Chapter 23: A Wedding.
Teyla stood in front of the mirror admiring her new dress, today was her wedding day and she wanted everything to be perfect for the man she loved. Jane had taken her shopping two days ago to choose her dress and she had opted for a knee-length strapless dress in the colour peach made of satin. The front had a V-neck, the bodice was tight-fitting, and it was flared from her waist to her knees. Her hair was piled on top of her head in a bun and wispy curls were hanging down and framing her face. Jennifer and Jane had spent the afternoon painting her fingernails and toenails and they had just finished her make-up. She was amazed at how beautiful and feminine she looked.
She knew that a lot had happened to lead her to this point in her life and she wished that her parents and Charin were here to enjoy this day with her. Halling had been granted permission by the SGC and the IOA to come to earth for the wedding, but none of the other Athosians were able to attend. She had also mentioned it to Kanaan, and he wasn't interested. But she couldn't blame him because although he was a dear friend, they were partners once and had a child together.
Thinking back to the events that led to Torren being conceived, she realised that she would have it no other way. After Kate Heightmeyer had died, she sought comfort in the arms of someone who had been a friend all of her life and Torren had been to result of that one night together. Although she'd always had strong feelings for John and had suspected that he'd felt the same way, Kanaan seemed to be there for her at that moment in her life. It wasn't long after that Kanaan and her people had disappeared, and she'd found out that she was pregnant. After the initial outburst from John when she'd told him her news, he became a constant source of help and comfort during a difficult time in her life and that was one of the many reasons she'd decided to name her son after him.
She never regretted having her son, but now all things had been put right, Kanaan was able to continue with his farming work and she was able to marry John as she had loved him since the moment, they first met on Athos many years ago.
Her journey was full of many disappointments and moments of extreme happiness, but everything she had been through in her life had led her to this point. She often wondered if one of these things had happened slightly differently would she be standing here today ready to marry her soulmate?
Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard someone speaking to her, looking up she saw that it was Jane talking to her.
Smiling at her friend she asked, "sorry Jane, can you repeat that?"
"I asked if you are ready as it's time to go?"
Jane was dressed in a similar dress to her, but hers was a soft shade of lavender, with a little extra room in front to accommodate her small baby bump. Like everyone else she had no shoes on as it had been decided that everyone in the wedding party would be barefoot.
"I ready Momma. How I loot?" Torren asked coming up alongside her and holding her hand.
Torren was dressed, in a pair of navy-blue shorts and a white button-down shirt and he looked as handsome as his father.
"You look very handsome Darling," she replied.
"Teyla you look beautiful!" Halling exclaimed entering the room. "Are you ready?" He asked taking her arm.
"She certainly does," Jennifer agreed.
Jennifer had managed to get a few days away from Atlantis and she was extremely happy that she could be there for her friend on her wedding day.
Five minutes later she stood by the back door with Halling by her side, ready to walk down the aisle and marry the love of her life.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
John stood on Maui Beach watching the sunset and today he was the happiest man in the world, for today he was getting married to the love of his life. The sky was a brilliant shade of pink changing to a deep crimson near the horizon and in an hour the sun would go down plunging the world into an eerie grey light, which would eventually give way to night.
He stood beside an arch with lilies and red roses decorating it and rather than wearing his dress uniform, he had on a pair of casual blue slacks and a short-sleeve button-down shirt. And seeing as Teyla wasn't going to be wearing any shoes, he decided to go barefoot as well.
A lot had happened in his life to lead him to this point and there had been a lot of ups and downs along his journey, but if he could go back in time and change one small thing, he may find that he wouldn't be standing here today.
When he was threatened with a court-martial and thrown out of his childhood home over ten years ago, his life was an absolute disaster, his marriage with Nancey had failed around the same time. But he never could have imagined that those events would lead to him living in Antarctica, which led him to Atlantis, which lead him to meet the Athosian people. That was the day he met Teyla and even then, he knew that Teyla would become an important part of his life, but he never could have expected that it would lead to this.
