A Sentimental Journey
"Bambino! Sede benvenuta!"
John laughed as he walked down the ramp.
"General O'Neill."
The two men shook hands. Jack smiled.
"Glad to see you're still in one piece."
He glanced over John's shoulder.
"È bella."
John smiled.
"Sir, this is my wife Teyla. Teyla, this is General Jack O'Niell."
Jack's eyebrows rose.
"Wife?" His brow knitted in confusion. "Teyla? Why does that name sound familiar?"
"I am the leader, or rather, one of the leaders of the Athosian people who inhabit the mainland near Atlantis."
"Aren't you on his team?"
John shook his head.
"Not anymore, sir."
"Ah. Well, congratulations and welcome to Earth."
Teyla smiled.
"Thank you."
Jack wiggled his eyebrows.
"Maybe I should take a little trip to the Pegasus galaxy of my own."
"Oh really? Sir."
A woman with short blond hair walked over to General O'Neill's side.
"Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard, Teyla, allow me to introduce Lieutenant Colonel Samantha O'Neill."
Jack tugged on his ear.
"A former team mate of my own."
John grinned.
"Formerly Samantha Carter?"
Sam tilted her head.
"Yes, why?"
"Just making a mental note to tell Rodney when we get home."
Jack and Sam rolled their eyes.
"Teyla, if you would be so kind as to go with Sam, she'll get you settled with what identification documentation you'll need. Sheppard, General Landry is waiting for us in the conference room.
Sam and Teyla talked about Atlantis as they made their way to the twentieth floor. Once there Teyla's photo was taken and a profile was created for her and attached John's military record. She was given a state identification card, a military dependant card and a passport. While returning to the SGC, Sam explained the purpose of each document. They stepped off the elevator in time to hear an urgent announcement.
"Lieutenant Colonel O'Neill please report to lab seven immediately. Lieutenant Colonel O'Neill please report to lab seven immediately."
Sam sighed. Teyla smiled.
"If you are needed elsewhere, I can find my way back."
Sam glanced at her.
"Can you? I'm sorry to leave you like this, but if this is what I think it is, there isn't much time"
"Go, I will be fine."
Sam quickly gave Teyla directions to the conference room.
"If you get lost just ask for directions."
She smiled.
"It was nice meeting you."
Sam turned and hurried down the hall. Teyla called after her.
"Thank you."
Turning in the opposite direction she continued down the hall. She made a right at the second intersection, another right after passing the mess hall and a left at the end of the corridor. Teyla sighed, turning around at the dead end. So much for following directions. She back tracked to a room down the hall occupied by three men. It was full of old books, scrolls, artifacts, and a couple of computers. Teyla stood in the doorway.
"Excuse me. I am sorry to disturb you, but I believe I have taken a wrong turn. Could you please tell me how to get to the conference room?"
The three men glance up from the books they were reading and stared. After a moment or two of silence Teyla backed out of the doorway.
"Pardon my intrusion."
She turned to leave.
"Wait!"
She paused. Teyla glanced back inside the room to find all three men rushing to the doorway.
"I apologize. You took us a bit by surprise. You see we were researching a story about a beautiful African Princess who used her powers for evil. Then we looked up and there you were."
He smiled, and then frowned.
"Not that we think you're evil, or have powers for that matter, but that you're beautiful."
Teyla raised an eyebrow; she glanced at the gentleman before her and then his two companions.
"I'm Cameron, by the way."
He turned to his friends.
"And this is Teal'c and Daniel."
She gave a slight bow of her head.
"I am Teyla."
Cameron smiled.
"A beautiful name for a beautiful woman."
Teal'c returned her slight bow.
"You require assistance."
"Yes."
She smiled.
"I am trying to find the conference room. I am to meet General O'Neill and Lieutenant Colonel Sheppard there. Samantha O'Neill gave me directions, but I believe I made a wrong turn."
He gestured for her to precede him.
"It would be my pleasure to escort you there."
"Thank you."
"Hey, now just wait a minute. I was going to offer to take Teyla to the conference room."
Teal'c glanced at Cameron.
