Colonel Daddy part 3
See part 1 for info and disclaimers.
Here, my dear audience, is what I hope will be my final part. Please read and review, as I will be waiting with baited breath for your responses.
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"Mothie!" Isolder screamed as his sister disappeared through the gap made by the faulty floor plating. He lay at the edge of the gap, looking over in a frantic search for his sister. She lay precariously on the edge of the plating, holding onto the edge for dear life, her legs hanging over a void of black. "I'll get help!"
Isolder ran off. He barely got around the corner when he ran headlong into Colonel Sheppard. "Isolder!" he said with relief as he grasped the boy in a tight hug.
Isolder began to cry. "It's my fault," he sobbed.
"You're all right," John told him then looked around with a start. "Where's Mothie?"
"She fell," Isolder replied. "The floor broke and she slid down into it."
"Where?" John asked.
"I'll take you," Isolder told him as he took his hand to lead him.
John tapped his earpiece and reported in to Elizabeth. "We've found them, but Mothie has fallen through the floor. Tell Beckett to hurry." He broke the connection just as they reached the gap. He shone his light down into the crevice. "I don't see her."
Isolder looked too. "She was right there," he said. "She must have fallen off!"
John knelt and grasped the boy by his shoulders. "Calm down, we'll get her," he told him. "We have to go slowly, or she may fall more and get hurt. Got it?" Isolder nodded. John turned and peered down the hole himself. "Mothie!" he called as he shone a light down the crevice. "You just hang tight and hold as still as you can! We're coming to get you!"
Minutes ticked by as they set up the descender over the hole and John strapped on a climbing harness. Finally, he was ready to go. He nodded to Isolder before he disappeared over the edge.
Slowly, John descended into the hole, shining the light down and calling the child's name. The further down he went, the larger the lump on his stomach got. Finally, he called for them to stop and listened intently.
"Colonel John?" Mothie's tiny voice pierced the dark.
"Mothie?" John called. "You OK?"
"My leg hurts," came the reply.
John listened, but the voice seemed to be coming from above him. "Mothie, can you see me?"
"Yes," she replied. "You just passed me."
"I'm sorry, honey," John told her. "I'll come back up and when you see me, you tell me to stop. And make sure you talk very loud so I can hear you." He tapped his earpiece. "Start bringing me up slowly. Stop when I tell you."
Teyla acknowledged him and he slowly began to rise. Minutes ticked by until he heard Mothie's little voice. "Stop!"
"Stop here," John said then shone his light around at his level. He smiled when he saw her sitting on a piece of metal jutting from a column just twelve feet from him. "Are you hurt?"
"My leg hit the edge of this thingy when I landed on it and now it hurts," Mothie replied. "Really bad."
"We'll get you out," John told her. "I want you to move as far back as you can, OK?"
She nodded and slid back against the wall. John pumped his legs until he began to swing and swung until he was within reach of the column. He grabbed it and held on until he was sure of his right arm's grip then he held out his left hand. Mothie wasn't the least bit hesitant and leapt into John's waiting arms. She clung to him and buried her face in his shoulder where she began to cry.
"It's going to be fine," John soothed and he let go very slowly. They swung back and forth as he soothed the frightened child until they stopped. John signaled to the others to pull them up.
"Isolder said that Dr. Weir is going to send us away," Mothie sniffed as they began to ascend.
"She suggested that I take you to the mainland where you'll be safe and well taken care of," John told her. "But I wanted to talk to you guys before doing anything. Maybe take a trip to the mainland so you can meet everyone. I wasn't going to just dump you there among people you don't know or make the decision without you and your brother." He looked down at the child in his arms. "You OK?"
Mothie nodded. "I'm OK," she replied. "'Sept my leg. Isolder should have talked to you before he dragged me away, huh?"
"Yeah," John said. "He should have."
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Mothie lay in an infirmary bed, her left leg encased in a small cast and propped up on a pillow. Isolder sat at the foot of the bed as John paced in front of them. "That was a stupid thing to do," he was saying. "You shouldn't have jumped to the conclusion that we don't want you here." He stopped and looked Isolder in the eye. "I want you here."