Looking at the men standing beside him, he had to wonder how he had become so lucky, Dave was standing beside him as his best man and next to him stood, Ronon, Rodney and Carson. He had no idea how he could have gotten through the last seventeen weeks without them and for the last seven years Carson, Rodney and Ronon have been his brothers. But now he had his real brother back and that made a huge difference to his life.
Standing in front of him was General Jack O'Neill. He had asked him to perform the wedding ceremony since if it weren't for him, he would never have met Teyla. The General had believed in him when no-one else had, except for Elizabeth of course. If the General had never given Elizabeth permission to invite him on the mission to the Pegasus galaxy, he would never have been given a second chance at life.
He still missed Elizabeth every day and he certainly wished that she were with him on this special day. Elizabeth would have been happy for him and Teyla to get together since she was always hinting that Teyla may have feelings for him. For a long time, he had shrugged it off, but then Teyla had hooked up with Kanaan for a short time and when he had found out that she was pregnant he had felt numb at the thought that he had missed his chance with her.
When Torren was born, there was a long time where he'd wished that Torren were his son, but what he didn't realise was that it wasn't long after Torren was born that Teyla started to see him as Torren's father. Kannan was always absent and never spent the time with T.J that he did, so in Teyla's mind, it was a forgone conclusion that John should become her son's father.
The last few days had been relaxing for John and he knew that he still had a few days left to enjoy himself after his wedding. In two days, he was expected back at Stargate command to complete the performance evaluations which would hopefully have him reinstated as military commander of Atlantis. After that, he had one last thing he needed to do before he headed home to Atlantis.
His contemplations were interrupted when General O'Neill started talking to him and by the time, he realised what was going on, he'd totally missed what the general was saying. He looked up at General O'Neil, who was dressed in blue shorts, a button-down white shirt, and sandals on his feet. He had to wonder whether he had ever seen the general in anything other than his dress uniform or BDUs.
Giving the General his full attention, he asked, "can you please repeat that General?"
"I was just asking you how you are feeling, Colonel Sheppard?"
"I have to admit that I'm feeling a bit nervous, as I don't really want to mess up this marriage the way I did the last one."
"Not going to happen," Ronon said before the General had a chance to reply, "you two are made for one another and you definitely won't be keeping any secrets from each other. Besides if you hurt her, I will take you down to the gym…."
He interrupted before Ronon had a chance to finish the sentence, "okay I get the picture, I need to look after her and protect her."
Rodney snorted, "Like I've said before she doesn't really need you to protect her, she usually ends up protecting everyone else."
"Hey, McKay, a great way to insult a man," John said rolling his eyes.
"I think that you will be able to protect her just fine and believe it or not, I think Teyla likes it," Dave added joining the conversation for the first time.
"Aye, I agree, but I do wish that she'd try and protect you more, so you don't end up in the infirmary quite so often," Carson suggested with a twinkle in his eye.
He was beginning to become annoyed with the conversation, so he thought it was about time that he put a stop to it, "okay, I get it, Teyla doesn't need protecting and she should probably stop me from doing stupid things."
Before they had a chance to say anything the music started, and Torren stood at the top of the stairs ready to walk down the beach to join them. They had decided that Torren would be a page boy and he looked to be taking his job very seriously, by the way, he was holding the pillow with the rings on.
Slowly Torren started to walk down the aisle, followed by Jennifer and then Jane. John thought that both Women looked beautiful, but the person he really wanted to see was Teyla, so he waited in anticipation for her to come out. He hadn't seen her dress as yet since none of the ladies would allow him to look at it, something about it being bad luck for the groom to see the dress before the wedding day. Knowing his luck something dreadful would happen if he did, so he'd decided not to argue with them.
Finally, Teyla stood at the top of the stairs and he had his breath taken away by what he saw, in his opinion, she was the most beautiful woman in two galaxies, and he couldn't believe his good fortune that she had decided to spend her life with him. As she got closer her beauty became more evident to him and if Dave hadn't been standing next to him, he was sure that he would have fallen over. He barely noticed that Halling was standing beside her and walking with her across the beach.
