that meant that he had to miss some of tonight's activities, he could live with that.
Taking the pills that Carson offered him, he took them with a drink of water and then he lay back on the bed thinking that it probably wouldn't hurt him to go back to sleep and It wasn't long before he was fast asleep.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Teyla and Jane had just finished eating their dinner when Amelia arrived. Teyla looked at her friend to see if there was any nervousness or apprehension in her face, but she was happy to see that she was completely relaxed.
"Hello Amelia how are you feeling," Teyla asked with a smile?
Amelia shrugged her shoulders, "I'm fine, I can't wait to get married tomorrow."
"Sit down and I will get you your meal and a drink of alcohol." Teyla suggested guiding her friend to the table.
"That sounds great Teyla, what have you got?" Amelia asked, as she sat down at the table.
"Jane and I are drinking Chardonnay, but I have some Shiraz and there is also beer in the fridge."
"I think I'll have a beer or two thanks Teyla." Amelia replied with a smile.
Teyla grabbed a beer from the fridge and then handed it to Amelia, but before she had a chance to say anything to her Jane started to speak.
"How can you be so relaxed Amelia, you're getting married tomorrow and that is a huge thing."
Amelia just shrugged, "I'm marrying Ronon, my best friend the love of my life. I love him and I know he loves me as well, so I have nothing to worry about."
"Wow," was all that Jane said in reply.
Teyla watched as Amelia looked up at Jane and she saw confusion in Amelia's eyes, "don't you feel that way about Dave?"
"Well yes I do, but I'm worried that it may not work out for some reason." Jane explained.
"Why, you two are made for one another?" Amelia asked and Teyla could only describe to look on her face as puzzled.
"I guess you're right Amelia, perhaps I need to relax and have another glass of wine." Jane suggested and Teyla was happy to oblige.
The rest of the evening flew by with more alcohol, food and lots of fun and laughter. Teyla was happy that the children didn't make a noise for the entire evening. Once she was sure that Amelia and Jane were set up in the spare room, she took one last look at Charin, Tobias and Torren and then she went to bed herself, hoping that the twins wouldn't wake in the night demanding to be fed.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
When Dave and Ronon arrived back in his quarters it was 2300 hours and John was already there. Dave pulled a beer out of his fridge and handed it to Ronon, but John shook his head when Dave offered him one.
"Sorry Carson has me on some pretty strong pain killers."
"How's the head Sheppard?" Ronon asked, before taking a drink of his beer.
"It's fine and after a good night's sleep I should be even better."
"Good now where am I sleeping Dave, because I want to go to bed," Ronon asked in a gruff tone?
"The spare room on the left of the hallway, everything you need should be in there." Dave answered feeling a little relieved, because he wanted to have a private conversation with John before they went to bed.
"Thanks," he mumbled, before heading down the hall.
"What's on your mind Dave," John asked once Ronon had gone?
"What if I'm as bad a husband?" Dave asked, thoughtfully.
"I don't think that could possibly happen. When I see the two of you together, I know that it will last. Jane knows who you are and what you do and she loves you for it. She doesn't want to change you into anything you're not. In the same way you love her and allow her to be who she is and you love her for that."
"Wow John when did you become so emotional and sentimental. Dad would roll over in his grave at that speech."
"My point is Dave I'm proud of the man you have become and I am happy that you're my brother and tomorrow I'm going to have a sister as well.
"Thanks' John. Now I think I need to go to bed as I'm getting married tomorrow."
Dave walked out of the lounge area and headed to his bedroom. He got himself into bed and thought I hope I don't have to spend a night alone ever again.
TBC…