"You wanted to see me Dr. Weir?" John walked into Elizabeth's office with out knocking and sat down in one of the visitor chairs.
"Yes." Elizabeth was a little surprised by the formal almost hostile tone in John's voice, not that she could really blame him this was going to be difficult for everyone. "I take it you've heard that we've found an Athosian family to take Kilik."
"Yes Ma'ma."
"John we disscussed this when you first brought him here."
"I know." That didn't mean he had to like the idea of just shipping the kid off to complete strangers. John had been dancing around the issue trying to ignore it in hopes it would go away, but no such luck here they were dealing with it now. "But that doesen't make it the right thing to do. Don't get me wrong I'm sure these people are great but you know how Kilik is with strangers, what makes you think Kilik would go willingly?"
"I don't expect him to at all, which is why I'm giving you a few days to try and get him used to the idea."
"Well it seems you already have your mind made up and neither me nor Kilik get a say in this, so if you'll excuse me I have some paper work to get back to." John got out of his seat and stormed out of Elizabeth's office giving her no chance to respond to his last statement.
Quickly following after him Elizabeth found herself standing in front of the door leading to the balcony closest to the control room. Stepping through the door Elizabeth leaned against the railing and looked John over. Elizabeth couldn't explain it but something had changed about John ever since Kilik had come along, she couldn't remember ever having seen John so happy and alive as he had been the last few weeks.
"Major..."
"I wanna keep him, I want Kilik to stay." John turned to look Elizabeth in the eyes. The raw emotions, the pain, the sorrow, the anger Elizabeth saw in his eyes nearly broke her heart. "I know you and Teyla went through all the trouble of finding a family to take him in, but I don't wanna give him up...I...I just can't do it."
"Look John I know Kilik is important to you..."
"It's more than that! I'm not willing to just hand him off to someone else because he came at an inconvenient time...not...not like I was."
"John?"
"You ever wonder why I didn't send a personal message back to earth? I didn't send one because there was nobody to send one to. When I was five my parents dumped me on the steps of Social Services and took off all beacuse it wasn't convenient to their life styles to have me around any more. I spent the next 13 years being hand off from place to place, only staying somewhere until something came up and it wasn't convenient to have me around any more, then it was off to a new home only for it to start all over again. No one ever thought I was worth the time or effort."
"I'm sorry John I had no idea, but--."
"But nothing! Kilik belongs here and you know it and the fact that we're even having this discussion proves you have your doubts about sending him away. This is where he wants to be, here with us..." Pausing John placed his hands on Elizabeth's shoulders. "Elizabeth I know this isn't the same kind of situtation, that the Athosians will look out for Kilik, but can you honestly look me in the eyes and tell me you haven't enjoyed having him around, that ever since he got here you haven't felt more energetic and full of life, that morale around here hasn't improved?"
"I understand this is hard for you John and yes all those things and more have happened since Kilik got here but you need to see this from my side. I really think this is the best thing for Kilik, with the Athosians he'll have a stable environment, children his own age to play with--."
"How? How is he supposed to play and interact with the other kids when he can't even communicate with them, with any of the Athosians for that matter?"
"No they can't communicate with him, yet. But they're willing to learn, Teyla's already started teaching the family sign language and in turn they'll teach any of the other Athosians that wants to learn. The important thing here is that by living with the Athosians Kilik will have a family."
"He already has a family here with us. Yes I'll admit it's a screwy kind of family but it's his family. Teyla's like the wiser older sister, Ford's the fun older brother, Carson and Rodney are the crazy uncles nobody will publicly claim relations to but secretly love having around, and you...well you...you're like his..."
"Like his what?"
"His mother." John's reply was whispered so softly Elizabeth almost didn't here it.
"His mother?" Elizabeth was shocked by John's statment. Sure the others were like John had said and John was like a father to Kilik, but her being like a mother? she'd never really thought of it that way.
"Yeah and don't try do deny it. I've seen it in your eyes the way they light up when you're around Kilik. From day one you've had this connection with Kilik that only a mother could have. When ever you're around Kilik you stop being Dr. Weir, leader of Atlantis, with the weight of the world on your shoulders and start being Elizabeth, a passionate and caring women, with your only care in the world being weather or not Kilik's healthy and happy. And you know what? This...this is were he's happy, right here with us and nothing will change that no matter how much time you give him to 'get used to the idea' of living somewhere else."
Turning to look out at the ocean Elizabeth let out a soft sigh. "Maybe you're right."
After having spent the rest of the afternoon working out a plan among other things with Elizabeth so that he could still go off world with his team and Kilik could stay in Atlantis, and finishing up his paper work John entered his room later that night glad to see Kilik was sound asleep in bed, Kate obviously had a few tricks up her sleeve he didn't know about.
Thinking of Kate, John scaned the room and found the psychatrist dozing in a chair with her feet propped up on his desk. Gently shaking her awake John watched as she slowly woke up and rubbed a hand over her eyes.
"Come on doc time for you to go sleep in your own room. I'm mean just imagine the rumors that would spread if people saw you coming out of my room in the morning."
"You wish, Major you wish." Kate joke as she got up taking the playful flirting all in stride knowing John wasn't serious; his heart already belonged to someone else weather he knew it or not.
"Hey a guy can dream can't he?" John continued the banter, walking Kate to the door. "But seriously you look dead on your feet not that I blame you, I know how tiring Kilik can be."
"Speaking of Kilik, how'd it go with Dr. Weir?" Kate stopped in the doorway, all joking aside.
Looking back at Kilik for a moment John answered a slight hitch in his voice. "He's staying right here where he belongs."
"Good. That's the way it should be." With that Kate left to return to her own room.
Going back into his room John sat down on the edge of his bed just watching as Kilik slept. Softly running a hand through Kilik's hair John thought about how close he'd come to losing one of the two most important people in his life. A single tear running down his face John leaned over and lovingly kissed Kilik's forehead before prying of his boots and laying down next to Kilik, too tired to change out of his clothes.
"You here that little man you're staying right here with me were you belong. Me and the others we're your family now and this is home." John put an arm around Kilik's shoulders pulling the boy close.
"Home." It took John a minute to realize that the softly spoken word hadn't come from him but from the sleeping Kilik who had rolled over placing his arm around John's waist. He could deal with the shock of finally hearing Kilik speak in the morning right now John was too tired to do anything more than kiss Kilik's forehead again and then drift off to sleep himself, a content grin on his face.