A/N: Sorry for the delay. The in between chapters seem to be hardest to write.

Disclaimer: Stargate: Atlantis, Stargate: SG-1, all their locations and characters are the intellectual property of others. This amateur effort is not intended as infringement.

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Recovery

The Atlantis infirmary was a mad house. Fifteen marines, two civilians, and three people seemingly returned from the dead were milling around, the last three focused on the farthest bed where Dr. Carson Beckett was working over Elizabeth Weir.

Beckett called for an IV and turned to Sheppard. "Colonel, would you ask Major Lorne to bring the marines back in a few hours? I think they can get new quarters while we are making Dr. Weir comfortable."

John nodded, but everyone could see he was reluctant to leave. He spoke with Lorne who led the marines off to the residential section to stow their gear and get situated.

As John came back into the infirmary, his father came over. "Do you want us to come back later? I'm sure Dr. Jackson and I could find someplace less in the way."

John was only half listening, still focused on the farthest bed. "Uh, no, Dad, that's OK. Without the marines things aren't so bad."

McKay suddenly turned from his focus on Dr. Weir. "Dad?"

"Yes, McKay, contrary to popular opinion, I was raised by regular parents." John turned again to his father. "We might as well get to know each other. Colonel Edward Sheppard and Dr. Daniel Jackson, I'd like you to meet the members of my team: Dr. Rodney McKay, Teyla Emmagen, and Ronen Dex. I think some of you know each other already."

A general round of nods and handshakes took place. John's team all approached the older colonel to shake his hand, curious since John had spoken so little if at all about his family.

"We are pleased to meet you, Colonel Sheppard. Your son has been a friend to my people, and I am pleased to be a member of his team," said Teyla.

Ronon just nodded, while Rodney started running at the mouth.

"This is truly amazing. To think that Colonel Sheppard has a father who's a Colonel Sheppard."

John was behind his father's back wildly waving his arms and mouthing "No, full bird," but McKay was oblivious.

"Since you're still alive, I can only assume that your son's death wish is unique to him." John grimaced. "Not to mention …"

John was saved further embarrassment with Dr. Becket's appearance in the waiting area. "Well, it is as I suspected. She has not been eating or sleeping regularly for six weeks, and she has worn herself down. I have her on an IV to rehydrate her and balance her electrolytes, and I've added a slight sedative to keep her asleep for awhile." He stopped and looked pointedly at John. "She is going to need some support to get back her strength, and that includes her friends reinforcing good habits." Carson shook his head. "I blame myself for this. I saw it happening but didn't stop it in time."

"Six weeks!" sputtered John, looking from Beckett to Teyla. "What's been going on?"

"I will explain things later, Colonel Sheppard. Put simply, you were gone." Teyla looked at John pointedly, and John backed off, glancing again at the far bed.

"When can we see her?"

Carson looked at the Colonel. "I realize that seeing you three is probably the medicine she most needs. However, at this point, she needs sleep more. In the meantime, we can get your medical checks done, then you can get settled and have something to eat. In four hours or so she might be waking up." He motioned over some additional personnel who led away Rodney, Ronon, and Daniel.

"Colonel Sheppard, I'll start with you. I noticed you were limping, and I need to check on that."

John grimaced again. "Yeah, the doctor on Earth told me you'd want to see my leg."

"Come on over, lad," said Beckett motioning toward a bed.

"Carson, can you do my dad, too?"

Carson Beckett swung around, staring at the quiet, dignified man with a military bearing. "Your father? Of course I can see him." Carson reached out to shake the elder Sheppard's hand. "Sir, I'm Dr. Carson Beckett, chief medical officer of this facility. I hope you know you have a fine son but he's kept me busy for the last two years."

"Colonel Edward Sheppard," he said, returning the handshake. "You should have seen our medical bills when he was a teenager."

"Now, now, let's not compare notes here," said John, who was beginning to wonder at the wisdom of having his father in Atlantis. "Let's just get checked out. I want to find some good quarters for my dad and get back to Elizabeth."

Carson turned again and motioned for the older Sheppard to get up on a bed, pulling around a privacy curtain. Looking at John, Beckett said "You might as well drop your trousers now and tell me about this leg of yours."

John, thankful for new underwear, endured the questions and examination since he wanted to be cleared for duty as quickly as possible. He needed to get his team back out there soon, and he had thought of taking his father on at least one off-world trip.

Finally Beckett was done. To the older Sheppard he said, "You appear quite fit, sir. I hope you enjoy your visit with us. And I would appreciate it if you did not need our services here. That bed in the back is about to be engraved with John's name since he spends almost as much time there as in his quarters."

Turning to the younger colonel, he continued. "Your leg is healing well, but it is still not as strong as I would like. You need to hook up with the physical therapist. I also think you should continue using a cane for another week and limit yourself to light duty."

