Disclaimer: Stargate: Atlantis, its characters, settings, and terms, are the intellectual property of others. This amateur effort is not intended as an infringement of those rights.

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Regrouping

The party went on for several hours, and everyone kicked back and had a good time. It appeared that the excessive stress of the Pegasus galaxy led to excessive recreation whenever it was available, so the group did indeed "party hardy."

Elizabeth, along with John and his father, had grabbed a little of everything from the buffet tables, and John made sure she ate a good percentage of it. They had retreated to a corner to be out of the way, but many of the military contingent and some scientists came over to congratulate John on his medal.

"Way to go, sir," said Major Lorne. "Glad to see the Air Force recognizes quality and the Marines don't get all the recognition."

"Yep, Major, we have to uphold the honor of the service," replied John, smiling at the genuine pride in the eyes of his second.

Rodney came by as well. "It's about time we had some decent food," he said, shoving a yellow bar in his mouth.

"Uh, Rodney, are you sure that isn't a lemon bar?"

"Lemon? They said butterscotch!" The entire group was treated to Rodney spitting out a large lump of chewed food. "I've got to find Beckett. I hope he has an epi-pen with him."

The group groaned as the scientist hurried off.

"John, that was butterscotch," said Elizabeth.

"I know that, but he was eating so fast I figured he'd miss the taste. I admit if I had known we'd get to see a replay, I wouldn't have made the comment." Turning to his father, he explained, "Rodney is allergic to citrus."

"Oh, that explains it," said his father, secretly amused at the reactions of the scientist.

Even Caldwell had come over to Sheppard at one point and shaken his hand. "Congratulations, Colonel. By the way, you were also right about the t-shirt. I enjoyed being here."

"Anytime, Colonel," said John, seeing hope for their future relations. "I'm thinking the Daedalus crew and the Atlantis personnel are just two halves of a bigger whole, and the sooner they start seeing that, the better."

Caldwell was impressed with the insight from the younger man. "I believe you may be on to something, Colonel, and I think this debriefing helped demonstrate that concept since it took all of us to tell the story." He indicated the interactions going on between the two groups. "It seems that everyone can come together over brownies," he concluded, smiling. "Later, Colonel. Dr. Wier. Colonel Sheppard." He nodded to the group and left.

Despite these interruptions, however, the small group just watched everyone have fun. They laughed at the fight over the last Twinkies, groaned over an impromptu food fight, and roared when Ronon discovered bananas.

"Do the men of Atlantis have some kind of problem?" he said, holding the fruit in a suggestive manner. "Is this fruit a treatment of some kind?"

"No, they just grow that way in bunches," said Elizabeth.

"But they have been used to demonstrate the appropriate method for putting on certain, uh, . . ."

"Prophylactics," volunteered his father.

"Yeah, prophylactics," finished John, a little red around the ears. Ronon, just looked confused.

Finally things were winding down. Elizabeth had not cleaned her plate, but she had made a significant dent in it. There were few leftovers from the buffet, and the kitchen crew made short work of those. The Daedalus crew had returned to the ship, but not until they had fully initiated the new pool table. A tournament had been planned for the next several days, and the scientists were convinced they would win through geometry.

"I think I'll turn in," said the older Colonel, getting up from the chair he'd been in for awhile.

"Oh, wait, Dad," said John. "I've been meaning to ask something." He turned to Elizabeth. "Would you like to come to the mainland with Dad and me tomorrow? I wanted to take him out in a puddle jumper, and Teyla wanted to make a run to visit her people."

Elizabeth smiled in genuine pleasure. "That sounds like fun, especially since I am still on leave. Should I try to put a picnic together?"

John smiled and shook his head. "Already taken care of. Just grab your bathing suit and meet us in the jumper bay around 0900. That OK with you, Dad?"

Edward Sheppard nodded, looking forward to the opportunity to spend more time with the expedition commander. He had read her reports and was curious about her relationship with his son. "I'll see you then. Goodnight." The older colonel walked away, back to his guest quarters.

John turned to Elizabeth and offered his arm again. "May I escort you to your quarters?"

Elizabeth rose, taking John's arm, and smiling again. "As long as the route takes us by a balcony. Two days in the infirmary are enough to give me claustrophobia."

"I couldn't agree more," said John, leading her to their balcony.

They went out together and leaned against the railing, staring at the sea and sky. The sun had set long ago and the stars were out in all their Pegasus glory. John looked over to the woman beside him, considering his next words.

"You know, I brought my team special gifts from Earth."

"Oh?" said Elizabeth, then she frowned. "What in the world did you bring for Ronon?"

