A/N: This is another in-between chapter. I cut it in half to get something up. At least two more chapters before the Atlantis return. Sorry about that. This story has a life of its own. Thanks for all reviews.

Disclaimer: Stargate: Atlantis, Stargate: SG-1, their names and locations are the intellectual property of others. This amateur work is not intended to infringe on any of those copyrights.

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Yet More Delays

Atlantis

"Are you ready, Teyla?"

Elizabeth Weir looked through the eyepiece on the video recorder and centered the camera on Teyla seated at the briefing table. She had borrowed the camera to prepare their messages to the families of John and Rodney. By unspoken consent, the two women had done the messages to Rodney's sister first. Now Teyla was going to start on her message to John's father.

As Elizabeth looked up for Teyla's signal, she could see the stark sorrow in the Athosian's face. She knew it was mirrored in her own.

Teyla nodded and cleared her throat. When she saw the red light come on and knew that the camera was recording, she began.

"Colonel Sheppard. My name is Teyla Emmagen. For the last two years I have been a member of your son's team at his current posting. I am sorry to report him missing in action at this time. He and the rest of our team were on a dangerous mission in which allies turned against us. We are unsure of what happened to him. I wanted you to know that I have the greatest respect for John Sheppard. He proved himself a leader by inspiring others to do more than they thought they could. He led by example, never hesitating to take the lead in the most dangerous situations. I could always trust him to have my six, as he used to say." By this time, tears were flowing down her cheeks, but she did not hesitate. "John will be missed by all the members of this expedition. His courage and spirit inspired us all, and his loss created a hole that cannot be filled." Her voice caught at this point and she looked down.

Elizabeth cut off the recorder and went to her. Without a word, she put her arms around the other woman and they wept, together, for the three friends and teammates who were missing.

They regained their composure after awhile, and Elizabeth went to wash her face. She knew her eyes would be puffy, but she wanted to look as good as possible on the tape. She returned to the briefing room to find Teyla sitting quietly, head down.

"There is no one to send a tape to for Ronon," she said.

"I know, Teyla. We have to be his family and mourn him." She put her hand on Teyla's shoulder briefly, then went to the camera. Her diplomatic mask had come down across her features, one she hoped to hold for the message she needed to send.

"Teyla, just push this button after you have me centered in the viewfinder. Let me know just before you do it."

Teyla nodded and came over to the camera while Elizabeth took her place at the table. She closed her eyes a moment, reaching once again for the composure that had always been there when she needed it. She looked up at Teyla and nodded. The red light came on.

"Colonel Sheppard, my name is Elizabeth Weir. I am the leader of an expedition that your son has been a part of since near the beginning. I am sorry I cannot tell you more about this project as it is still classified. Your son, Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard, served as the military commander. In him I found a colleague and, eventually, a friend who supported our efforts and did everything he could to guarantee the success of this mission. Over the past two years, he has given of himself to protect our personnel in every kind of situation. Six weeks ago, he went on a mission with some allies. They turned and attacked us. In the following battle, John was lost. We do not know what happened to him. Please know that he was doing his duty as well as what he enjoyed. He has served this mission and his country well."

She paused, tears threatening, then kept going, looking straight into the camera.

"I meant what I said about him becoming a friend. He has friends throughout this base, and his loss is not easily borne. His optimism, cockiness, dedication, intelligence, and loyalty were all valued and are missed." She gave up fighting the tears, deciding that this father needed to see that he was not alone in his grief. "When the history of this mission is written, the name John Sheppard will figure prominently. Until that time, he will always have a place in our hearts."

Elizabeth managed to nod to Teyla before putting her head down on her arms. Now it was Teyla who came to Elizabeth to hold her while she sobbed for the cocky flyboy who wasn't coming back.

Somewhere on I-70 in Utah

John Sheppard was startled awake by a loud bang and a sharp jerk.

"Aw, crap!" said O'Neill, wrestling the car to the side of the road. "I think we have a blowout," he continued, putting the car in park and turning it off. "I'll go check for the spare."

O'Neill got out and went to the trunk while John stayed in the car swearing under his breath. Another delay! He hit the light on his watch and found it was close to midnight. At this rate, unless they were able to change the tire quickly, he would lose most of another day.

"Oh for crying out loud!"

"Now what?" thought John as he opened the door to the cooler desert air. "What is it?" he said to O'Neill.

"This is one of those cars with a donut. It's only good for 50 miles. Where's the nearest town of any size?"

John groaned, again, and reached for the map pocket. Looking at the map, he realized he wasn't sure where they were. "Did you happen to see the last mileage marker?"