John grimaced at that. He had been happy to leave the cane on Earth. With the doctor's admonitions still ringing in his ears, and a new cane in hand, John motioned to his father and they made their escape.

Heading to his quarters first for his communicator, John "thought" the doors open and the lights on and turned to his father. "Just dump your stuff here while I check on things and then we can find you some quarters. As he was talking, he was putting on his ear piece. He was interrupted almost immediately by a call.

"Control to Colonel Sheppard, come in."

"This is Sheppard. What do you need, control?"

"Sir, we were wondering if anyone was coming after the gear left in the gate room. Also, the Daedalus is waiting for unloading."

Shit, he'd forgotten all about the regular humdrum of life in Atlantis. "Acknowledged. I'll be there shortly and we'll sort it out. Sheppard out."

Turning to his father, he smiled apologetically. "Uh, Dad, I have to get some stuff organized. The Daedalus is here and has to be unloaded, and we kind of left things every which way in the gate room. You can stay here and kick back if you'd like."

"I'd rather tag along, if you don't mind. Kind of find out what things are like around here." The older man tried to look nonchalant, but John could see the underlying interest in his father's face.

"So, you wouldn't mind shadowing me for awhile?"

Edward Sheppard smiled. "That would be great, if it's ok with you."

Now John smiled. "Great!" They exited his quarters, having dropped off their luggage, and headed for the control area, Edward easily keeping up with his son. "We'll stop by stores to pick up a communicator for you. That's pretty much how we stay in contact. Atlantis is big, and there are no other means of communication that we've found."

For the next four hours, Edward saw his son in his role as military commander and second in command of the expedition. John got marines to stow the new gear ("don't open those crates unless you want to be assigned to the sanitation detail for three months") and worked with the Daedalus crew to begin the unloading. He had a brief meeting with Caldwell, introducing him to his father, and checked with Lorne to be sure the new marines had quarters. He was able to find his father quarters near his own, then spent some time giving him a tour of Atlantis, beginning with Rodney's lab ("Get out of here before you touch something"), continuing to the mess hall ("avoid the goulash") and winding up on the balcony in the control room ("And this is where I threw Rodney off the balcony and he bounced.")

John had finished explaining the dialing device and the two men were just staring at the stargate, the older one in wonder, when John became aware of the time. "Uh, Dad," he began, nervously rubbing the back of his neck, "I need to get back to the infirmary to. . ."

"I understand, son. I'll just go back to my quarters." Edward Sheppard turned from staring at the 'gate to look at his son, seeing the concern in the younger man's eyes. "Is there coffee in the mess?"

John smiled. "Yeah, we don't operate well without it. Things around here get pretty grim the last few days before the Daedalus gets back. Call me if you need anything or have any questions."

Nodding, Edward Sheppard headed off for some coffee and some time to fully appreciate exactly where he was.

John almost ran to the infirmary. He had been gone for just over four hours, and Beckett had suggested that Elizabeth might be waking up around that time. As he turned the last corner, he was in time to see Ronon enter the corridor. The Satedan waited for Sheppard.

"Your dad, huh?"

"Yeah. Surprised me, too," said John, as they entered the infirmary. Rodney was already talking to Beckett who was looking ready to strangle the scientist.

"She's not awake, yet, Rodney, and I don't want ye disturbing her before she's ready."

"But you yourself said we are the best medicine. So, we'll just stay here until she wakes up."

Beckett threw up his hands. "Suit yerself, but I better not hear any of yer squabbling. She doesn't need it. Let her come out of things on her own."

"Fine, fine, fine," said the scientist, already grabbing a chair and opening his laptop.

John approached the bed and looked, really looked, at Elizabeth. The weight loss he had noticed in the video feed was even more apparent with her dressed in scrubs. Her arms were thin, and her collar bones were protruding. The dark circles under her eyes testified to Beckett's wisdom in letting her sleep. Finding another chair, he eased it close to the bed and gently took her hand. He wanted to be sure she saw him when she awoke.

From his office, Carson Beckett looked at the three long lost men, Ronon leaning against the wall looking calm but alert, McKay absorbed in his laptop, and Sheppard absorbed in studying Elizabeth Weir's face. These were his friends, and he said a personal prayer of gratitude for their safe return. He then picked up his radio and notified Major Lorne that he could bring the marines back for their checkups.

John looked up at Ronon out of the corner of his eye, motioning toward Rodney. "So, what was it like on the Daedalus for three weeks with Rodney?"

The Satedan snorted. "At least we got showers and didn't have to forage for food. He's not the easiest of traveling companions."

"Congratulations on being the king of understatement," said John, with a smirk.

"What was that?" said Rodney, looking up. Noticing John for the first time since talking to Beckett, he said "Carson says to let her wake up on her own."