Although it was about a minute until Teyla stood Infront of John and Halling gave him her hand, it seemed like it was a lot longer, "you look beautiful," he whispered in her ear, before turning to look at General O'Neill as he was well and truly ready to start the ceremony.
"We are gathered here today, to join this man and this woman in holy matrimony," Jack began," Marriage is a commitment not to be taken lightly, so if anyone has just cause to believe that this man and this woman should not be joined, speak now or forever hold your peace.
There were very few people at the wedding, but John looked around anyway. When no-one spoke up, Jack continued, "who gives the woman to be married to this man?"
Halling stood up and answered, "I am honoured to do so."
Jack looked at John and continued. "I have had the privilege of knowing John for over six years now and in that time, I have known him to be, loyal, self-sacrificing, and patient and he is always looking for the truth. He is an honourable man who puts the good of others first to the point where sometimes he has to disobey a direct order from his superiors. This is a quality I admire in John because on more than one occasion he has saved my life by going against a standing order which I gave him myself. This is a man I am happy to call a friend."
It has also been my privilege to getting to know Teyla over the last four or five years and she is patient, kind, gentle, and extremely slow to anger. She is very protective of her family and friends, but she desires to protect strangers as well if the need arises. Teyla is an honourable woman, who I am also happy to call a friend.
Over the last six months, it has been my privilege, to watch their love for one another grow. Not only has their love for each other grown, but John has come to love Teyla's son Torren, as his own, so it is also with great honour that after the ceremony I will be presenting John with the adoption papers which will make John officially Torren's father."
A smile lit up John's face, finally, he was going to be given the adoption papers making it official. He had known before they had left for Earth that it had been approved, but to receive the papers would make it so much more real.
There was applause from the small group of soldiers and friends who had been able to come and celebrate this special occasion with John and Teyla.
"Teyla and John have written their own vows for this occasion. Teyla would you like to go first?" Jack asked her.
Teyla took John's hand and stared into his eyes and all he could do was be totally enamoured by the beautiful woman standing in front of him. "John, I have loved you ever since I met you and to finally be here with you, is a dream come true for me. You are the love of my life and I promise that I will be beside you through the good times and the bad, in sickness and health and I pray that our lives are long, as I intend to stay by your side forever."
John continued to hold Teyla's hand and looked into her eyes as he spoke. "Teyla I have loved you since we first met, I didn't act on that love for a long time, because in the past I have been lousy at expressing my emotions. With your help, I'm getting better, and I want to continue telling and showing you how much I love you in the future. Teyla I can't live or breathe without you and I promise that I will be beside you through the good times and the bad, in sickness and health. I pray that even death will not part us, as I intend to be by your side forever." There were tears in both their eyes, by the time he had finished. John felt as if he'd never been so romantic in his life, but somehow Teyla seemed to have that effect on him.
Jack smiled at the audience and spoke, "This couple have vowed to live together, as husband and wife. They will seal that proclamation with the giving and receiving of rings."
"John, will you go first?"
John watched as Torren gave Dave the rings and he felt immensely proud of his son at that moment. Dave handed him the ring and he turned to Teyla, "Teyla, I give you this ring as a symbol of my love and fidelity to you. All that I have and all that I am is yours." John slid the ring onto Teyla's finger with a huge smile.
Dave gave Teyla the ring and Teyla looked John in the eyes and spoke.
"John, I give you this ring as a symbol of my love and fidelity to you. All that I have and all that I am is yours." Teyla slid the ring onto John's finger and a smile lit up her face.
A table had been set up off to the side where the marriage certificate would be signed.
"We will be heading off to the side to sign a marriage certificate, while we do, please enjoy the lovely view," Jack explained to the small audience.