"A knife, of course. One of the best: a stainless steel switchblade. He had never seen one before."

"John, do we want to be encouraging him?" said Elizabeth, amused.

John just smiled and continued. "I brought single malt scotch for Becket. He was suitably grateful, but said not to hope for any sharing. Oh, well."

"I bet I can talk him out of a jigger."

"Be my guest. Rodney got a crate of chocolate and one of power bars, plus the latest laptop. As soon as I gave it to him, he disappeared. I think he's still transferring files. And for Teyla, I got some of the latest Earth fashions. A lot of them look strange to me, having been here for two and a half years, but I thought she should have a sampling. So, I sent Sam Carter to some boutique."

Elizabeth looked astonished. "How did you talk one of the best physicists on earth into doing your shopping?"

John smiled, and turned around, leaning back on the rail. "I think she was challenged with the idea of dressing someone from another planet. I had a picture of the team with me, and when she saw Teyla, she got this strange look in her eye." John shrugged. "I didn't check any of the stuff she bought so I hope it's OK. Maybe you could check on her at some point?"

"I'm sure it will be fine, knowing Sam Carter, but I wouldn't mind checking it out. I might get some ideas."

"Which brings me to the last gift I bought." John looked straight into Elizabeth's eyes with a look so intense she had to look down. "I was at a loss for something that would be special for you, so I hope this will do." He reached into his pocket and extracted the pendant he had purchased on earth. "I've been carrying it around for three days hoping for a chance to give it to you." He held it up and the silver caught the starlight.

Elizabeth was stunned. "John, it's beautiful. It's the Atlantis symbol, right?" she said, looking more closely at the charm.

"Yep. It's the point of origin for all gate addresses from Atlantis. I thought it was appropriate. May I?" he said, offering to put it on for her.

Elizabeth looked into his eyes then turned around, moving her hair out of the way. John opened the clasp, reached over her head to lower the necklace to her throat, and fastened it carefully, avoiding the small hairs at her nape. Elizabeth could feel his breath on her neck as he worked, and a shiver went up her spine as she waited for him to finish.

John gently smoothed her hair back into place, indicating he was done, and Elizabeth turned around to his smile. "I knew it would look perfect on you."

Elizabeth picked up the pendant again, amazed at John's thoughtfulness, then looked at him and said, quietly, "Thank you, John."

John backed up a little and suddenly looked nervous. He cleared his throat, and Elizabeth looked up. "Um, I was wondering if, uh, I could ask you for a favor."

She looked at him and said, "You can always ask." She smiled to show she was teasing.

"Um, would you mind welcoming me home again, only this time without collapsing on me?" He looked down for a minute, appearing shy for a moment. "I had a speech all ready and, uh, I think it still needs to be said." He looked up at her with hope and uncertainty in his gaze.

Elizabeth smiled slightly, then slowly turned and entered his space. Putting her arms around his waist and tucking her head under his chin, she whispered, "Welcome home, John."

His arms came around her gently and he rested his head against hers.

"Elizabeth, I am so sorry, so very, very sorry I couldn't let you know our status. I know you thought the worst, and I know we promised we wouldn't do that any more. I just couldn't think of a way to let you know. When we got to Earth, all energy was put into the battle, and they wouldn't stop to send a message."

He paused a moment, took a deep breath, and continued in a whisper next to her ear.

"I cannot promise you I will always return." He heard what he thought was a half sob, and he could feel her arms tighten around him. He pulled her closer, raising one hand to weave it into her hair, cradling her head against him. "I can promise you that no matter where I am, if I am still alive, I will be trying to get back to you, no matter what."

She was quiet for a moment, just soaking up strength from his embrace. After a few minutes, she lifted her head and looked him in the eye. There were tears in her eyes, but she was smiling.

"I will not, actually I cannot, deny how your presumed death affected me. Carson would challenge any such denial. But I understand what happened and the constraints you were under. If you need to hear the words then know that I forgive you."

She rested her head against his chest again, listening to the comfort of his heart beat, and he stroked her back, finally feeling home. They were quiet for a long while, enjoying the starlight and the soft sounds of the ocean.

Finally, John broke the silence. "They weren't sure they were going to let me return," he said, quietly.

"I've been wondering about that. How did you get them to change their minds?"

"I took a page from your book and negotiated."

Elizabeth pulled back to look into his face, but it was shadowed in the starlight. Still, she could feel a new tension in his body. "What did you have that they wanted?"

