Chapter 3

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John sat at his desk, doing his paperwork and humming under his breath. He'd never felt so happy and didn't quite know how to express it. Lorne looked up from his own work and marveled at the sight of Lt. Colonel John Sheppard, not only at his desk midmorning, but actually doing paperwork as soon as it crossed his desk and looking happy to be doing so. Usually, he and McKay or Ronon, or all three of them, would be out getting into some kind of mischief when they didn't have an off world mission, anything to avoid the dreaded paperwork until it was so late he had to do a marathon session. He was also surprised that John hadn't grilled him about his date with Celia last night. It actually hadn't gone as well as he'd hoped and they'd ended it sooner than planned. She'd been a little too self-centered for his taste, talking about herself constantly, dropping names here and there, not only calling Doctor's Keller and Beckett by their first names but by stupid nicknames, making it sound like they couldn't do without her even though she'd only been there a few weeks. She'd even dropped Zelenka's and McKay's at one point, hinting that both had tried to ask her out. Every time he'd started a conversation that didn't have to do with her, she'd just talked over him and led it right back around to her favorite subject. To say he'd been disappointed, was an understatement.

John looked up to find his XO staring at him and realized he was humming. He grinned at Lorne who just looked back in surprise. Suddenly, he remembered that his second in command had had a date last night that he'd been pretty excited about, but this morning hadn't said a word about how it'd gone. "So, Evan, I've been waiting to hear how your big date went last night! Spill it!"

Lorne sighed. "It didn't. I took her back to her quarters as soon as I could."

"I'm sorry, I know you were looking forward to it. What happened?" He frowned a little, sorry to hear his XO's hopes had been dashed, especially in the light of what had happened in his own life.

Lorne didn't really want to go into it but figured he'd give Sheppard some of the bare details and leave it at that. Once he got started though, he couldn't stop and pretty much gave a blow by blow description of the disaster that was his latest date, culminating in her surprise that it was cut short and her claims that it had been one of the worst dates she'd ever been on, stating that he hadn't allowed her to get a word in edgewise. How he'd snorted at that, shook his head in disbelief and left her standing outside her door. By the time he was done, he actually felt better and was beginning to see the humor in it. John saw the change come over him and smiled. "Sounds like a lucky escape. Maybe you should ask 'Jen' and 'Carse' about her. Also, I'm sure Radek and Rodney would love to hear all about how they hit on her and flamed out. A piece of information I'm sure Jennifer would find very interesting." Lorne smiled back at him and started to laugh, John joining in.

"May I ask what is so funny?" Both turned at the sound of Teyla's voice.

"Evan was just filling me in on his date last night with Celia Larm, the new nurse that came in on the Daedalus a few weeks ago. Seems it didn't go quite to his expectations."

A look of distaste came over her face. "Yes, I have met Nurse Larm. I did not find her very…congenial."

"Well, I wish I'd talked to you before asking her out Teyla. It would have saved me from a very unpleasant evening." Lorne said.

"Are you looking for someone Evan? There are several very nice women on Atlantis, and even on New Athos, I think you would be very well suited with." Teyla was so happy right now, she wanted everyone around her to feel the same. Rodney had Jennifer, Ronon had Amelia and now she and John had each other. Her eyes narrowed as she mentally ran down a list of women she thought would be worthy of the kind young man in front of her.

"Ah, thanks Teyla, but I don't need a matchmaker. I think I'm going to enjoy being single for a while. I appreciate it though."

"You are most welcome." She turned her attention to John. "Are you ready for lunch?"

He stood up and stretched. "You bet I am, paperwork makes me hungrier than working out with both you and Ronon at the same time." He locked and closed his laptop, then walked to her side. Without thinking she lifted her face to his and he dropped a light kiss on her lips. At the strangled sound that came from the other side of the room, they both grinned. This wasn't the way they'd planned on letting Lorne in on their change of circumstances but, it was as good as any. A very natural expression of affection with no need for uncomfortable words.

"Uh, yeah, Evan. There's something we need to tell you." John started.

Lorne kept the smile from his face as he held up his hand. "No need, I can tell what's happened. I just have one question for you." He said in his sternest voice. Sheppard was starting to look worried and he tamped down the urge to laugh.

"What?" John asked when he didn't say anything further. Of all the people he'd thought might have an issue with him and Teyla becoming a couple, Lorne wasn't one of them.

"What the hell took you two so long?" He stood up and held out his hand. "Congratulations John, Teyla." Sheppard shook it hard, a big smile on his face.