John walked across the warm sand with Teyla, Jennifer, Dave, and Jack, there was a gentle breeze in the air and the sun was sitting on the horizon ready to go down at any minute. There would still be half an hour of light after that to take a few photos and then afterwards they would head to around the front of the house for a meal, where a marquee had been set up. Ellie had been working all day along with Jane and Jennifer's help. Apparently, Ellie had not wanted Dave and the other men in the kitchen helping as she felt that they would make too much mess and just get in the way.
John was the first to sign the papers, followed by Teyla. Once Teyla and John had signed, Dave signed, followed by Jane, and then Jack.
Jennifer whispered in John's ear before he stood up. "How are you feeling John?
He had to admit to himself, for the first time in days he was feeling exhausted, but there was no way he was going to admit that to anyone.
"I'm fine, just a little tired and I will gladly sit down once the ceremony is over," John whispered.
Jennifer nodded and he began to walk across the warm sand back to the arch, where the ceremony had just taken place.
Jack looked at John and Teyla and spoke. "By the power vested in me, by the air force and Stargate command. I now pronounce you husband and wife." He looked at John and raised his eyebrow. "You may kiss your bride."
John leant down and pulled Teyla in for a kiss. She responded passionately. At that moment they were the only two people in existence. He wanted to stay like this forever, but he knew that it wasn't possible.
The small crowd erupted in applause and they pulled apart. "Ladies and gentlemen let me introduce to you, Colonel John and Mrs Teyla Sheppard."
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Teyla walked into the Marquee that had been set up, and she was amazed at the effort that Dave and her friends had gone to. There was a dance floor set up in the middle of the grass, there was a long table at one end of the tent, where the bridal party would sit and surrounding the dance floor there were tables of four set up. A cake table had been set to the side of the bridal table and there were lanterns around the room providing much-needed light now that the sun had gone down. The ambient temperature was still warm and there was a gentle breeze in the air. It was the perfect night to celebrate her marriage to the love of her life.
After the ceremony, they spent half an hour having photos taken and finished just before the sun finally sank below the horizon. John had commented that the sun had waited to go down until they were finished, and she actually believed him.
By the time everyone had filed into the tent, there were about thirty people. She was grateful that Lorne had been able to attend and act as M.C for the evening. It was a small wedding and she certainly hoped that it was small enough for John's liking as she remembered back to when John had described his first wedding with Nancy.
Once everyone was in the Marquee Lorne stood up and announced that dinner was ready.
Dave looked at John. "Would you like me to get you something to eat?"
Jennifer did the same for her and she was incredibly pleased that she didn't have to get up.
Ellie, along with Jennifer and Jane had provided a range of different foods for a buffet-style meal, which allowed the three ladies to sit down and enjoy the evening as well.
Teyla was sitting down enjoying her meal and was in the midst of a quiet conversation with John when people started to bang their glasses with their spoons.
Lorne stood up and addressed the bride and groom. "You guys know what that means don't you?"
Teyla looked at him oddly, so John leant over and whispered in her ear. A smile spread across her face and she brushed her lips against his. He kissed back more forcefully, and the crowd erupted into applause.
John and Teyla continued, and Lorne stood up again. "That's enough for now guys."
John and Teyla pulled apart and continued to look into each other's eyes. The meal continued and the guests began to come up and congratulate the couple.
"Congratulations, I always knew you would get together." Radek told them shaking John's hand and kissing Teyla on the cheek."
One of the Marines that she barely knew came up to them, "congratulations, you look very happy together and I hope you have a long and happy marriage."
"About time you two got together," Marie told them, giving them both a hug.
Sam came up and hugged Teyla while Jack slapped John on the back. "Welcome to the club guys, I hope you'll be as happy as Sam and I are," Jack told them and grabbed Sam's hand.
When did Sam get here? Was her first thought, I remember Jack inviting her as his plus one and I knew that they are married, but when she arrived, I have no idea.
This went on for the rest of the meal. There were people that John and Teyla barely knew offering their congratulations. They were beginning to grow weary when Lorne stood up and announced that it was time for the speeches.