John pulled back then, disengaging himself from her, and leaning on the railing once again. "I don't want to go into all the details right now, but I need to tell you part of it anyway. In return for the trip back through the gate, using the ZPM, I promised that Atlantis would allow me to return to Earth anytime it was necessary for Earth's defense." He turned his back on the ocean to face her again, but his face was still in shadow. "I wasn't sure I could make that promise, so I wanted you to know before we dial Earth this week."

Elizabeth also turned to the ocean, strangely chilled without John's arms around her. She wrapped her arms around her waist as she considered what he said. "I think we can live with that, but I hope they won't have to request. I assume this is in response to the difficulties they had with the chair?"

John nodded, a vague movement in the starlight. "I think they were taken by surprise. That's why they wanted to keep me there."

Elizabeth looked at his profile assessingly. "What else did you bargain with?"

John looked away, appearing nervous again. "Um, ask me later, OK? For now, I think Beckett will come after me with needles if I don't get you to your quarters and to bed." He moved to the door, opening it.

Elizabeth paused for a moment, disturbed that there was something John wouldn't tell her, but he did say she could ask later. Finally, nodding, she moved toward him, taking his arm once again, and they left the balcony.

At 0845 the next morning, Teyla and Elizabeth were sitting with Colonel Edward Sheppard in the mess hall when John came in.

"Well, the jumper is packed with picnicking supplies, including a few special things I held back from last night. Are you guys ready?"

Teyla stood up, gathering the trays. "Just let me put these away, and I'll be ready to go."

Elizabeth and Edward Sheppard stood up as Teyla left. "I think I have everything here," said Elizabeth, pointing to a bag. "We'll have radios, right?"

"Don't leave home without 'em," said John with a smirk. "Dad, you ready?"

"Yep, not much to take, so let's go."

"OK," said John, leading the way out of the mess.

The group made a quick walk to the jumper bay and loaded their gear into Jumper 1. Closing the hatch, John cleared their flight with the control room, and carefully took off through the skylight into the bright blue Atlantis morning.

"I thought we'd take a couple of orbits around the planet so you could see the spaceship side of the jumper. That ok with you ladies?"

"That's fine, John, just avoid the submarine aspects of jumpers for now," said Elizabeth.

"It goes underwater, too?"

"Yeah, you could say we found that out the hard way. Rodney crashed one in the ocean, and we had to use another to get to him before it flooded. It was touch and go for awhile, but we made it. If the hull isn't damaged, the jumpers seem to be fine up to about 5000 feet."

Edward Sheppard, riding shotgun, was looking over the controls for the jumper. "These controls are a lot simpler than a fighter aircraft."

"That's because so much of the interface is neural," said John. "The craft responds to my thoughts since I have the ATA gene." He demonstrated a few of the features, bringing up a strategic map of the planet followed by a sensor reading of life signs. He paused, looking over at his father. "I was wondering if you'd like a turn at the wheel on the way back."

Edward Sheppard stilled. This is what Dr. Beckett had warned him of yesterday. Buying time to put off the conversation, he replied, "Maybe, but for now I'm enjoying being a tourist. The driver never gets to see the countryside." With that, he made a point of looking out at the planet below them and reviewing what Beckett had told him.

"Colonel Sheppard has the Ancient Technology Activation, or ATA gene, that allows him to operate almost all of the equipment in Atlantis. His gene is stronger than that of any other person on Atlantis."

"I didn't realize that."

"But there's something else, sir. Since his ability is genetic, he will expect you to have that same ability."

Edward Sheppard blanched. "You know we aren't related."

Dr. Beckett nodded. "Yes sir, I took the liberty of running a DNA profile on you. We are always trying to understand the genetic basis for this ability, and I thought comparing your DNA to John's would help indicate what he received from you and what he received from his mother."

The older colonel was silent. "We were unable to have children, and we felt so lucky to have John."

"So he is adopted?"

"Yes."

"Does he know?"

Edward Sheppard looked up suddenly. "No."

Carson nodded again. "I was afraid of that since he has never mentioned it in all our talks of genetics." He looked the colonel in the eye. "At some point, John is going to expect you to be able to operate the Atlantis technology, and you won't be able to. I wanted to warn you that you need to be prepared to explain that."

The colonel nodded, now understanding why Beckett called him in. "His mother and I planned to tell him when he was eighteen. Then she died his senior year, and he entered the Academy. There was just no time, and I didn't feel I could do it."

"I'm sorry this is forcing the issue. Good luck."

Edward Sheppard stood up to leave. "Thank you, Dr. Beckett. Given our rocky history, I think I'm going to need it." He left the infirmary deeply in thought.

