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Chapter 10: Surprise

Eighteen months Earlier.

New Lantia.

John stood in front of his mirror, staring at his image. He was dressed in his formal uniform – unfortunately – as today was the day he was going to be promoted to Brigadier General.

Apparently, the brass thought that he was doing such a fantastic job of being the leader of the Atlantis Expedition – or as he put it, a stuffy administrator – that they had decided to promote him to Brigadier general. Although he had been out in the field a lot recently it still didn't change the fact that he still had far too much paperwork to do when he was on Atlantis.

He didn't really care about the rank or the pay rise. What he did care about was the fact that he'd had the opportunity to go off-world over the last couple of months. And to his amazement, he hadn't ended up in the infirmary once in that time. Teyla was extremely happy about that – Doc Keller was fairly happy as well.

A little voice interrupted his contemplations and he immediately turned around to see his son staring at him.

"You loot nice Daddy."

"Thank you, T.J"

"Why you dress up Daddy?"

"I'm getting a promotion."

Torren looked at him for a few moments and he was positive that the little boy didn't know what a promotion was.

He was about to try and explain to him when Torren just looked at him and said, "cool", before running off into the other room.

Looking in the mirror again, he took in the appearance of his face, and it looked a little too pale and sweaty for his liking – his stomach wasn't feeling too crash hot either. I must be nervous he thought before heading out into the lounge area, where Teyla was cleaning up the breakfast dishes. Come to think of it he hadn't really eaten much for breakfast, and he was fairly sure that Teyla didn't eat anything either.

"How are you feeling John, you are looking a bit pale?" Teyla asked and he didn't think she looked much better than he did.

"I think I'm feeling a little nervous and you don't look so good yourself."

"Yes, my stomach has not been feeling the best for the last few days. I have an appointment tomorrow morning with Jennifer, but I am sure that it is just a stomach bug."

"I hope that's all it is Sweetie because we're supposed to be having our bonding ceremony in a few days."

"I know honey and I'm sure that I will feel much better by then."

"Anyway," he said changing the subject, "I need to get to my office so that I'm there when General O'Neil and General Carter arrive."

Carter had been given her promotion to Brigadier General six months ago along with all of the starship captains.

"I will see you at the ceremony in an hour then."

He leaned in to give Teyla a chaste kiss on the lips," goodbye Sweetie," he said before looking around for Torren.

"T.J." He called out, "Daddy's going now."

Torren immediately came running into the room and jumped into his arms, "Bye Daddy."

"I'll see you tonight after daycare."

The little boy nodded, and John put him down. Now all he had to do was make it to his office without being sick or passing out. After that he had to make it through his promotion ceremony and then maybe he could come back to his apartment and have an afternoon nap. He was positive that there were no teams scheduled to be going through the gate today, so he wouldn't have any off-world missions to supervise.

The walk to his office seemed to take an eternity and when he arrived, he was surprised to see that Carter and O'Neill were already there, drinking coffee, which did nothing for his stomach.

Since General O'Neill was sitting in his chair behind the desk, he immediately dropped into the chair opposite him – Carter was sitting next to him.

"Would you like some coffee?" General O'Neill asked him.

The thought alone made him want to lose his stomach, "umm…no thankyou General."

"Are you alright John?" Sam asked from beside him.

"I'm fine," he told her using his standard response. The truth was he felt absolutely terrible, and he would like nothing more than to go to bed.

"Well, the ceremony is due to start in half an hour and since you are so uncomfortable with large gatherings, I thought that we'd do it in the conference room."

He'd never felt so relieved in his life and not just because the ceremony was going to be small, "as long as I can remain sitting, that's fine by me."

"Right, now that's sorted," O'Neill began, "let's get down to business."

"And what would that be sir?" He asked with apprehension.

"How are things going without Ronon and Banks."

"Okay, I guess."

"The reason I'm asking is I'm wondering if you need any extra troops."

He stared at O'Neill with disbelief, why would the general need to know if he needed any more troops? He'd never asked him before.

"Why?" He asked suspiciously.

