Chapter 21: Through the gate.
John stood in the gate room ready to go on his first mission in almost sixteen weeks. Although he felt a little apprehensive, he couldn't be happier. The one downside was that Teyla was no longer on his team since they were engaged to be married. They were also bonded for life according to the customs of Teyla's people. At least the IOA and SGC didn't have a problem with them getting married and that was certainly a relief.
It had been three weeks since he and Teyla had celebrated their bonding ceremony and the Athosians had handed Torren officially over to his care. It was now official that he was Torren's father on Earth as well, as the adoption had been approved two days earlier.
In the time that he had been off duty, there had been no sign of Klull and his buddies, even though the Henperians had been on the lookout for them. He still had no idea what he would do if he came across them, part of him wanted to make them pay for what they had done to him and his brother, but another part of him wondered what had happened to make them act as they did. He knew that Klull's whole family had been killed by a group of Rogue Genii, so he assumed that he was out for revenge, but he had no idea what had happened to the other guys.
The purpose of today's mission was to check in on the Henperians and make sure that the rebuilding of their settlement was complete. Teyla and Ronon had described to him in great detail the desolation they had witnessed on the planet after the storm, and it broke his heart to hear about the destruction of their village. But with help from Atlantis, it had been totally rebuilt within five weeks. There was going to be a big celebration this evening to celebrate their new alliance, so it was fairly straight forward for his first mission back.
Although he had just been returned to active-duty, Woolsey had given his team, Teyla and Carson permission to accompany him and Dave back to Earth for a vacation in two days' time. He was hoping to marry Teyla during that time. When he had asked Woolsey why he was being given the time off, Woolsey had told him that after all he had been through, he needed to have a holiday to enjoy with his friends and family, since the last vacation he'd had, he had been recovering from injuries and was sick for half of that time.
Both of his legs were finally healed and back to 100 percent, but his shoulder was still weak, but Claudia had assured him it was back to 98 percent and after a few more physical therapy sessions he would be completely healed.
There were still days when he wanted to give up, but thanks to his family and friends that didn't happen very often, which was probably a good thing otherwise Doc Robinson would never have signed him off on being emotionally stable enough to go back on active duty.
He still had to complete the air-force evaluations before he was reinstated as military commander of Atlantis, but he would complete them on Earth after his vacation.
His contemplations were interrupted a few minutes later when a loud voice spoke to him, "hey are you ready to go off-world Sheppard?"
Turning to his big friend he smiled, he had no idea how he could have gotten through the last few weeks without him, "Sure am Buddy, he looked at his feet before continuing, "I don't know whether I thanked you for your help over the last few weeks, but I don't think I could have made it this far without you."
"You're welcome John," Ronon said.
Ronon very rarely called him John and when he did, he kind of liked it, although he preferred him to call him Sheppard or Buddy most of the time.
"How are you going Colonel, excited?" Carson asked, as he came up and stood alongside him.
A grin lit up John's face, it was good to see his friend getting off-world. "Hey Doc, I didn't know that you were coming on this mission."
"I'm just delivering much needed medical supplies, and someone needs to keep an eye on you." Carson teased.
John stared at his friend, with a blank look on his face, just to let him know he wasn't amused, "funny."
Rodney was the next to enter the gateroom and he was whining as usual, "if anyone blows up my lab while I'm gone, I will kill Zelenka."
"Hey Rodney, it's good to see you are happy as always," John stated rolling his eyes.
"Oh, hey Sheppard, it's good to have you back," Rodney said, and John was surprised at how genuine he sounded.
"Thanks," John replied, and he suddenly felt suspicious, Rodney was never that nice to him they were always sarcastic and teasing towards one another when they spoke. He'd have to ask him about it later.
"Are we ready to go?" Teyla asked as she walked up to stand alongside him.
"Teyla why are you here, you're no longer on my team?" John asked feeling confused.
"Do you not want me to go on the mission, John?" Teyla asked and John could see she was a little upset by his question.
"Of course, I want you to come on this mission. I was just wondering why I haven't been told about it."
"Woolsey suggested that I come along, as I am Atlantis' official liaison with the people of the Pegasus galaxy."