Edward Sheppard sighed, knowing he would not be able to avoid the conversation he dreaded.

Turning his attention back to the planet, he could see the one continental mass as well as Atlantis, floating as an island.

"When did you find the mainland?"

"Once we got out with a jumper. The Athosians we rescued when we first got here decided to settle there. Those are Teyla's people, and we'll visit some with them while we're there." He looked over at his father with a smirk. "I'm teaching the kids how to play football."

"Football? You should teach them baseball. That's a true American sport."

The two men went on to argue the merits of one over the other, and Elizabeth, listening from the passenger seat, could tell it was a long running argument.

At one point, Edward Sheppard asked if he could look around the back, and John nodded, beginning his descent to the mainland.

His father moved to the back, beckoning Elizabeth to join him. She glanced at John, who seemed preoccupied, and moved to join the Colonel.

"When we land, do you think you could take Teyla and go on ahead? I need to speak to John about something."

Elizabeth tried not to show her surprise. "Of course. How long?"

"About half an hour should do it. Thank you, Dr. Weir."

"Elizabeth, please."

The older man smiled. "And I'm Edward."

They were interrupted by John who announced, "We're about to land if you want to see the settlement from the air."

His father moved back to the co-pilot's seat and looked over what appeared to be a village surrounded by tilled land. Looking back at Teyla, he asked, "What do you grow here?"

"Our main crop is tava beans, but we have begun experimenting with some seed brought from Earth by the Daedalus," said Teyla, pleased at the interest.

The puddle jumper settled gently on an open spot close to the shore but not too far from the Athosian settlement. John looked over at his father as he popped the hatch.

"Are you sure you don't want to take her for a spin?" he said with a grin.

Edward shook his head, smiling gently. "Not right now." He looked back at the women. Elizabeth nodded and stood up.

"John, do you mind if Teyla and I go on to the camp? She has wanted to show me some of their traditional fighting sticks, and this seems like a good time." She gave a sneaky smile. "After all, that way you men can unload the jumper."

"Sure, go ahead," said John with a chuckle. As the women left, he added, "Why is it that even when they aren't shopping we end up doing the toting?"

"I heard that, John Sheppard," said Elizabeth with a warning look. Then she and Teyla walked in the direction of the village, deep in conversation.

John looked over at his father to find the older man contemplating him with a small smile.

"What?" he said as he finished shutting down the jumper and his post flight check.

"I was just remembering when your mother and I brought you home from the hospital."

"Whoa!" said John, looking back at his father in confusion. "What brought that on?"

Edward Sheppard shrugged, knowing but not wanting to admit it yet. "I guess I was realizing how proud of you she would be and wishing she was here to see this." He gestured vaguely to indicate the jumper, the city, the planet, etc.

John looked down, fiddling with the controls, a little embarrassed at the direction of the conversation. "Yeah, I sometimes wonder what she would think and wish I could share this stuff with her," he said, quietly.

"If I close my eyes, I can still see her face when they put you in her arms." Edward Sheppard smiled at the memory then looked his son in the eye. "John," he said, "I hope you realize how very much you were wanted and loved."

He looked up at his father with a half-smile. "I knew that. Usually. Except when I got in trouble at school, or broke the neighbor's window, or broke my own leg jumping out of a swing, or . . ."

"No, John, you were always very wanted and loved."

John was silent, trying to understand what his father was trying to say. Edward realized he wasn't going to get a response this time, so he cleared his throat and continued.

"The day we brought you home from the hospital, we had been waiting for you for quite awhile."

"Well, nine months can seem like a long time. . ."

"No, John, try five years."

"Five years?" His father had his full attention, now.

"Yes, we had been trying to have a baby for several years. It was the 1960s, and fertility diagnosis and treatment were in their infancy and were certainly beyond the reach of military health insurance. After five years, we were accepted as potential adoptive parents and settled in to wait." Edward Sheppard was finding the dialing device fascinating.

John smiled. Now he knew where this was going. "So you get the call the same day you find out mom was pregnant, right?"

"Uh, no. Instead, we get a call late one night and rush to the hospital. That morning, you were placed in your mother's arms and became our son."

There, it was out. Several seconds went by, and Edward looked up at his son. John's face was a blank.

"John, say something, please."

John looked out the front of the jumper, then at the floor, then finally he glanced at his father but looked away quickly. "So, uh, hmmm, I'm, uh, adopted?"

"Yes, John. In every way but one you are my son. But I had to tell you because it's the reason I can't activate any of your wonderful technology. I'm sorry, but I don't share your genes."