"I know that, Rodney, I'm not going to wake her up."

"So what's this with your dad? What is he doing here? He's really a colonel?"

"Yeah, McKay, but he's a full colonel, like Caldwell. Don't get that mixed up," added John, looking pointedly at the scientist.

"The military and its ranks. What a pain," said the scientist who could tell you everyone's academic degrees and the status of the granting institutions. "Did you call him after we left?"

"No, General O'Neill and General Landry got together and thought he should know what I've been up to. They even got him clearance to read our mission reports."

McKay was about to go on when a slight moan drew the attention of all three men to the bed. Almost as one, they stood up and lined up along the rails. Beckett came over in response to a signal from Ronon and moved to the head of the bed on the side opposite the team. By this time, Elizabeth's eyes were blinking.

Elizabeth Weir slowly woke up and became aware she was not in her own room. It was too bright, for one thing, and the sheets weren't as soft. She didn't know where she was, at first, but the smell finally gave it away. "Why am I in the infirmary?" she wondered. There were voices, too.

"Elizabeth, love, can you hear me? You're in the infirmary. You had a wee spell and I thought you needed some extra rest."

Carson's brogue was of some comfort to the confused Elizabeth. She blinked several times, trying to clear her brain from the sedative. She realized that there were several people peering at her, but only Carson had spoken.

Suddenly she remembered. "John!" she said, as her eyes flew open, turning automatically to the side of the bed.

"John," she repeated, her eyes opening wide, "Rodney, Ronon!" She struggled to sit up. Ronon adjusted the head of the bed to raise her up while John reached behind her shoulders to ease her up. Her eyes kept darting between the three men, and her face lit up with a 1000 watt smile.

"What happened?" she asked, looking toward Beckett.

"Take it easy, love. You fainted in the gate room," said Beckett, checking Elizabeth's vitals. She wasn't paying attention to him, however; her eyes had returned to focus on a healthy, living John Sheppard sitting next to her bed, holding her hand.

Rodney was smirking. "See, she just needed to see us and everything is fine."

"Everything is not fine, Rodney," said Beckett, barely controlling his temper while he recorded the observations on Elizabeth's chart.

Elizabeth looked over to the doctor. "But I just fainted. I can go back to my quarters, right?"

Beckett looked pointedly at Elizabeth. "Are you taking lessons now from our accident-prone colonel? We need to discuss your treatment." Turning to SGA-1, he added, "without the benefit of an audience."

"Wait a minute, why can't we stay? We're her support system, and she is always there supporting us." Rodney was offended, and frankly curious.

"You can come back later. Right now, I have to speak to my patient about my diagnosis. You've seen her, so go one wi' ye. Get something to eat. You can see her tomorrow." Beckett was reduced to making shooing motions as he herded the men out of the infirmary.

Returning to Elizabeth, Carson began, "This is what I've been warning you about for the last several weeks, Elizabeth."

Dr. Weir lowered her eyes at the doctor's direct stare. "I know, I tried to deal with things,. . ." She trailed off, looking anywhere but at Carson.

Drawing her attention back to him, Dr. Beckett continued, "You have got to take care of yourself, no matter what happens. That means you have to come to grips with those possibilities. Now, I will release you from the infirmary as soon as you have two good meals in you and a good night's sleep, but I want you to schedule some time with Kate. You need to find a better way to handle stress than taking it out on your own body."

Carson put down her chart, took her hand, and continued in a softer tone. "You should also consider being open about some things. You're not fooling anybody. And the pain of loss is magnified by things left undone and unsaid."

Carson placed her hand back on the bed, noticing that she looked somewhat shocked. Changing tone, pretending the previous had never been said, he continued, "Now, I was planning on asking you to dinner with me tonight, but I hadn't planned on it being in the infirmary. I guess we'll just have to make do." And with that, Carson sent an orderly for two trays from the mess hall and prepared to have dinner with his slightly embarrassed expedition commander.

Upon leaving the infirmary, Sheppard, Rodney, and Ronon decided to meet for dinner in an hour, giving time for Ronon to find Teyla and John to find his father. That was how John found himself the subject of embarrassing discussions over dinner.

"You mean his hair does that all by itself?" Rodney frankly didn't believe it, but he had been wondering where John was getting a steady supply of hair gel.

Edward Sheppard smiled and looked over at his son, completely aware of his discomfort. "Yes, it drove his poor mother crazy. She thought for awhile he was doing it on purpose. When she tried to comb it straight, however, it looked even worse." The man shrugged. "Finally we just gave up and began calling him Spike."

"Spike?" said Rodney with a gleeful grin. John grimaced for the fifth time that night. Again he wondered why he had thought it would be a good idea to have his father in Atlantis.