"Now we've come to the time in the evening, where we honour the bride and groom with speeches and the groom will the first to share a few words.
Everyone cheered as John stood up.
"I want to thank you all for coming to celebrate with us on our special day. I also want to thank you for standing by me over the last seventeen weeks as it was an exceedingly difficult time in my life, and I couldn't have got through it without your love and support. And Teyla, I want to thank you for agreeing to become my wife, I know it won't always be easy, but I will do my best to be the best husband and father I can be."
Teyla sat and watched her husband as he spoke, and she was surprised to see tears brimming in his eyes by the time he'd finished. That was something she never expected to see from him on their wedding day.
Once John had finished, Lorne stood up and announced that it was time for the best man to give his speech.
"Hi, as Evan just told you, I'm John's brother, what many of you don't know is that John and I didn't speak to each other for almost five years. We reconnected at our father's funeral almost two years ago now; at that point, we began to build a relationship again, which has been difficult, as John had been living in another Galaxy until. I only became aware of this around four months ago when John was severely injured, and he had to come back to my house for his rehabilitation.
In the last few months, I've gained a sister and a nephew as well, it has been wonderful getting to know Teyla and Torren as well. I can't think of two people who are better suited to each other. I love you both and I wish you, every happiness for the future."
Dave sat down and the crowd applauded again.
Lorne stood up again. "Now it's time for the Maid of honour, Dr Jennifer Keller to make her speech."
Jennifer stood up and looked at the couple. "I came to Atlantis three years ago now. At first, it was overwhelming, and then Teyla befriended me. She showed me around in the first week and shared many meals with me. Eventually, she introduced me to her team, and I met Colonel Sheppard. I didn't know what to make of him at first, he was very professional when he was working, but when he was off duty, he acted like a big kid."
Everyone had to laugh at that comment and John looked a bit embarrassed.
Jennifer continued. "In the last couple of years, these two have become some of my closest friends." She looked at them both. "I love you both and wish you every happiness in the future."
Jennifer sat down and everyone cheered.
Before Lorne had a chance to say anything else, Halling stood up and spoke, "my name is Halling and tonight I am here as a leader of the Athosian people and on behalf, of my people I was honoured to give Teyla away this evening. I have known John Sheppard for nearly seven years and in that time, I have known him to be a strong and honourable man and I could think of no-one better for Teyla to share her life with. I wish you both every happiness for the future.
Lorne stood up and spoke, "Thank you for that speech, Halling," he continued speaking to the whole room. "I want to raise a toast to the bride and groom and wish them a long and successful marriage." He raised his glass, and the rest of the room raised their glasses and replied, "to the bride and groom."
Teyla looked into John's eyes as she drank their champagne. To her, he was the most handsome man in the universe and now she was bonded with him for life, according to John's customs as well as hers.
"Now it is time for the bride and groom, to have their first dance. Once the bride and groom have had their dance, the bridal party will join them. After the song 'My heart will go on' has finished, the dance floor will be open to everyone."
As the music started to play, John led her on the dance floor.
Teyla held John's shoulders and placed her forehead close to his. While looking in his eyes she told him, "just hang on to me."
John put his hands on her shoulders and placed his forehead close to hers, they stood there like that for the entire song barely moving. People joined them on the dance floor, and they didn't notice. For the entire song, they were the only two people in the world.
The song finished and Ronon cut in, "may I have this dance Teyla."
Teyla nodded and held on to Ronon and John headed back to his seat. She watched him go and she was happy to see that he finally looked well. It had been seventeen long weeks for her while she had supported her husband as he went through immeasurable pain and grief, but she was grateful that he seemed to have dealt with it and put it behind him.
Teyla danced for a while with Ronon and then she had a dance with Halling, but in the end, she wondered what John was doing. Looking over at the bridal table she realised that he was sitting alone, and she wondered if he had something on his mind. Perhaps I will join him for a while, she thought before heading over to join him.
"Are you alright Honey?"