"I'm sorry, Colonel John," Isolder whispered. "I got scared."
John pulled up a chair and sat down. "I know," John replied. "Life is scary sometimes."
"Are you going to send us to the mainland?" the boy asked.
John looked uncomfortable. "I don't know," he said.
"We'll be safer on the mainland," Isolder said sadly.
"Not necessarily," John replied. "There are dangers on the mainland, too."
"Then why?"
"I can't take care of you alone, though I'd certainly like to try," John said. "I've got duties to perform; and I can't take you with me on missions."
"Then try, Colonel John," Mothie spoke for the first time since being rescued. "We want to stay with you."
John looked back and forth from child to child. He swallowed at the lump in his throat and smiled. "I want that too."
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"You want to keep them here?" Elizabeth asked incredulously.
"Yeah," John replied, his hands shoved in his pockets as he stood against the door in Elizabeth's office. "They don't know anyone on the mainland and they promise to stay out of trouble."
"While I don't mind for the most part…" John's grin widened. "What are you going to do with them while you're on missions?"
"There are a couple of nurses who are getting a bit attached and they've offered to keep an eye on them," John replied.
"Attached to them," Elizabeth asked with a sly grin. "Or you?"
John blushed slightly as the smile melted from his face. Elizabeth watched him for a few seconds before she spoke again. "Are you sure?"
John looked thoughtful. "I am." He smiled cockily.
"OK," Elizabeth said.
John stood straight. "That's it? Just OK?"
Elizabeth nodded. "Do you want me to start the paperwork to adopt them?"
"Really?"
"I don't see why not," Elizabeth replied. "If you think you can handle it."
"With help," John began. "I know I can."
"I'll give you as much help as I can," Elizabeth told him. "I'll even watch them when you're gone. If you'd like."
"I may take you up on that," John said. He gestured over his shoulder with a thumb. "I'm going to go tell them."
"By all means," Elizabeth said and John turned to leave. "Daddy."
John was almost laughing as he left the room.
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Mothie and Isolder were sharing a peanut butter and jelly sandwich when John practically skipped into the infirmary. "Hey kids," he greeted them.
"Hi, Colonel John," Mothie said with her mouth full.
"Don't talk with your mouth full," John said. "Guess what?"
"What?" Isolder asked.
"Dr. Weir says you can stay in the city," John replied. He held his hand up to stop them as the children began to get excited. "But there are some things we need to discuss."
"Like what?" Isolder asked before taking a drink of his chocolate milk.
John sat on the edge of Mothie's bed. "Dr. Weir says that she will start the paperwork so I can adopt you."
"What's adopt?" Mothie asked.
"Adopt means that I promise to take care of you forever," John said. "I'll be your dad."
"You'll never make us go away?" Isolder said.
"And you'll never leave us?" Mothie added.
"I can't promise that I'll never leave you," John replied. "Things happen and I still have duties here." He paused to gauge their reactions. "But you won't have to go away."
"Will we get to see your world?" Mothie asked.
"Probably, someday," John replied. He looked at them both. "Do you want to be my kids?"
"Yes!" they both cried, gaining stares from others working in the infirmary.
"What is going on here?" Beckett asked as he joined them from his office.
"Colonel John is going to adopt us!" Mothie screamed as she tried to jump into John's arms.
"Is he now?" Beckett replied as he gently picked her up from the bed and placed her carefully in the colonel's waiting arms. "I don't think you should be calling him Colonel John...," he went on sternly.
Isolder looked over John's shoulder at the doctor. "What are we supposed to call him?"
"Colonel Daddy," Beckett replied. He touched Mothie's head and grasped Isolder's hand before he walked away. John only smiled as he held his new daughter to his chest.
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Thanks to all who have reviewed. I hope you like the story and to those who have expressed interest in writing more of it, let me know and I will review it. Thanks!