"Uh, yeah, it was something like 155."

"Well, Green River is about seven miles east of here. That looks like the biggest town anywhere around."

O'Neill pulled out his cell phone. "Nope, no signal." He put it back. "I thought they were trying to get all the interstates covered."

"Well, seven miles should be ok for the donut, right?"

"Yeah, but what will be open at midnight?"

"Oh, yeah. Still a hotel room is better than the car."

"Ok, ok, I'll change it," said O'Neill, getting out the jack and the spare.

As John watched O'Neill change the tire, he recalculated his departure. He still owed two donations. If they got back tomorrow late, he could donate and be gone in three days. As he got back in the car, he set his mind on doing just that.

Eventually O'Neill returned to the car with greasy hands. As he started the car and moved back onto the highway, he said, "You'd think Mitchell would have a full size spare."

"Yeah, well at least the donut had air."

Quiet settled in the car as they looked for the exit to Green River. As it approached, their worst fears were unfounded. The town was small, but it did have two chain hotels along the interstate.

"Well, we have a room for the night, but the clerk wasn't sure where we could get a tire for this car tomorrow." O'Neill pulled the car around to the door closest to their room. He had managed to get a room on the first floor, fortunately, since John's leg still didn't work very well.

John stared at him, flabbergasted. "Since when is getting a new tire an act of Congress?"

"Well, there aren't many choices in town, and tomorrow is Sunday. Things close around here on Sunday." O'Neill got their kits while John lurched over to the door.

As John collapsed on the less than stellar mattress, he wondered how a day with such a great beginning could go so completely to hell.

SGC—Cheyenne Mountain

General Hank Landry looked up at the knock on the door. "Enter."

Colonel Edward Sheppard looked in. "Have you got a few minutes?"

Landry stood up, motioning to a chair. "Sure. What can I do for you?"

The elder Sheppard sat down, looking a little white around the eyes. "I was wondering if John was coming back here."

"Yes, he and General O'Neill were due last night, but they had a flat. I just got a call from Jack, and it looks like they will be delayed until tomorrow. It seems that some towns in Utah close down on Sunday."

Ed Sheppard smiled. "Unlike the Air Force, right General?"

Landry grinned wryly in return. "Right, Colonel."

"Um, will I be able to speak to him privately?" The older man looked uncomfortable.

Landry was somewhat confused. "Of course, if he wants to speak with you. I got you clearance so you two could talk openly, but only if he was comfortable with that. He still has the right of refusal."

"I understand. I was hoping we could speak off base if possible. I think I'd like a little more neutral territory, if you know what I mean."

Landry thought a moment. "I have an idea, but I will have to run it by someone first since it is not an official function. I should know by tomorrow."

"Fair enough," said the retired colonel, standing. Landry stood as well as the older man left.

Edward Sheppard returned to the office he'd been given to use as he reviewed the mission reports of his son, who was not such a screw up after all. He began to wonder if he really knew him after all.

Utah

"Finally!" said Jack O'Neill, putting the key in the ignition and revving the engine on the Acura. "I thought we'd never get out of there."

John snorted. "I should have warned you. I can be Murphy's Law in action."

"Well, why don't you concentrate real hard on nothing happening in the next several hours. I'd rather not spend another night on the road. Nothing against you, but Carter doesn't snore." And with that, O'Neill got back on the Interstate, hoping that they'd given Landry enough time to fully brief Colonel Edward Sheppard.

SGC – Cheyenne Mountain

Colonel Samantha Carter materialized in the gate room along with a large carefully rapped package. After contacting her science team and supervising the moving of the ZPM to the main power feed, she left the team in the process of making the connections while she checked in with Landry.

Landry was hanging up the phone as he heard the knock at the door. Looking up, he motioned Carter in while leaning back and rocking in his chair.

"Sir, the ZPM is here and we are in the process of installing it."

"Thank you, Colonel. By the way, there won't be any more need to manufacture delays."

Sam had been in on the plan to contact John Sheppard's father, so she raised her eyebrows at Landry's announcement. "Is everything ok, sir?"

"Yes, I've just heard from the President. It seems he read our report more quickly than we had anticipated, and he wants to give Colonel Sheppard a medal." Landry leaned forward. "And he wants to do it here."

"That's good news, right sir?"

"Yes, yes. It's just that he will stop here on his way to California for an election trip, and he won't make it until Friday, five days from now. Sheppard isn't going to like that."

"Oh. Well, the ZPM will be ready whenever we're ready to use it."

"Thank you, Colonel. Dismissed."