"Then why did you not do so?"
"I was working on it."
Teyla watched as the two men went back and forth. She sighed. At this rate she'd never find the conference room. She glanced at Daniel and saw him rolling his eyes. He must have heard her laughter because he looked at her. Daniel smiled, and then jerked his head towards the corridor. Teyla nodded.
"You'll have to excuse my friends. I think the lack of fresh air has finally gotten to them."
Teyla smirked as they continued down the hall.
"Are they always like that, going back and forth?"
Daniel slipped his hands in his pockets and shook his head.
"Only when Cameron needs to relieve some energy; he's not one to sit still for very long."
Daniel heard footsteps coming behind them. He glanced over his shoulder.
"Here they come."
John sat at the conference table. He didn't know whether shout for joy or scream in anger. The discussion had started off fairly normal. He'd given General Landry a brief update on the happenings in Atlantis. Both Generals had seemed pretty pleased with what they had heard. After the briefing General O'Neill slid a folder across the table and told him to take a look. John had opened the folder and found a letter in the left pocket from the Commander in Chief, thanking him for his meritorious service and congratulating him on his promotion to Lieutenant Colonel. John had known this already, but it was nice to see it in writing. In the right pocket had been a letter from his father, General Sheppard. He was 'requesting' his son's presence at Ramstein Air Base. The folder also contained an opened ended ticket to Germany.
"When did this arrive?"
General Landry gestured toward the folder.
"Four days ago."
John glanced at the two Generals.
"Does he know?"
Jack responded.
"Yes. When your status changed to 'missing in action' I received a call the next day. For a while I was able to use his lack of 'need to know' as an excuse to withhold information, but that didn't last long. He's been keeping tabs on you ever since. Last time you were here, he didn't know until you had already returned to Atlantis. This time, he was waiting for you."
John closed his eyes and sighed. Son of a bitch!
"John?"
He looked at the doorway and saw Teyla. The three men stood. She went to his side.
"Are you alright?"
He smiled reassuringly.
"Yes, I'm fine."
John glanced at the door as three other men entered the room behind her.
"Dr. Jackson?"
Daniel smiled.
"John."
They shook hands.
"Taking a break from the Pegasus galaxy are you?"
Daniel snapped his fingers and turned to Teyla.
"That's why your name sounded so familiar. You're Teyla Emmagan, leader of the Athosian people from Atlantis."
She smiled.
"Yes."
General Landry cleared his throat.
"Dr. Jackson, not everyone has been formally introduced."
Jack spoke up.
"Then let me do the honors. General Hank Landry, Lieutenant Colonel Cameron Mitchell, Teal'c, and Dr. Daniel Jackson, may I introduce to you Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard and his wife Teyla."
"His wife?"
Jack turned to Daniel, Teal'c, and Cameron, who all wore expressions of surprise. Well for Teal'c, a raised eyebrow was as close as to surprised as he would ever get. He smiled.
"Have you boys been flirting with the Colonel's wife? Danny boy, how could you?"
Daniel had never been so glad to have a beard in his life. It hid his blush from the others.
"I was just being friendly, but Cameron and Teal'c were flirting. They even got into an argument over who would escort her to the conference room."
Cameron rolled his eyes.
"We were not arguing, and besides, when we ended our discussion you had already run off with her."
"We didn't run, we walked because no one wanted to stand around and listen to you and Teal'c argue."
General Landry sighed.
"Gentlemen!"
This was greeted by silence.
"Teyla, welcome to Earth."
She grinned.
"Thank you."
John wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close.
"See sweetheart, and you thought Rodney and I were bad."