"Suits me, so if everyone is here can we get this show on the road please?" John stated, before turning to the control room and talking to chuck, "dial her up?"
John stood watching to chevrons light up, it had been so long since he had been off-world in an official capacity that he felt like a kid about to enter a toyshop.
When the wormhole finally sprung to life, he looked up at Woolsey, waiting for permission to head through the gate.
"You have a go Colonel Sheppard," Woolsey told him, with a smile.
John turned a headed through the wormhole, looking forward to a bit of fun and adventure.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
When Teyla exited the wormhole onto the Henperian homeworld, it was vastly different from when she had first set foot on the planet five weeks ago. The sky was blue, the sun was shining, and she could hear wildlife in the distance. There was still evidence of the storm though, as there was still a number of large branches littering the ground. Someone had obviously cleared a path through the wooded landscape as the dirt track leading to the village seemed accessible.
She looked up ahead and saw that John was moving at an incredibly fast pace, which was something she thought that she would never see again. It had grieved her greatly to see the pain and anguish that John had endured over the last sixteen weeks and there had been times when she'd wondered if he would ever get well. She knew that he was still not 100 percent, but he was closer to it than he had been in a long time. There were still a few unresolved issues that John had with Dave, but she suspected they had more to do with what had happened with their father than the state of the relationship between the two brothers.
The last few weeks had been an enjoyable time for her and the rest of her family, and she couldn't wait for their vacation on earth in two days. John had promised to take Torren to see the horses again, and this time John was going to take him riding and Torren had talked about nothing else for days on end. She was also hoping to get married while they were on Earth since John had also promised her another trip to Maui to stay in his beach house. She had no idea what everyone else was doing after they had visited Dave's house, but she hoped that they weren't coming to Maui with them. John wanted to try and teach her to surf, but there was no way she was going to even try, but she hadn't told him that yet though.
Coming back to the present she realised that the others had stopped up ahead and appeared to be waiting for her.
"Are you alright Teyla?" John asked with his concerned look on his face.
"Do not worry John I am fine; I was just thinking about our coming vacation."
"Don't forget to stay alert," Ronon suggested.
She nodded and rolled her eyes, "why? I have so many strong bodyguards around to protect me."
Rodney snorted, "like you need anyone to protect you. It's more likely that you'll be protecting me."
"Aye I'm with Rodney, but can we please get moving, since my pack feels like it's full of lead?" Carson complained loudly.
"How about I take your pack Doc?" John offered.
"No, I don't think so Laddie, I don't want to risk you injuring your shoulder again."
"Really Doc, Claudia told me to start using it as normal. If she thought, there was a chance of me damaging it she never would have cleared me for gate travel." John stated and Teyla could see that he was beginning to feel frustrated.
Carson sighed, "alright then Laddie, just for a while."
"It's not much further anyway Doc, so how about I take your pack?" Ronon suggested.
"I am quite capable of taking the pack Ronon!" John shouted, and Teyla could sense he was becoming more frustrated by the minute. She knew that he hated being treated like a baby, a fact that he had stated that many times over the last few weeks.
"I believe that we should get going," she said before turning to John, "I know that you are quite capable of carrying the pack John, but Ronon is offering, so perhaps you should let him for now. If Carson needs help later maybe you can carry it then."
She stood and watched John hoping that he wasn't going to argue, she was relieved when he nodded his head and let Ronon take the pack.
"Right let us get going," she suggested, taking the lead and expecting the others to follow.
John watched as Teyla walked off, he suspected that she was sick and tired of his whining and complaining all of the time, although he knew that she'd never tell him that.
He ran to catch up with her, wanting to see if she was upset about anything. The last thing he wanted to do was upset her, as she had been so patient with him over the last few weeks since she was there for him when he was in the middle of an emotional breakdown and he owed her a lot.
"Are you alright Teyla? You're not upset with me, are you?"
She turned to look at him and he saw compassion in his eyes, "no John I am not upset with you. I just wish that you would let others help you and not feel as if you are being treated like a baby when they do."
"I'm sorry Sweetie, it's just that I still feel frustrated at times, I'm close to being 100 percent, but I am still not able to do my job, which is probably while Woolsey sent me on this insignificant mission." The minute he'd mentioned the word insignificant he immediately regrated and held his breath waiting for her reaction.