He turned to Teyla, planning on offering her his hand as well, but she placed both her hands on his shoulders and inclined her head. He felt honored and placed his forehead against hers. He'd only seen her do this with a select few, namely her fellow Athosians and her team. "Teyla, I know the both of you will be very happy."

"Thank you Evan, I believe we will." She stood back and John placed his arm around her shoulders. "Would you care to join us for lunch? We are meeting Rodney, Ronon, Radek, Jennifer and Carson in just a few minutes."

"Thank you, I'd enjoy that." He was pretty sure he would. That group, when they all got together at one time, could be pretty darn entertaining. He also locked his laptop and closed the lid. Joining them, the three left the office. "So, how many others know and how are you going to break the news?" He asked as they walked.

John answered. "Ronon and McKay. I talked with Woolsey so he knows. Oh, and Hank Kline." Lorne felt a little hurt that Kline had been told before he was and it must have shown on his face as Sheppard launched into the story of the early morning cookie drop, eliciting laughter from his second in command. Done, he continued to answer Lorne's question. "For now, I don't think we're going to be blatant about it. It's not like I can go on city wide and announce it. I think we'll just let it gradually get out and people will get used to it."

"Sounds good. How are you going to keep McKay from blabbing it to everyone?"

"Rodney is still a little shell shocked, to tell you the truth. And apparently he lost a bet with Ronon. I think he'll keep it under wraps, at least for a while. Plus, he'll enjoy knowing something everyone else doesn't. Feeds his ego."

"A bet? He and Ronon bet on you and Teyla?" Lorne didn't know whether to be surprised, angry or amused.

"Yup, lost his entire supply of chocolate."

"Wow! He must have been pretty confident to bet that."

Sheppard smirked. "I can't wait to see that requisition form." Lorne huffed out a laugh as the three of them entered the very full mess hall. The rest of their friends were already there, having taken their normal table in the corner by the window. They waved and each grabbed a tray, filled it with food and headed over. One set of eyes followed John's every movement from the opposite side of the room. He put his tray on the table and pulled out the chair for Teyla to sit. Eyebrows rose around the table.

"What? I can't be a gentleman?"

Ronon snorted and McKay just grinned at him. The others looked at them, then at John and Teyla, then at Lorne who kept his head down as he sat. Once everyone was seated, conversation started and soon became pretty lively as Evan filled everyone in on his date's claims, including that Radek and Rodney had asked her out.

Rodney was indignant and turned to Jennifer. "Jennifer, I never did any such thing! I'm not even sure who she is! I would never do that to you!"

Jennifer patted his hand. "I know Rodney. Celia is a bit…full of herself and has a tendency to make more of things than they actually are. She …embellishes a lot. You've met her, medium height blonde with a pony tail and blue eyes. She helped you with a splinter last week." McKay looked totally blank and shook his head. In an unusual public show of affection, he turned his hand over and took hers in his. She smiled gently at him and he looked star struck. The rest looked at Radek, waiting for his rebuttal but instead, he turned a bright red. Apparently some of things she'd told Lorne were at least partially true.

Carson sighed. "Aye, she's a good nurse but not someone I would have chosen for here. We're a tight knit group and the lass is surely going to burn a few too many bridges if she continues as she is."

Lorne sighed. "I wish someone had warned me. It was a complete waste of my time, not to mention very uncomfortable."

"Sorry laddie, if I'd known ye were planning on asking her out, I woulda given ye a heads up."

"I know, thanks doc."

Talk turned to everyday things such as Rodney's ongoing belief that everyone who worked under him were complete morons, present company excepted. Radek, per usual, defended the scientists. The mess hall slowly emptied out around them as the two wrangled over one particular biologist and Jennifer watched the interaction between John and Teyla. Her eyes narrowed as she tried to figure out what was different about the two. When it hit her, her mouth dropped open. They'd always been easy with each other but there was a sense of a deeper intimacy now.

"Oh my God! You two finally did it!" She interrupted one of Rodney's long winded explanations of what the biologist in question was doing wrong and all eyes turned to her.

John went bright red at what he hoped was an unintended double entendre, while Teyla, not understanding the two ways the statement could be interrupted, simply asked. "Did what Jennifer?"

"You two are finally together! This is great! Now you can double date with Rodney and me!" The few at the table who were not in the know, looked confused and there was dead silence around the table as no one knew quite what to say.

Finally John smiled at everyone and responded. "Yeah, we are. We're hoping we have everyone's blessing?"