John and Teyla slumped into their plane seats in first class. Teyla sighed, she was exhausted. They'd had a pretty busy day. From the SGC they'd gone to John's apartment to drop off their bags. Once there, John told her about the summons from his father. They'd agreed to fly out late that evening, arriving in Germany tomorrow afternoon. John contacted the airlines to make the necessary arrangement and notified General Landry. Afterwards they'd gone out for lunch and after lunch they'd gone shopping, which had taken the rest of the day. They returned to the apartment to pack their new clothes, and then headed out again for dinner. From dinner they'd had just enough time to go to the apartment, make love, shower and head for the airport. Teyla glanced at John, and then glanced down at the ring on her finger. The man in the store had said it was a three carat princess diamond, set in a platinum band. She didn't know what all of that meant, but she knew when the light hit the stone at the right angle, the sparkle was beautiful. Teyla closed her eyes. The many sights, sounds, people and places she'd seen in this one day had left her mentally and physically drained. Teyla smiled. She couldn't wait for tomorrow.
Early afternoon the next day, they exited the customs area of the airport. John glanced around looking for a face that he recognized.
"Shep!"
He looked to his left.
"Rico?"
A tall man with blond hair grabbed him into a bear hug.
"Where the hell have you been man?"
John groaned.
"Down boy, down."
Rico let him go, but whined like a sad puppy. They both laughed. John turned to Teyla.
"John Rico, this is Teyla Sheppard."
Rico glanced from Teyla to John.
"Are you shitting me? When did you get married?"
"The day before yesterday."
Rico frowned.
"I don't remember receiving an invitation in the mail?"
"There wasn't time. Did the old man send you to pick us up?"
"He didn't have to, I volunteered."
Rico leaned forward and kissed Teyla on the cheek
"Welcome to the family."
On the drive to the base John explained to Teyla how he and Rico were 'related'.
"My father, John, had a twin brother, Jared, who died in a plane crash. He was married, but they didn't have any children. His widow, Karen, remarried about five years later to Rico's uncle Allen. Karen and my mother were close friends and saw each other often. We went to family reunions, birthdays, weddings, funeral, everything. Rico was always there and we got along. We've been friends and cousins ever since."
John stopped as the car pulled into the driveway of a two story home in base housing. Rico looked at John.
"Relax, he's not here. Besides, after the scare you gave him two years ago with your disappearing act, he's mellowed out a bit."
John smirked.
"Yeah, sure."
They exited the car and gathered the luggage. Rico unlocked the front door and tossed the keys to John.
"Those are the spare keys. They're to the house and the Volvo in the garage. That's your ride while you're here."
They entered the house and paused in the foyer.
"Your room's upstairs, the third on the left."
John dropped their luggage at the foot of the stairs. He and Teyla followed Rico into the kitchen.
"You guys want a drink?"
Rico and Teyla shook their heads while John rummaged through the fridge.
"Rico."
Teyla glanced at his dimpled chin and pale blue eyes.
"Are you in the Air Force as well?"
He smiled.
"Yes, I'm a pilot. It sorta runs in the family."
John sat down at the table with a bottle of water.
"What time will he get back?"
"A couple of hours."
Rico looked from John to Teyla.
"Hey, I don't mean to step over any boundaries here, but does she have any idea of the kind of fireworks that are going to go off when you two see each other?"
John nodded.
Rico sighed.
"Good."
"Are you sticking around?"
Rico smiled.
"Who else is going to keep you two from killing each other?"
Teyla opened her eyes. For a second she couldn't remember where she was, but then the memories came. She'd come upstairs a while ago to take a nap, but something had woke her. She sat up when she heard the sound of voices raised in anger. It was John and his father. Teyla got up from the bed and slipped on her shoes. She went downstairs, pausing in the foyer.
"What the hell did you expect, for me to come and ask for your permission?"
John stood toe to toe with his father, an older copy of him self with hair that grayed slightly at the temples. They glared into each other's eyes. Rico looked up from the wingback chair in which he sat, flipping through a magazine.
"Don't worry Teyla, they've got a good hour or two to go before they consider hitting one another."
John turned to Teyla and forced a smiled.
"Did we wake you?"
She walked to his side, leaned into him, and wrapped her arms around his waist.
"Yes."
He kissed her hair.
"Sorry about that sweetheart."
John turned to his father, who was staring at him as if head sprouted a second head.
"This is my wife, Teyla."
John's father looked at Teyla and gave her a half grin.
"Hello, my dear."
He leaned forward and kissed her brow.
"Welcome to the family."