Her eyes blazed with anger as they bored into him, "John there is nothing insignificant about this mission. These people are our allies, and it is our job to protect them. We also need to remain on good terms with them and believe it or not that is part of my job!"
Suddenly he realised how selfish he sounded, and he found a profuse need to apologise quickly, "I'm so sorry Teyla, I never meant to take away from the wonderful work that you do."
Before he had a chance to reply, he heard raised voices coming from the village. He put his fingers to his lips and indicated for Ronon to come up and join them. Creeping closer he tried to stay out of sight.
"I think that's Klull talking to someone, but I don't recognise the other voice, do either of you?" John whispered.
Ronon nodded, "that sounds like Counsellor Friall."
Teyla nodded in agreement, "I believe that Klull is threatening him in some way. At least that is what it sounds like."
"I think that I'm going to approach them, Teyla, come with me and Ronon stay back with the others and keep your gun ready and make sure it's set to stun," John whispered slowly moving forward.
"I will talk to Counsellor Friall, first John," Teyla whispered coming up alongside him.
He followed her as she approached the Counsellor, as they got closer, he could see that Klull was pointing a gun at Friall and he wasn't sure whether it was a stun gun or not. Grabbing Teyla by the arm he tried to get her to stop, but he wasn't successful.
"Counsellor Friall, it is good to see you again." Teyla said in greeting, "have you met Colonel Sheppard as yet?"
John stepped out of the shadows with a smile on his face, "Klull it is good to see you again, how's that shoulder you were shot in?"
Klull turned to face him and pointed the gun at him, "do I know you, soldier?"
"Well, I guess the last time I saw you I was about two feet shorter, and I had my Dad with me," John smirked and he found that he was enjoying himself, even though Klull was pointing a gun at him.
"What the hell are you talking about?!" Klull growled and suddenly he became dangerous and unpredictable again.
"John, what are you doing?" Teyla whispered cautiously.
Ignoring Teyla, he continued to eyeball Klull, hoping that he wasn't in a trigger-happy mood.
"Tell me who you are, or I'll shoot the lady!" Klull roared.
"It's a long story but last time you saw me I was a kid and you kidnapped me and my brother Dave, who was acting as my father at the time."
"Let me guess, you'd been playing with some kind of ancient device?" Klull snarled.
"Maybe, maybe not, but I guess you're never going to find out," John said hoping that he sounded mysterious.
"You were a little brat and I wish I'd shot you then, maybe I'll shoot you now, or perhaps I'll shoot the lady?!" Klull seemed to be furious by this time, and John wondered what he was going to do next.
Klull's gun was pointed at Teyla and John's gaze kept changing between the gun and Klull's face. He knew the instant Klull pulled the trigger and at that moment he jumped in front of Teyla wanting to protect her. That was when he realised that the gun was not a stun gun, the bullet ripped through his arm leaving him in agony, his arm was on fire and he saw black spots dancing in front of his eyes. Right before he lost consciousness, he saw a flash of red light and Klull hit the ground.
Teyla stood frozen to the spot and watched in horror as John hit the ground. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ronon shoot Klull. She had no idea whether Ronon had killed him or only stunned him, but right now her first thought was to get to John.
Fearing the worst, she sat down beside him and was relieved to see that he had only been shot in the arm, but there appeared to be a lot of blood. Looking up at Carson she pleaded with him to help John.
"Let me have a look at his arm Lassie," Carson said in a calming tone, right before he knelt next to John.
She watched as Carson cut away his shirt sleeve and poked and prodded at the wound. "Don't worry it looks like a flesh wound, it's not too deep. I'll just need to clean it up and put a few stitches in it."
"Why is he unconscious then Doc?" Rodney asked bending down to join Teyla.
"I think he may have hit his head when he hit the ground, I don't think he has a concussion, but he'll probably have a headache when he wakes up." Carson told them, before shining his penlight in John's eyes, "his pupils seem to be normal."
"We have set up a clinic, in the centre of the village if you would like to use it," Friall suggested, "don't worry about Klull, now that he is unconscious my men will take him to the brig."
"I'll carry Sheppard then," Ronon offered, bending down, and picking John up and placing him over his shoulder in a fireman's lift.