John got up somewhat stiffly and headed for the back of the jumper. "Hmm, OK, I guess. I think I'm going to go for a run now, you know, get the leg in shape, etc." He quickly exited the jumper tossing his jacket on the back bench, and took off down the beach.

Edward Sheppard watched him go. He'd done the same thing when his mother died: he'd run, trying to escape the feelings. Sighing one last time, he moved to the back of the jumper, collecting the picnic basket and the blankets, and heading out to the beach.

John, meanwhile, kept running. He kept running until his leg was burning with the effort he was making. Out of sight of the beach and the village, he finally stopped on a small hill that gave him a view of the ocean and stopped to breathe. His whole life had just turned upside down. He realized he felt the same way he did when he found out about having the ATA gene. This time, though, it appeared his whole life was a lie. Or was it? He always knew his mother loved him. And, except for recently, and in spite of the tension growing up, he knew his father cared for him. Why did this feel so strange?

As his breathing came under control, he began walking back, trying to get his feelings under control as well. He remembered his experience flying back with O'Neill from the Antarctic base and how he was concerned about finding out he had a mutant gene. Well, it looked like he was more of a mutant than he thought. He didn't even have his family to ground him anymore. He stopped on his walk back, leaning over, his hands braced on his thighs. No, that wasn't right. He still had his family, it's just they weren't his genetic family. So who was? Where did he get these genes? John straightened up and headed slowly back to what was intended as a nice relaxing trip for his father and Elizabeth. He worked to school his expression to match that scenario.

Elizabeth and Teyla approached the beach about forty minutes after John had left. Edward Sheppard was barefoot, relaxing on a blanket but his expression was reserved.

"Where's John?" asked Elizabeth.

"He decided to go running. Said something about strengthening his leg," said his father, drawing circles in the sand near the blanket.

Elizabeth could tell something was wrong, and as she looked to Teyla, she could tell the Athosian realized as well.

"Well, what about a little beach combing while we wait for him? I have found some very strange shells here."

Edward looked up with a half smile. "That sounds good."

The three took off their shoes and began to stroll down the beach, casually chatting about shells, and giving Edward time to relax.

John finally got back an hour later. By this time, he was limping slightly, having put too much stress on his leg, but his features were schooled to his usual casual smirk. The other three were gathered on the blankets reviewing their finds when he walked up.

"So where's lunch?"

Elizabeth looked up, shading her eyes. "About time you got back. We were about to open the basket and leave you nothing."

"Nah, you couldn't do that," said John, grabbing the basket and heading over to their blanket. He carefully sat down between Elizabeth and Teyla. "I made sure there was enough for a full platoon, so I know you wouldn't have been able to eat it all."

After setting the shells safely aside, the food was passed out and savored.

"Turkey sandwich, sir?" said John, offering the sandwich to his father.

The older man winced at the formality, but accepted the sandwich. Elizabeth caught the change of address and the tension in the atmosphere.

"Hey, you haven't admired the new shells we found."

John dutifully looked over their collection, making a couple of comments and actually pulling out a strange shell he had found on his run. Gradually, things began to ease as they finished lunch.

Collecting the trash and putting it in the jumper, John said, "How about we visit the kids, now?"

Teyla smiled. Turning to Edward Sheppard, she commented, "John is one of their favorite playmates."

They struck out along the short path to the village and spent the rest of the afternoon with the Athosians. They were convinced to stay for the evening meal, and they finally packed up to leave after sunset.

The walk back to the jumper was quiet. Teyla had decided to stay on the mainland until tomorrow to settle some business, so it was John, Edward and Elizabeth who finally settled into the jumper.

"Thank you, John. That was a great day," said his father.

"Yes, I really enjoyed myself," added Elizabeth.

John looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "See? You can relax and Atlantis didn't sink."

"We don't know that yet," said Elizabeth.

"I think Lorne or Rodney would have let us know," said John, as he closed the hatch and the jumper began to climb into the night sky.

The flight back was quiet as well. Elizabeth could still feel the tension between the two men, but it seemed less than earlier, so she hoped that they could work things out.

When they arrived back at Atlantis, she pleaded fatigue and quickly headed off to her quarters, leaving them alone again.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow, sir."

"John, what happened to 'dad'?"

John looked down at the basket and other supplies he had removed from the jumper. "Give me a little more time. We'll talk again tomorrow." He gathered the gear, nodded at his father, and headed off to his quarters.

Edward Sheppard began the walk to his guest quarters, hoping he hadn't lost his son that day.

TBC

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