"Because the IOA are looking at ways to cut the budget, so if you don't ask now, chances are you won't get them."

"Well in that case General, send as many as you can as soon as possible, I would like one or two more Majors and perhaps a few more gene carriers, so Rodney doesn't always need Lorne and me to test his stuff."

"You don't ask for much do you, Sheppard?"

"No sir."

"And can you stop with the General and sir, you're a senior officer, so how about you call me Jack."

"And please call me Sam," General carter added.

"Sure, I'll think about it," he replied suddenly feeling extremely uncomfortable.

A knock on his office door stopped the conversation in its tracks and he turned around so fast that he felt dizzy.

"Are you alright Colonel?" Lorne asked entering the room.

Teyla followed Lorne in, and she looked about as bad as he felt.

"I'm fine Lorne."

A few minutes later O'Neill stood up and walked towards the conference room, indicating that he should follow. He allowed Lorne and Carter to follow first before coming last with Teyla by his side.

"Are you sure you're okay sweetie?"

"I will be okay Honey, but what about you?"

"I'll be much better once this whole ceremony is over. Then I'm going to bed for the afternoon. Maybe we could take a nap together while T. J. is at daycare."

"I think I may take you up on that offer, although I do have a lot of work to do."

When he finally managed to make it to the conference room, he was surprised to find that Ronon was there in a suit, and Rodney and Carson were also there.

"Hey Sheppard," Ronon said before pulling him in for a bear hug.

"How?" He asked feeling utterly speechless.

"When Teyla told me about the promotion, I knew that I couldn't miss this for the world."

He looked at Carson and it felt good to see his favourite doctor again, "Doc, it's good to see you again."

"Well like Ronon, I knew that I couldn't miss this."

He leaned in to give Carson a hug and when he pulled back the doctor had a look of surprise on his face.

"John, are feeling alright, you seem a bit warm?"

"Look Doc I'm fine and as soon as this ceremony is over, I have every intention of going to my room for a rest."

Luckily, Carson nodded and they all turned to O'Neill for the ceremony to begin.

O'Neill was standing in the far corner, and he didn't like it when the General indicated that he should come and stand with him.

It seemed to take longer than it should for him to cross the small distance and by the time he did he was feeling dizzy and nauseous.

For some reason, no one seemed to notice, and the General began to speak.

"The man we are here to honour today is a natural-born leader and would give his life to protect Atlantis and everyone in it. He has also been willing to sacrifice everything on many occasions for people he doesn't even know."

By this point, John was feeling terrible and he wished that Jack would get to the good part before he passed out. He looked over at Teyla and he was shocked to see how pale she had become, so perhaps it needed to be over for her benefit as well.

"So it is with great pleasure that I promote Colonel John Sheppard to Brigadier General with all of the privileges afforded to that rank."

Ronon and Rodney stepped up beside him to place his new insignia on his shoulder epaulettes and suddenly he felt himself swaying if Ronon hadn't been there he was positive that he would have passed out.

The next thing he was aware of was sitting in a chair with Carson checking his pulse and temperature – he had no idea why Carson had a thermometer in the conference room.

Carson's voice cut through the haze in his head, and he had no idea how long the doctor had been talking, "General are you listening to me?"

"Huh?"

"I said that I'm going to call for a gurney so that we can get you to the infirmary."

"I don't think so Doc," he said standing to his feet.

He was walking towards the exit when a sudden wave of dizziness overcame him and he felt himself falling, he tried to grab hold of the conference table, but missed and hit his head on the corner, he was unconscious before he even hit the floor.

oOo

A sharp pain in his head was the first thing he felt the next time he became aware, and he had no idea what had gone on this time. After taking the time to get his bearings, he suddenly realised that he was hot and sweaty and he felt incredibly nauseous – did he have a concussion, or was there something else wrong with him?

A soft voice pervaded his thoughts, and he immediately knew who it was, "Teyla," he whispered.

"Yes, John I am here. Carson wanted to know when you woke up, so I will just go and get him."

He opened his eyes to watch her walk out of the room and was relieved that the lights were at a relatively low level.