The table erupted in congratulations and 'I knew it's and 'It's about time's'. Luckily, by this time the mess hall was almost deserted or they wouldn't have had to worry about how to break the news to the rest of the Atlantis personnel. When everyone was done with telling the new couple how happy they were for them, the group started breaking up. Teyla and Ronon headed to the gym for a training session with some of the marines, Jennifer and Carson going back to the infirmary, Radek and Ronon tagging along on their way back to the labs. John and Lorne were the last ones to leave, heading back to their shared office.

John looked back to ask Lorne something and he ran into something soft. He quickly turned and caught the woman he'd just run down before she landed on the floor. "Dr. Hanson! I am so sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going. My fault, I should have been more careful. Are you okay?"

"Oh, Colonel Sheppard, that's quite all right! I'm just fine." The mousey botanist looked up at him adoringly. Behind them, Lorne rolled his eyes as his CO continued on, totally oblivious.

"Are you sure?"

"Oh, yes." She took a step and crumpled into his arms. "Oh dear, maybe I'm not so fine. My ankle seems to be injured."

"Let me call the infirmary, they can send a gurney for you. Again, I am so sorry!"

"No, please Colonel, no gurney. That would be just too embarrassing. Perhaps you could help me there?"

"Of course. Lorne, I'll be back in the office after taking Dr. Hanson to get medical attention."

Lorne desperately wanted to say that he was pretty sure the botanist wasn't hurt and was just trying get the man's attention but didn't want to embarrass her and, then again, what if he was wrong and the woman really was hurt? Instead, he nodded and said. "Perhaps it would be best for both of us to help the good doctor to the infirmary? If worse comes to worse, we could make a seat of our hands and carry her there." He wasn't looking at John when he said this, instead watching Hanson out of the corner of his eye, trying to gauge her reaction and he got what he was looking for. A momentary rage appeared on her face, quickly smoothed away.

"Oh, I just couldn't take both of you away from your jobs. I'm sure I'll be fine with just the Colonel."

Lorne thought 'I'm sure you will' and wasn't going to give up. "Well, in that case, why don't I take you? I'm sure the Colonel has some very important things he needs to be doing."

John looked at Lorne, confusion clearly written on his face. He wasn't sure why the man was being so adamant. "It's okay Evan, I caused this, and I should be the one to take her. Thank you for offering though."

Frustrated, Lorne could only stand there and watch the two slowly walk away, Hanson hanging onto John and limping along pretty convincingly. He sighed and made his way back to the office. He was going to look into Dr. Hanson and see if there was anything in her file that would explain his sudden unexpected worry over his CO.

John walked Ruth Hanson slowly down the hall, apologizing again as she limped her way along. The way she clung to him was beginning to make him uncomfortable. Once they finally reached the infirmary, he gladly handed her over to Carson with an explanation, another apology to her and then made his escape. His friend was trying not to smile as he watched John practically run out of the room.

Turning his attention to the young lady, he asked kindly. "Now, lassie, where does it hurt?"

"I'm sure it's nothing Dr. Beckett. My ankle just gave out. It started feeling better as we walked here. I'm guessing it was just a muscle spasm or some such thing." She hopped off the bed that John had helped her up onto and walked back and forth in front of Carson. "See, it really is better. I'm glad it was nothing more serious, I know John would've been very upset."

Cason immediately noticed the botanist's use of the Colonel's first name. "Aye, I'm sure he would've been. Are ye sure ye don't want me to take a look anyway? Just in case?"

"No, no. Its fine now, I just had to work it out. Thank you." With a wave, she headed out the door, showing no sign of a limp. Carson shook his head and wondered what the woman would think when she found out John was now in a relationship and 'off the market' so to speak. He was distracted from his thoughts when one of the nurses appeared with some paperwork for him to sign and he forgot all about her.

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John hurried to his quarters, he couldn't wait to see Teyla again. He was to have dinner in her quarters in just over a half hour and he still had to shower and change. He just hoped she hadn't cooked. The woman was amazing and so good at so many things, cooking just wasn't one of them. He was so distracted, he almost missed the small wooden box in front of his door. Not again, he thought, a small frisson of discomfort moving up his spine as unpleasant memories surfaced. Unless it really was from Teyla this time? Maybe something she decided to do after his explanation of what a secret admirer was? He stood and looked down at the box for a moment, lost in memories of a different time. He finally leaned down and picked it up. The flower hadn't been poisonous and none of the Milky Way inhabitants of Atlantis would have known of the stigma surrounding it. Even if this was from some other secret admirer, it appeared they were harmless but he knew, to his detriment, that appearances could be deceiving. He opened it carefully only to find it was empty. He turned it over in his hand, deciding it was a pretty little thing. When he saw the faint made in China stamped on the bottom, he knew it wasn't from Teyla. He entered his quarters and put the box on his desk, figuring he would worry about it later.