Teyla smiled at the counsellor, "please lead the way Counsellor Friall."
She was relieved that John had escaped without being injured too badly this time, but what was going to happen next, she had no idea.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
John slowly opened his eyes and when he did, he regretted it, his head was pounding, his arm was on fire and it appeared that he was being carried upside down, the motion certainly wasn't helping his stomach. Groaning he tried to grab someone's attention. No one seemed to notice that he was awake, so he groaned louder, and he was relieved when someone lay him on the ground. He lay still trying to settle his churning stomach, but it didn't work, because within seconds, he was retching, and it wasn't long before he lost his breakfast. Gentle hands rolled him on his side until he had finished and then he was slowly rolled onto his back again.
A pair of bright blue eyes looked down at him, "how are you feeling laddie?"
"How's my arm looking, and why is my head pounding Doc?"
Suddenly Teyla's face appeared above him, "we are just heading to the clinic in the Henperian village and then Doctor Beckett can fix you up, John."
"You just have a bit of a flesh wound in your arm Colonel and the reason your head hurts is I think that you must have hit it when you hit the ground. Just a few stitches and some pain meds and you should be alright to continue the mission." Carson informed him with a smile.
Next Ronon's face appeared above him and he was beginning to get annoyed at the fact that no one was helping him up.
"So, you ready to get going again, Sheppard? The clinic isn't far but I can still carry you if you'd like?" Ronon suggested smirking.
The thought of being carried while he was conscious was disconcerting for him, "absolutely not, so if someone can help me to my feet, we can get going?"
He was relieved when Ronon offered him a hand and pulled him to his feet. For a moment he felt dizzy and thought that he was going to fall over again, but a steadying hand on his arm helped keep him on his feet.
Once he was sure he wasn't going to fall over, he turned to Ronon, "so did you kill Klull?"
"Nope, you told me to stun him, so that's what I did."
"Counsellor Friall and his guards have taken him to the brig." Teyla informed him, placing a hand on his shoulder.
Before they had a chance to continue the conversation, Carson interjected, "right Laddie, I need to get you to the clinic and stitch your arm up, I'll take a look at that bump on your head while I'm at it, or if you'd prefer, we can head back to Atlantis."
He didn't miss the twinkle in Carson's eyes, but he was sure that the doctor was half-serious, "no it's alright, I don't feel too bad, so I'm good to head to the clinic."
With that, he took off in the direction of the village and after a few hundred metres he realised that he had no idea where the clinic was, so he turned back and looked at Teyla and Carson, "do you guys know where you're going?"
"Yes Colonel, just follow me," Carson said walking ahead of him and leading the way.
John went to follow and suddenly felt dizzy again, luckily Teyla took his hand, to help steady him, and they followed behind Carson together.
It only took a few minutes until they reached the clinic and by the time that they arrived inside, John was happy to lie down. He knew that there was still a mission to complete, so he hoped that Carson would fix him up and give him something for the pain as quickly as possible, so he could get on with it.
"Right, everyone out, so that I can fix Colonel Sheppard up and he can have a rest? He should be ready to attend the meeting in about an hour. Teyla can you let the Henperian council know please?"
"Certainly, Dr Beckett."
John watched as everyone left the room, and he was relieved to be able to close his eyes at last.
"Okay Colonel, I'm going to inject a pain killer into your arm and then I'll get you cleaned up and stitched up. You may attend the meeting and celebration this evening, but when we get back to Atlantis, I want you in my infirmary for overnight observation."
Turning to face the Doctor he groaned. "Is that really necessary doc?"
"And if you continue to complain I will make it two nights."
"Whatever you say doc, now if you don't mind, I think I will have a nap."
Whether Carson said anything else to him, he had no idea, since within thirty seconds he was asleep.
When he awoke again, Teyla was sitting beside him holding his hand, "how are you feeling John?
"I'm good, how long have I been asleep?"
"You have been asleep for about two hours. Carson told me to let you sleep. Apparently, although you do not have a concussion, you hit your head quite hard, so Carson is worried that you may have a bad headache."
"Yeah, it seems to be muted for the moment, but I suspect that when the pain meds wear off, I'll have a cracker of a headache." He stated while rubbing his head.