Looking around the infirmary he realised that he was in a room with a few other people, and he couldn't work out why. Usually, he had his own room when he was in the infirmary.

A few minutes later Carson came in, drew the curtains around his bed, and started to tut as he checked his vitals.

"What's wrong with me Carson and why are you still here?"

"Did you eat any of those little white berries that came from CXZ -117?"

"Yeah, I ate a whole lot."

"Well, General, it appears as if you and several others had an allergic reaction to them – Dr Keller included. That is why I'm still here and I will be staying until she is one hundred percent well.

"But the inhabitants of that world assured us they were safe for human consumption. I'm sure they would have told us if any of their people were allergic to them.

"I know they did and Major Teldy visited them again after people became sick. They assured us that none of their people have ever become sick after eating them. I guess it's something in particular about our physiology."

"Okay then doc, that explains the sweating and nausea I'm feeling, but what about my head, it feels as if it's going to split in two?" He looked around the room before continuing, "why do you keep calling me General doc and where's Teyla?"

"What is the last thing you remember John?"

Thinking back, he had a vague recollection of his promotion ceremony, but after that, he didn't remember anything until now.

"Umm…I think I remember my promotion ceremony and then I don't remember anything until now."

"Well, you got through the ceremony, but then you collapsed and hit your head on the corner of the conference table. Luckily, there's no concussion, but I imagine you have a bit of a headache."

"Where's Ronon, Sam and Jack? I'll also ask you again where is Teyla?"

"Teyla has gone to put Torren down for an afternoon nap, Ronon had to get back to New Sateda and the Generals had to go back to Earth."

Nodding his head, he looked around the room wondering why he was here and not in his private room, "why am I out in the main ward doc?"

Carson looked at the floor and John instantly knew that he wasn't going to like the answer," Carson what's going on?"

"Some people's allergic reactions to the berries were more severe than others, so we had to keep them separate to keep an eye on them."

Obviously, that was why they needed his room, but there was still something that the doctor wasn't telling him, and he assumed that they had lost at least one person, "how many docs?"

"Corporal James and Lt Peters."

He knew that it wasn't his fault, but he was the one who led the mission to CXZ-117 and he was the one who had traded for the berries on the recommendation of the locals. Perhaps this was one other thing to stick in the overcrowded corner of his mind and lock the door.

"John, It's not your fault you know."

"I know that Doc, but it doesn't make me feel any better."

He sighed as the pain in his head started to notch up a little, "how many got sick doc?"

"Five including yourself. Dr Keller, Lt Peters, Corporal James, and Lt Col Lorne, but Lorne was only sick for half a day."

"And how long have I been here?"

"You've been here for about forty-eight hours and you have spent most of that time sleeping."

Suddenly he remembered that Teyla hadn't been well either, "and what about Teyla?"

She's fine lad, and I'm sure she'll be happy to tell you that the next time she sees you."

The conversation had been long and tiring and he was ready to go back to sleep until he remembered his bonding ceremony, "when can I get out of here doc? I have my own wedding to attend, as well as Ronon and Amelia's. In fact, I'm fairly sure I'm supposed to be getting married tomorrow."

"I will release you in the morning providing you rest in your apartment before the ceremony tomorrow afternoon. Ronon and Amelia's wedding isn't for another few days, so I don't see any reason why you shouldn't attend."

"Thanks, Doc, now can I have something for my headache, so that I can go back to sleep?"

"Aye, and when you wake up, I want you to try and eat something."

"I'll try doc, but I have to tell you that right now I don't feel hungry."

"We'll see how you feel when you wake up."

"How's Keller?" He asked suddenly wondering how long Carson would be here.

"I will be releasing her to her quarters this afternoon and she should be back on duty in a couple of days." A smile spread across Carson's face before he continued, "why, are you trying to get rid of me?"

John wasn't really in the mood for jokes by this time, "just give me something for the pain?"

In an instant, he felt the tug of the IV in his left hand and it wasn't long before he felt the pain meds hit his system.

"Right lad, I'm going to leave you to sleep for a while," Carson said before walking away.