They all sat around the kitchen table for dinner. John Sr. sat at the head of the table, with John and Teyla to his left and Rico on his right. He and Rico laughed at John's attempts to teach Teyla how to use chop sticks. She giggled as a stick slipped from her fingers and fell to the floor.
"Teyla, you have to concentrate."
Rico reached across the table.
"Good lord man, just give her this."
They turned and looked at the large serving spoon. Teyla erupted into another fit of laughter. John stared at her in awe as her eyes sparkled and her face glowed.
"Teyla, where are you from?"
John replied.
"Canada."
"Where in Canada?"
He looked at his father.
"Toronto."
"What part of-?"
"What is this, an interrogation?"
"No, I'd just like to know more about her is all. How did you two meet?"
Teyla cut John off before he could reply.
"Over a cup of morning tea."
He smiled at the memory.
"Was that in Toronto or Atlantis?"
"That's really none of your business."
"Everything about you is my business."
"When have you ever cared about what I was doing or where I was, as long as I wasn't disgracing the family name?"
"I've always known where you were and what you were doing from the moment you were born. I've kept close tabs on you for the whole of your military career."
John smirked.
"You know that sounds kind of creepy."
"You went out of your way to avoid me, so I kept my distance."
"Oh, you mean like when Mom died."
The room grew quiet.
"I loved your mother very much and the thought of sitting there watching her died a slow death was something that I couldn't handle."
"So you left me to do it, alone."
"John, I make mistakes just like everyone el-."
"Save it."
He pushed back from the table and stood.
"I'm tired, goodnight."
A minute later he was gone. John Sr. sat back in his chair and shrugged.
"He will never understand. I don't think he wants to."
Teyla looked at him.
"It is not that he doesn't understand. Your son has become well acquainted with pain and death. It's that you do not say what is important."
She rose from the table.
"Please excuse me."
Linda reached out her hand and brushed the tears from her son's face.
"Don't hate your father John. One day when you're older, you'll find a woman to love, and the thought of loosing her will be more than you can handle. Then you'll understand what your father has gone through. You'll forgive and forget the anger that stands between you now. Just give it time."
John opened his eyes. He glanced at the clock on the nightstand; seven after one. He sighed. You'll find a woman to love. John looked at Teyla remembering his mother's words. He tried to imagine her sick with breast cancer as his mother had been. The idea alone made him feel uneasy. He could finally understand his father's pain, but he still didn't agree with his actions. He would never abandon Teyla in a time of need. Even if it killed him, he would stay with her until the end. John closed his eyes and tried to go back to sleep. Five minutes later he found him self slipping on a pair of jeans and heading for the kitchen. He wasn't surprised when he found his father sitting at the table. John walked to the fridge to grab a beer, and then sat down beside him. He looked at his father and felt a wide range of emotions, hate, anger, betrayal, regret, and love. For a while they sat in silence.
"Teyla seems to believe you understand my decisions in regards to your mother."
"I do. I just don't agree with them. I never have and I never will, but that was between you and Mom. She understood, she accepted."
"Look, I'm sorry. Sorry that I couldn't be the father that you wanted or needed me to be, but I did the best I could. You're all I have left and I don't want to loose you any more than I wanted to loose your mother. I love you, John. I always have and I always will, no matter what. And I am proud of you."
He sighed.
"I just wanted you to know that before it was too late."
John's father stood. He walked around the table pausing briefly to squeeze John's shoulder. He was at the foot of the back stairwell when he finally heard John's response.
"I love you too, Dad."
Teyla was awake when John returned to bed. She snuggled to his side, but he didn't respond in kind. Lifting up on one elbow, she looked at him.
"John, what's wrong?"
She reached up and caressed his face feeling dampness on his cheek.
"John?"
He pulled her into a tight embrace, resting his face in the cradle of her neck and shoulder. Teyla wrapped her arms around him.
"It's okay."
She whispered, rubbing her hands down his back. Teyla held John until the tears stopped flowing. She brushed back his hair and kissed his forehead.
"I love you."
John squeezed her tight before drifting off to sleep.