He shucked off his clothes and slipped into the shower, finishing quickly. One thing the military taught you, was how to shower fast and efficiently. He lost time as he dithered over his limited wardrobe, wanting to dress up for her. He decided on a white dress shirt and black jeans with his dress shoes and black leather coat. Not exactly GQ, but not his uniform either. He left his quarters and hurried towards the botany lab. Katie Brown had promised him a couple of local flowers when he'd stopped by there after dropping Dr. Hanson off at the infirmary. His run in with the mousey little brunette had put the idea into his head of giving flowers to Teyla tonight. Ones that would, hopefully, erase the memory of the Kansaga Blossom. He'd asked Ronon if there were any other ones he should steer clear of and the other man had assured him there were none, after laughing his head off at the thought of his commanding officer showing up at Teyla's door with a handful of flowers.

He made it to the lab in record time, to find Katie eagerly waiting for him, a beautiful bouquet of colorful flowers in her hands. He grinned at her and reached out to run a finger over one of the more dainty blossoms. "Katie, I can't thank you enough for these. She'll love them." He'd told her who they were for when he'd been by earlier and she'd been thrilled for the two of them. She'd readily agreed to keep it quiet, understanding that this was new and they wanted to savor it before everyone else got all up into their business.

She handed them to him and, on impulse, leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. While she and Rodney had been estranged for a while after they broke up, the Colonel had always been kind to her. With the distance of time, she'd realized Rodney had never been right for her and they were actually friends now. He had Jennifer and she'd been dating a very nice man from engineering, someone she had more in common with than she'd ever had with Rodney. She'd watched Teyla and John together and had often wondered if she was just projecting her romantic musings on them. When he'd admitted that they were finally a couple, she'd felt vindicated, if only to herself. "Go knock her socks off John." She said. John chuckled and returned the kiss on her cheek. Checking his watch, he gulped and raced out of the room.

Ruth Hanson was aggravated. She'd ended her shift and didn't realize she'd left her laptop behind until she was all the way back to her quarters. She'd had to turn around and head back. As she turned the last corner, she saw John head into the botany lab. She stopped and stepped back, peeking around the edge, wondering if he was there to see her. She felt a little thrill. When he came out just seconds later, holding a bouquet of gorgeous flowers, she worried. Watching him moving away, she debated on following him or going into the lab to find out why he'd been there and who had given him those flowers. She decided on the lab, she could always catch up to him if she felt the need. Walking quietly through the door, she found Katie staring dreamily into space. She didn't particularly care for the other botanist, but had stayed on her good side as she used to date one of John's best friends.

"Hi Katie, did I just see Colonel Sheppard leaving?"

"Hi Ruth, yes, he was just picking up some flowers I'd put together for him. I thought you'd already left for the day?" She really didn't like Ruth, the woman set off something in her that was akin to the way she reacted to nails on a blackboard.

"I forgot my laptop. So…" she asked like she didn't care. "…did he say who they were for?"

Katie knew there was no way she'd let this woman in on the secret. John had trusted her with it and she wouldn't let him down. "I have no idea. He came by just after lunch and asked if I could put something together for him."

Ruth fairly vibrated with excitement. That would've been just after he'd helped her to the infirmary. The flowers had to be for her. "Well, whoever they're for, I'm sure they deserve it." She preened a little as she grabbed her laptop from her desk. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Sure." Katie watched the woman leave and wondered why she felt like she needed a shower. Unaware of the reaction she'd left behind her, Ruth hurried to her quarters, wanting to be ready when John showed up with the flowers.

John stood in front of Teyla's quarters and wondered why he felt nervous. They were in a relationship already, although they'd refrained from consummating it last night, instead spending the hours talking and kissing. Alright, lots of kissing and maybe…a little more. He kind of hoped tonight would be the night but he'd waited this long for her, he'd wait until she was ready. He tugged on his coat to neaten up his appearance and resisted the impulse to try to fix his hair as that was an impossible feat. He pressed the chime and the door opened almost immediately. His jaw dropped and he was speechless. She was dressed in a floor length Athosian gown the color of grass and it set off her coloring to perfection. She was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. Not able to speak, he just held out the flowers. She took them and buried her nose in the bouquet, breathing in the mingled scents.

"Thank you John, they're beautiful!"

He lifted his hand to her cheek and finding his voice, he said. "They pale beside you." She leaned into his hand, turning slightly to press a kiss to the palm.

"Dinner is ready, please come in."

He stepped through the door and it closed behind him, no thoughts of the botanist he'd helped to the infirmary earlier in the day, lingering in his mind.

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