Once Carson had left, he closed his eyes hoping that sleep would come, but he just couldn't stop thinking about his two dead men. Sure, he knew that it was just a horrible accident, but that didn't make it any easier.

He hadn't thought about what the Sakari AI – in the form of Koyla – had said to him for a long time, but right now the words came to his mind, 'you torture yourself every day John'. Perhaps this was another case where those words rang true. It was entirely possible that he would spend the next few weeks beating himself up about something that was out of his control. He also knew that was part a big part of the problem – John Sheppard was a control freak and hated to lose control.

Still, he knew that these thoughts could drive him insane, so he closed his mind off to all negative thoughts and it wasn't long before he fell into a deep sleep.

oOo

A gentle whisper was the first thing he heard the next time he became aware, and he had no idea what it was saying. The voice spoke again, louder and this time he knew who it was.

"Teyla?" He whispered trying to open his eyes.

When he finally managed the feat, he saw the most beautiful woman in two galaxies staring down at him. Rather than looking tired and pale like she had when he'd last seen her, this time she had a radiant glow.

She stood up and smiled at him, "I must go and get Dr Keller as she wanted to know when you were awake."

He watched her walk away before thinking, Where's Carson? Last time I was awake Keller was still sick.

A minute later a cheery Dr Keller walked into the room with Teyla following, "how are you feeling General?"

That was a good question, one that he hadn't thought about since he'd awoken, so he took the time to think about it. He had no headache, he didn't feel nauseous, and he didn't feel hot and sweaty any longer.

"Much better than I was the last time I awoke." He looked at her suspiciously before continuing, "how long have I been asleep and where's Carson?"

"Carson has gone back home as there has been an outbreak of Red spot in his village, at the moment he is busy inoculating the children. And as for your other question; you have been asleep for three days. For some reason, you took a while longer to recover than I did."

For a moment he felt like pointing out that some of his men didn't recover at all, but in the end, he decided that now wasn't the time to bring it up.

"You mean I've missed my wedding? Ronon and Amelia's wedding?"

"Do not worry John, we can still have our bonding ceremony as soon as you leave the infirmary. Ronon and Amelia have put off their wedding plans as well." Teyla soothed.

Everyone was putting their plans on hold just for him and again this made him feel guilty.

Teyla must have sensed what he was thinking, as she tried to placate him with her next words, "do not worry John, I have not been feeling the best recently, so it was probably a good idea to put off the ceremony. And Ronon and Amelia could not have their wedding without you so they were willing to put it off."

That left him with two questions he needed answers to, so firstly he turned to Keller, "So when can I get out of here?"

"If I'm satisfied that you can move around without falling flat on your face and you eat a good meal tonight, I can release you in the morning."

"That sounds great Doc, but can I please have a word alone with Teyla?"

"I'll see you a bit later General, "Keller said as she walked away.

For the first time since he'd awoken he realised that he was back in his private room, which was a relief because he hated when people saw him looking unwell.

"So Teyla, do you want to get married tomorrow afternoon?"

"I would love that, John." She said as a smile lit up her face.

He stared at her looking for any signs that she was still unwell, and he couldn't see any.

"So how are you feeling Sweetie? You didn't look too well a few days ago."

"I am well enough Honey," she took a deep breath before continuing, "the reason I have not been feeling too well, is because I am with child."

For a moment he thought he hadn't heard her right, so he needed to clarify, "You're pregnant," he stammered.

"Yes, John we will be having a child in around seven months."

He had no idea what the say to that, the woman he loved was going to have his child.

"I'm going to be a father?" He thought he saw hurt in her eyes, so he continued, "I mean I'm already Torren's father, but this will be my first biological child."

"I know what you mean Honey and yes you are going to be a father."

Suddenly he felt exhausted again and although he'd only been awake for about fifteen minutes, he suddenly wanted to go to sleep again.

"How about you go back to sleep John and tomorrow we can be bonded for life and in seven months we will have an addition to our family."

He liked the sound of that, so when he felt Teyla slip her hand in his, he was happy to allow sleep to come.

TBC…