Chapter Five – Family Reunion

Colonel Shepherd raced towards the one spot in Atlantis where he was likely to be left alone, the surface level of the northwest pier. Really not wanting to see anyone he kept to the unused corridors, stairs and transporters. Once outside he took a deep breath then ripped the headset from his ear and switched it off before putting it in one of his pockets. He walked out towards the end of the pier and sat down, closing his eyes to feel the ocean breeze and the spray it kicked up. He sat there for hours, not even aware that he'd missed a scheduled meeting with Dr. Weir and she had been trying to locate him.

Dr. Weir was beginning to worry, she had checked with Rodney, Teyla, Lieutenant Ford and even Sergeant Bates and had yet to locate Colonel Shepherd. She decided to try one more person before activating the city-wide address system.

"Alora this is Dr. Weir, respond please," she said into her headset.

"This is Alora, go ahead," the woman responded, her voice flat.

"Have you seen Colonel Shepherd? He's late for a meeting," Dr. Weir said.

Several moments passed before Alora answered in the same flat tone, "He's on the northwest pier, his favorite spot."

Now even more concerned, Dr. Weir told the technician on duty that she was canceling the rest of her meetings for the day but would be available by headset for emergencies. It took her quite a while to reach the pier as it was one of the most remote places in the city. She found Colonel Shepherd sitting cross-legged on the floor near the end of the pier looking out at the ocean. She approached him, deliberately not being quiet so as to alert him of her approach.

"John?" she said softly as she sat down next to him.

His gaze didn't leave the ocean waves as he began, "You've read my personnel file."

"Only what was pertinent to clearing you for the expedition," Dr. Weir confirmed.

"But you know I was raised in foster care from the time I was five," he said.

"Yes, you're an orphan," Dr. Weir acknowledged softly.

"I was told that my father died in a car accident," Colonel Shepherd said, "And that after the accident my mother couldn't be found. I didn't have any other relatives so I was made a ward of the state."

"John, what happened?" Dr. Weir asked as she placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"I never tried to learn about my parents, even though his death was an accident, I felt like my father abandoned me just like my mother did." John said with a sigh before continuing. "Only it turns out she didn't abandon me. Turns out she was in the car, they just didn't find a body because she ascended."

"Martin and Lora Shepherd," Dr. Weir sad quietly as realization dawned on her, "Oh my god. Alora's your mother?"

"So she says," John said.

Elizabeth waited a few moments before she asked, "Do you want to know for sure?"

John turned to look at her with the question in his eyes.

"Carson has her DNA sample on file and yours is part of the staff database," she explained, "he doesn't have to know why we're testing it. We'll just have him run the comparison through the system and have him leave the room so only you and I will see the results."

"Would he do that?" John asked.

"I think he would," Elizabeth answered as she stood up and held her hand out. "C'mon."

John and Elizabeth went directly to Dr. Beckett's office where he agreed to run the sample but with unasked questions in his eyes. He allowed them to use his office to view the results as it offered the most privacy. Twenty minutes later the message flashes across the screen. Alora's DNA was a 50 match to Colonel Shepherd's.

"What are you going to do now?" Elizabeth asked.

"I don't know," John said, "I guess it depends on if I believe her."

"What do you mean?" Elizabeth asked confused.

"She told me she tried to come back after the accident, but the others wouldn't let her," John answered.

"Talk to her," Elizabeth said as she reached over to delete the information that popped up.

Colonel Shepherd wandered through the rest of the day and ate alone in the commissary before turning in early. He tried to get some sleep and failed. Alora's eyes as she told him she hadn't abandoned him haunted his thoughts. There was so much pain that she had to be telling the truth. He decided to take Elizabeth's advice and he threw on jeans, a t-shirt and tennis shoes. A short while later he found himself outside her quarters.

He stood there for several moments before Alora's voice came from the other side of the door, "You can come in."

He hesitated another moment before waving his hand in front of the sensor and stepping through the door. He was surprised to see that she was placing the few possessions she had been given by Dr. Weir in a duffle bag.

"What are you doing?" John asked.

"I think it's best if I leave, I spoke with Dr. Weir earlier. She said the least she could do was allow me to keep a few things," Alora said without stopping her packing.

"Where are you going?" John asked.

"I'm not sure yet."

"Don't go," John said quietly.

"You have a mission John, something that's too important for you to be distracted," Alora said as she looked up at him.

"I'm not sacrificing my family for the mission. What good is it for the mission to succeed if you don't have family? Family is the reason all of us came here, to protect those we left behind on Earth," John said as he approached her. "And I'm not giving up the opportunity to get to know my mom."

Alora smiled at him and pulled him into an embrace.

"My Johnny, my little boy," she said as she held him.

When she stepped back she added, "Let's just keep this between us though, it might be a little weird for other people. And I don't even want to think about the look on Jinto's face if he found out you were the son of an Ancestor."

John smiled for the first time in a while then said, "Elizabeth already knows, but she won't tell anyone."

"Why don't you get a good night's sleep and tomorrow you can start with the questions you have," Alora offered.

"Don't you have any questions for me?" John asked.

Alora answered with a smile, "I may not have been present during most of your life, but that doesn't mean I wasn't there."