A/N: This is it. Thank you for following the story and to all the various beta's its had. I could not do it without all of you! No beta on this, so all mistakes are mine.

I'm doing something very unrealistic in this AU story, so no complaining. It is fan fiction after all :-D

Rodney sat alone late in the evening on the balcony. Untouched food sat before him as he stared at the stars, silently coming up with names for constellations that he drew in his mind.

"Can I sit with you?" Sam's voice startled him.

"Oh, sure."

"How are you? I've barely seen you the last three day," his boss said as she took a drink of her coffee.

"I've been busy with the gate on New Athos," Rodney explained, continuing to stare at the ocean.

"I know, Rodney. I read the report that pointed to a Wraith culling as the reason for the missing Athosians." She leaned her elbows on the table. "I meant how are you holding up."

"The woman I love is nearly catatonic. I can't see her except when I sneak in during the night. But then she's so heavily sedated she doesn't even notice when I hold her hand." Rodney didn't mean to shout at Sam or unleash his frustration this way. "Carson won't say a word because her family is here and I'm not…" he said, his voice trailing off

"I have some news that might make you feel better," the Colonel offered, a knowing smile on her lips.

"What? Is she awake?" Rodney turned so he could focus on Sam.

"It's not about her condition. Although I can tell you that she's refusing to talk to the psychologist and barely speaks to Jack, um, General O'Neill."

"Oh, God. What if they did something to her she hasn't told us?" Images of the beautiful woman he loved being subjected to horrors his vivid imagination could conjure up only fuelled his frustration.

"Doctor Beckett hasn't found any serious physical injuries beyond the cracked rib and broken ankle." Sam reached over to grip Rodney's hand. "She's strong. She survived the attack last…"

"But I was with her then," Rodney snapped, pulling his hand away and sitting back.

"Rodney, I know how hard it is to watch the one you love be in pain…"

"But I can't even watch her. O'Neill won't let me in the room. He said she needs him because he understands what it's like to be kidnapped and tortured. Well, I do t0o." Rodney leapt to his feet. "The Genii didn't just ask me questions. I've got the scar to prove it. And how many Hives have I been on?"

Colonel Carter got up and walked around the table to him. "Rodney, this isn't helping you or Jennifer. Jack's being very protective, that's all. I'm positive Jennifer wants to see you and you'll get the chance."

"When!" he shouted and walked to the rail, gripping it until his knuckles turned white.

"I'm here to tell you that the General called in a favor from the president. Mister Robert Keller will be arriving with Colonel Mitchell in the morning. I'd like you to show him around and answer any questions he might after he sees his daughter of course." Sam stood by Rodney waiting for his reaction.

"Her father's coming here? The IOA won't allow that."

"When you've saved the planet as often as Jack and ask for a personal favor, the president doesn't care what the IOA will say," Sam said with a chuckle. "He's a Naval adviser to the general populous if anyone asks question. He was in the Navy when he was younger."

"So we're building a navy on another planet?" Rodney quipped.

Sam chuckled. "Need to know and they don't need to know."

"I'm sure he'll just be one more guy who doesn't want me around her," the physicist groaned, shaking his head.

"You don't know that. My guess is her father will be able to get her to open up and then she'll be able to see you."

Rodney looked up at the stars and fought the tears pressing against his eyes. After seeing her break down in Jack's arms on the way to the gate, he thought nothing worse could happen. Being unable to be with her the last three days caused him and almost unbearable pain. The only way he could survive was by trying to find out what happened to Teyla's people. Now that there was nothing more they could do with the gate addresses from the New Athos DHD, he was lost.

"Wouldn't the General want to show his brother-in-law around?"

"The General and I need to have a long talk, so he won't have time," Sam said quietly as she stepped up next to Rodney at the railing.

The physicist finally caught on to the underlying tension in his friend. "You and the General, hm?" He looked over at Sam and smiled.

"Not much of an us since I'm in another galaxy," she offered, a blush hitting her cheeks.

Rodney put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her against him for half of a hug. "If this goes south for both of us I know where Zelenka keeps his moonshine."

Sam returned the hug and laughed. "You're on, McKay."

Rodney found himself waiting with Sam, John and Master Gunny Richards in the Gateroom at 0600 the next morning. The early time was so that few people would see Jennifer's father and Colonel Mitchell arrive. They'd whisk him off to the infirmary as soon as he came through the gate and see if his presence could snap her out of the withdrawn state she was in.

Cornering Carson and calling in on his years of friendship, Rodney got more information from the physician about Jennifer's condition last night. Aside from the broken ankle and cracked rib, she wasn't harmed too much physically. The trauma of the near assault and killing of another human seemed to be too much for her to take. She barely ate anything and said little to the medical staff or her uncle. Her sleep was constantly interrupted by nightmares so she needed sedation to get any meaningful rest.

Rodney was desperate to see her and suggested that contact with some of her friends might be good for her. Carson agreed and said he'd talk with her father about it once he arrived.