Ronon raised an eyebrow. "Not a bad name for a warrior."

Teyla was finding the older man interesting and very different from his son. "Has John always wanted to fly?"

Edward Sheppard laughed. "I'll say. When he went as Superman one Halloween, we had to point out to him a note on the costume package that said 'cape does not enable wearer to fly.'"

John turned bright red at the general laughter. He could also see that some marines at nearby tables were doing their best to eavesdrop. "Give me a break, guys, I was five years old."

"So, was Spike always a love 'em and leave 'em kind of guy?" Rodney always went for the most embarrassing information.

"Well, there was Michelle Lewis. . ."

"OK, guys, enough already."

"Why Colonel, are you blushing?" Teyla grinned at her team leader's embarrassment.

"No, I just think we should change the subject. For example, how are we going to tell everyone about what's been going on?"

"What do you mean?" Teyla looked truly puzzled.

"I mean, I don't want to have to explain the last six weeks to everyone who walks up to me. I think we should plan on a group debriefing so we can tell everyone at once and have all of us there to tell the whole story. It might make a good time for a party as well."

"Any excuse for a party, huh Colonel? Well, unlike you, I am fully capable of saying NO to various nosey parkers. I am also incredibly behind in some research that could be critical to our survival, and I'm not sure a lengthy hand-wringing would be very useful. Uh, do you want that?" finished Rodney, pointing at John's pudding.

John gave up the dessert and leaned back looking at the reaction from his other teammates.

Teyla looked thoughtful. She was the one who had seen first hand the difficulties the Atlantis personnel had experienced in dealing with the loss of these three. As she considered Sheppard's suggestion, she couldn't help but feel that the opportunity to release a little tension might be helpful to morale in general. "I think that would be a very good idea, Colonel."

"You could also introduce the new men," contributed Ronon, always conscious of the military readiness factor.

"I already know most of the story, but I, for one, would like to hear it again," said Edward Sheppard.

"So, McKay, that leaves you as the odd man out. Think you can tear yourself away from all the glowing toys long enough to tell folks what life was like on a hive ship?" John looked at the scientist, daring him to contradict.

"Oh, all right, but if your little shindig keeps me from completing the power balancing equations for the Zed PM, I'll be sure to note the source of the delay," said Rodney as he finished scooping up pudding.

"Good," said John, hoping that Rodney stopped short of licking the bowl. "I'll let Elizabeth and Beckett know, and we'll schedule it for as soon as she's out of the infirmary."

The group broke up soon after that, and John led his father back to their quarters. On the way, however, he stopped by a balcony and took the man out to see the stars of the Pegasus Galaxy. They stood there in companionable silence, and John was reminded of the cook-out at the O'Neill's when he and his father first made peace. They had looked at the stars of the Milky Way then.

"You have a good team, John. I can see the respect under the teasing."

"Yeah, we're always there for each other. I think Teyla felt our loss pretty hard since she wasn't there to back us up."

"Is there any chance of getting a trip through the 'gate with your team?"

John smiled. "I've been trying to think of a place to go, that is if Carson clears me. I was also going to take you to the mainland later in the week after I have everything sorted out. I should be able to finish up tomorrow."

His father smiled, looking out at the ocean. "I'm glad I came. No mission report can capture all of this."

John looked at the older man's profile in the starlight, and suddenly all the teasing and embarrassment was forgotten. Instead, he was just happy he was able to share his new life and his Atlantis family with his father.

"I'm glad you came, too, Dad."

The next day, as promised, John spent orienting the new recruits and finishing the unloading of the Daedalus. He had time to skim many of the reports that had come in during his absence, and he paid particular attention to information on wraith movements. It appeared that the two hives that had taken the location of Earth had not shared it with their fellow wraith. He would be sure that was mentioned in the report the following week.

Beckett had decided to keep Elizabeth in the infirmary one more day. She protested, of course, saying she had eaten three good meals, but Carson wanted to be sure she got one more good night's sleep.

"But I'll sleep better in my own quarters."

"Not if you stay up reading reports. I want to be sure you sleep, so you're my guest for one more night."

John, who had witnessed this exchange while visiting Elizabeth and catching her up, rolled his eyes in sympathy. "Then we'll plan the debriefing party for tomorrow night. Would that be OK?"

Beckett nodded as Elizabeth said "Yes."

"Good," said John, standing up. "I'll just go and be sure the crates of goodies are still secure and check in with the mess staff to get everything ready for a real party." He reached over and squeezed her hand, saying "I'll pick you up tomorrow before the briefing. I have someone I want you to meet."

Elizabeth had been unconscious when John's father was in the infirmary, so she thought he meant a new recruit. "I'll see you tomorrow."

John gave her his lopsided grin and headed out to the mess hall.

TBC

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