"I'm fine Sweetie, I'm just enjoying sitting here and watching my beautiful, graceful wife dance."
They didn't have a chance to comment further, as Lorne stood up and spoke. "Now it's time for the cutting of the cake. Can the bride and groom make their way over, to the cake table please?"
Teyla grabbed John's hand and walked over to the cake table.
The cake which was made by Corporal Higgins was a three-tier traditional fruit cake. The cakes were square, and the icing was white with pale peach piping around the edges. The pillars in between the tears were champagne glasses and, on the top, stood a figure of an air force officer and his bride.
They were given a knife. They grabbed it together and cut the cake. The crowd cheered and applauded and John and Teyla's lips met. They pulled apart and went to sit down.
Teyla sighed as she sat down, her feet were beginning to ache, although she was used to walking around barefooted for some reason today it was beginning to annoy her.
"Are you alright Sweetie?" John asked her with a worried expression.
"Do not worry about me, John, my feet are a little sore."
"Perhaps we can head inside and have a nice hot bath," John suggested and she thought that it sounded like a wonderful idea.
Before she had a chance to reply, Carson came over a put a piece of cake in front of her and despite the fact that she was full, she didn't object.
She sat with her new husband and watched for the rest of the evening, she was quite happy and content and didn't want to do anything else. John seemed to be enjoying himself as well, which was a good thing considering what he'd endured over the last few months.
Without warning, John stood up and walked over to Lorne and whispered in his ear. Lorne nodded, stood up and grabbed the microphone. "It's getting late, and the bride and groom are about to leave, but first Teyla is going to throw her garter, so If you're a single lady and you'd like to get married, come onto the dance floor now."
Jane had given her a garter that she had worn on her own wedding day and Teyla had been a bit confused, until Jane had explained what it was for, Teyla turned her back to the dance floor and threw the garter over her head. Turning around she saw that Jennifer had caught it.
She almost laughed when Jennifer looked at Rodney and blushed. Rodney just looked awkward and embarrassed.
"Congratulations, to Dr Keller. We'll have to keep an eye on you in the future. "Lorne teased. "Now the bride and groom are going to leave, so let's have one last round of applause for Colonel John and Mrs Teyla Sheppard."
The crowd applauded as she left the marquee with her new husband. She was glad that the wedding day was over and now she could get on with being married.
Dave met them outside of the Marquee, and he had Torren with him.
"Torren wanted to say goodnight," Dave told them.
Her heart swelled when John picked Torren up, "night, Daddy I luh ya."
"Goodnight Pal I love you too."
Torren held up his arms for his mother and Teyla picked him up. "Good night my darling I will see you in the morning. I love you."
Jane and Dave had offered to put Torren to bed that night and they were going to listen out for him so that they could spend an uninterrupted night together. Teyla was happy that they were going to take Torren back to Dave's place for a few days so that they could have a honeymoon.
"Luh ya too momma," Torren told her, hugging her around the neck.
Dave took Torren from Teyla and said his own goodnights and walked away. Just as Teyla was about to walk away, Jack approached them.
"The adoption papers I promised you. Congratulations on officially becoming Torren's Dad. I know you've been doing it for quite a while now, but now it's official."
John shook his hand. "Thank you, Jack, I'll see you in the morning before you leave."
She was relieved when they entered their room a few minutes later. The day had been enjoyable, but it was also exhausting. She thought about running a bath as her husband had suggested but she was just too tired. "I think that I will head straight to be now Honey."
"I couldn't agree more Sweetie, I am exhausted and can't wait to start our honeymoon, but first I think I need a good night's sleep," John said while stretching out on the bed.
It wasn't long before she joined him and cuddled up to him. She could hear the sounds of the Marquee being packed up and she knew that her friends would work long into the night clearing up. They had thought about hiring caterers, but Jane and Ellie had insisted that they wanted to organise things. Closing her eyes, she let the noises from the outside drift into the background so all that she heard was John's breathing and feeling incredibly content she fell into a deep sleep.
TBC…
One chapter to go.