"I met with Counsellor Amel and Counsellor Friall about an hour ago and it appears that the trade agreement will go ahead. Rodney and Ronon have gone back to Atlantis and Woolsey will be here shortly to enjoy a feast with the council to celebrate our alliance."
"What's happened with Klull?"
Teyla sighed and he guessed that he wasn't going to like what she had to say," Counsellor Amel would like your opinion on what they should do with him?"
"I honestly don't care, as long as I never have to deal with him again. The man made my life miserable at one of my lowest points."
"I will let them know, but right now, Carson would like to look at your arm and then we can head to the feast, it is due to start in about twenty minutes."
Carson entered a few minutes later and greeted them in a loud voice, "how are you going Laddie, are you ready to eat?"
John put his finger to his mouth, "Can you please keep the volume down, my head's still hurting a bit?"
"Sorry Lad, I'll just take a look at your arm and then we'll head to the feast. And don't forget when we get back, I want you in my infirmary overnight?"
John rolled his eyes, "sure doc, can we get this over with, so I can go and eat."
Ten minutes later when Carson had checked his arm and his head out, he headed out to the centre of the village where the feast was being held.
At the centre of the village, a long table was set up where the counsellors sat, situated around it were several other tables, which were already occupied. It appeared that the wine was already flowing, by the way, some of the Henperians were behaving.
"Colonel Sheppard, Teyla, please come and sit next to me?" Amel said with excitement in her voice.
John smiled and took the hand that was offered to him and allowed her to lead him to the long table. She sat down in the centre seat at the table and indicated that he should sit next to her. Sitting down beside her, he pulled Teyla down next to him and for the first time, he noticed that Woolsey was sitting next to Friall, who was sitting on the other side of Amel. Carson was sitting next to Woolsey.
Once everyone was seated Amel stood up and clapped her hands waiting for people to be quiet.
"Fellow Henperians, we are gathered here today to celebrate the completion of our settlement and the alliance we have formed with the people of Atlantis. Joining our celebration tonight, is Colonel John Sheppard, a mighty warrior, and the military leader of Atlantis. Next to Colonel Sheppard is Teyla Emmagan, who is a gifted diplomat and was instrumental in negotiating on behalf of Atlantis. Richard Woolsey is seated next to Counsellor Friall and he is the leader of Atlantis and a great diplomat in his own right, and finally, Dr Carson Beckett, who is a gifted healer."
When she took a breath, Friall filled their goblets with some kind of wine.
Amel then continued, "so ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to raise a toast to our new friends, may our alliance be long and beneficial to both of our peoples."
The crowd erupted into applause before Amel had a chance to continue. Once the noise had died down, she spoke again, "so now, let the feast begin."
John sat back and watched as plates of food were passed around, there were plates of meat that looked like steak, and some that looked like chicken, there were vegetables in a variety of different shapes and colours, there was also several loaves bread and like any other feast, there was plenty of wine.
"John are you not eating?" Teyla asked interrupting his thoughts.
"I'll grab something in a minute, Sweetie."
"Would you like me to select something for you?" Teyla asked, with a worried look on her face.
"Perhaps some bread and some of that meat that looks like chicken would be great thanks, Sweetie."
Once he had some food on his plate, he sat back and enjoyed observing what was going on around him, but it wasn't long before Counsellor Amel appeared in front of him. Looking up at her he smiled, "what can I do for you Counsellor?"
"I just wanted to let you know that we have decided to allow Klull and his men back into the settlement on the condition that they are supervised at all times and if they seem to be doing anything suspicious, they will be expelled from the village."
"That is your decision to make, and I respect that decision, even if I don't necessarily agree with it."
"Anyway Colonel, I will let you get back to your meal."
He nodded and watched her walk away, he sure hoped that Klull would do the right thing because the last thing he needed was another psychopath after him. With that thought, he put Klull out of his mind and got back to enjoying himself.
The feast continued long into the night and by the time they were finished John was exhausted, so when he heard that Lorne had shown up with a jumper, he was immensely grateful. The trip back to Atlantis was a quiet one and when they finally arrived back, he was happy to let Carson escort him to the infirmary, where he could get some much-needed rest after the adventurous day that he'd just had.
TBC…