Sam Carter headed off to her lab while Landry pondered how to tell the younger Sheppard that he couldn't go home yet. He finally decided to let Jack do it.

Later that afternoon, John and Jack finally pulled into the SGC. Without a word, John took off for the infirmary to provide a donation. O'Neill was aware that John was ticked and hoped he could mend some fences later. He stopped by Landry's office to give him a heads up.

"I don't think he's going to agree to go with me again," said Jack, leaning against Landry's door. It was, after all, Sunday, and Landry was finally getting ready to leave for the day.

"That shouldn't be a problem now. I've heard from the President, and he wants to meet Sheppard and give him a medal. This is still hush-hush, by the way, though I told Carter. Anyway, the President will be going to the west coast at the end of the week and he will stop off here on the way. We can't let him leave until afterwards."

O'Neill heaved a sigh of relief. "Great. I was getting tired of being a cruise director. By the way, did you put the colonel in crew quarters?"

Landry looked up again. "Yes. I wasn't sure what else to do, and he didn't seem to mind."

O'Neill nodded. "Why don't you set him up at my place? He'd be more comfortable, he'd still be within reach, and there would be less chance of John running into him before he's ready."

Landry thought a minute and nodded. "That's a good idea, and thanks for suggesting it. Another thing, he suggested that it would probably be better if they first met off base, then in case things get dicey, they don't have to see each other."

"Good point. I was thinking we could get them together before the barbeque and before the President gets here."

"OK, so barbeque day after tomorrow?"

"Nope, three days from now. Carter just got back, and we need a little time to reach everyone."

"That should work. The President is due Friday. That should give Sheppard time to wrap things up. He will probably want to leave right after the ceremony."

"OK, I'll get the barbeque started. You do the invites?"

"Sure. Later, Jack."

Jack nodded. "That's if John doesn't kill me first," he said as he went to find his charge.

After checking the mess, and picking up some coffee, he found Sheppard in the gym, again, working hard at curls.

"More frustrations?" he said, leaning on the door and letting the coffee cool.

Sheppard jumped a bit, but continued his set. "You could say that. I mean, I like you, Jack, but three day road trips can get old. Besides, the nurse decided to be truly creative."

"What, more smirks?" O'Neill took a sip as John finished and sat up.

"No, this time she gave me the jar and told me to call her if I needed a hand."

O'Neill spewed coffee all over the door as he fought laughter. "Jeesh, Sheppard, let me know when you're going to lay one out like that."

John gave a lopsided grin. "At least this time I think her comment was unintentional. She had the grace to blush when I just stared at her."

The next few days passed slowly for Sheppard. He finished and submitted his recommendations for the policy changes. He spent another entire day in interviews with more Atlantis wannabes. Carter crew spent a day and a half installing and testing it the ZPM.

On Tuesday evening, Jack sought out John, again in the gym. "You about done, right?"

"Yep," said John, walking very slowly on the treadmill. "The doc has me on a cane, and the physical therapist said to start working the leg lightly. The last donation is in, I have another 15 people for Atlantis, and the ZPM is installed."

John looked down at his feet. Landry had decided Jack would be the one to tell Sheppard he couldn't leave, yet, and he wasn't sure how to do it. "Well, I have good news and bad news."

John stopped, leaning on his hands and looking down. "Don't tell me I can't go."

"No, you can go, just not until Friday."

John looked up. "Why Friday?"

"I can't tell you, but it involves dress blues."

"Shit," said John, grabbing his towel. He got off the treadmill and, picking up his cane, moved toward the door.

"On a more positive note, …."

John stopped and looked at O'Neill. "Yes?"

"Remember that request you had to maybe meet some, uh, families?"

That got John's attention. "Yes, and?"

"So, you up for an outing?"

"What did you have in mind?"

"Well, Carter and I are having a barbeque at our house tomorrow. Landry and SG-1 will be there, including Valla. You haven't met her yet…"

"The bracelet thing with Daniel?"

"Yeah, that's her. I even got George Hammond to come. Anyway, we've also invited another four or five families associated with the base."

John realized what Jack was offering: a casual way to meet the other families. Still, he thought he'd make sure he wasn't jumping to conclusions. "Do these families hope to have an addition soon?"

O'Neill looked at him and grinned a little. "You might say that. However, they don't know that's why they are invited, and you aren't to tell them."

John looked carefully at Jack, reading between the lines. "Yeah, I think I'd like that."

"Good. We'd like you to come out early, if that's ok, so I'll come get you right after lunch. That way you can relax some before everyone else shows up at 7."

"Getting out of here sounds great," said John, moving finally to the hall. "I'll be ready."

TBC

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