So now they waited for her father to arrive and Rodney felt anxiety from a multiple of fronts. What if Jennifer didn't want to see him? What if Dad said take a hike like O'Neill did? What do I say to her father?

"Been a long time since I met Dad for the first time," John said quietly next to Rodney. To keep up the ruse, the military staff was dressed in full dress uniforms and Rodney was alerted that her father would be wearing his old Navy uniform as well.

"I never met any Dads before," Rodney whined.

"Never? What about prom night?"

"I never went to the prom," Rodney barked as the gate started dialing.

Robert Keller stepped out of the wormhole and found himself on another planet in another galaxy. His first thought was that this was the coolest experience of his life. His second thought of that his little girl was in the infirmary, traumatized by an attack. Pushing his natural curiosity aside, he strode purposefully across the Gateroom with the pretty-boy Air Force officer by his side.

It took him a second to figure out which man before him his Jennifer was in love with. The older man with blue eyes that looked like his beloved Annie's was trying to keep eye contact with him but had to look away.

Rodney McKay stood about Robert's height, his brown hair was receding and the stubble on his cheeks pointed to a lack of shaving. Pain was visible in the man's eyes. Did Jenny take a turn for the worst? "What happened?" he barked.

"Welcome, Mister Keller," the blond Air Force Colonel said as she stepped forward. "I'm Colonel Samantha Carter, the base commander. And nothing's happened since your update yesterday from Doctor Beckett."

"Then why's Jenny's boyfriend here and not in the infirmary?" The surprise from everyone, including Colonel Mitchell standing next to him, was palpable. "Sorry. I tend to speak my mind. Been a long time since I've been in a situation with like this," the retired Naval officer said.

"That's fine, Mister Keller," Colonel Carter replied. "I know you're here to see your daughter."

"Among other things." Robert didn't take his eyes off the anxious man in a grey jacket with blue stripe.

"This is Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard, Master Gunnery Sergeant Dwayne Richards and Doctor Rodney McKay." Samantha pointed the each of the men with her.

"Rodney," Robert put out his hand to the man his daughter said she loved first, "I wish it was under better circumstances that we first met."

"Yes, sir." Rodney's handshake was firm and his hands were slightly calloused.

Jack said that the man was a geek and didn't like to get his hands dirty. Looks like Jack's wrong again.

"How's she really doing?" he asked Rodney once he released his grip.

"I-I… I don't-don't know any more than you. I haven't been able to see her…" he stammered.

"What?" Robert looked at Colonel Carter.

"Doctor Beckett was following procedures since there was a family member on Atlantis," she explained. "Visitors were kept at a minimum."

Robert felt the hands of an overprotective uncle at work. "Let's go." He put his arm around the shoulders of the dejected looking man and they followed the Colonels to the infirmary.

He heard Colonel Mitchell say under his breath to Sheppard. "She's with McKay?"

Robert chuckled and whispered to Rodney, who must have heard the comment as well, "My Jenny would never fall for a pretty flyboy. She's always wanted a man with more substance than that." The shocked look and genuine smile from the man walking by his side made Robert pat him on the back. "I'm positive Jenny will be thrilled to see you."

When they arrived in the infirmary they headed to the isolation labs where Jennifer was recovering. Her screams at night frightened the other patients and the staff, so they kept her in a soundproof room. It broke Robert's heart to think of his little girl alone with only her uncle for company.

"Mister Keller. I'm Carson Beckett. It's nice to finally meet you, sir," Jennifer's boss said as he approached and shook Robert's hand.

"Me too. Jenny gushes about how much she loves working with you in all her messages. It's nice to finally meet you," he replied, shaking the doctor's hand. "Now if you don't mind, I'd like to see my little girl."

"Of course. The General is with her." Carson led him to the doorway and stopped.

Rodney, the Air Force officers and the Marine stayed a respectable distance as Carson explained her injuries.

Robert had been in the Navy for eight years and was lucky enough to never have to kill a man or face the trauma his little girl faced. He knew she was strong, but the reaction Carson was describing terrified him. It sounded like she'd given up and didn't want to get beyond her ordeal. Having two terrible accidents within the last year might have been become too much for her. "Has a psychologist talked to her?"

"Aye, he's tried. But Jennifer won't speak to him. We hope that you'll be able to get her to respond." The Scotsman's sad eyes pleaded with Robert for a miracle to happen.

Robert nodded and steeled himself to see his little princess bruised and battered.

Rodney was thrilled that Jennifer's father, a man she said chased the neighborhood boys away with a baseball bat when she was little, seemed to like him. His joy was tempered by his anxiety for her health though.

When Carson stopped and informed Robert of Jennifer's injuries before they went in, Rodney looked away because the shocked expression on Mister Keller's face scared him. There had to be something Carson wasn't telling me. What if they… that animal did something to her?

"Rodney? Are you okay? You're suddenly as white as a ghost." John gripped his arm.

"I…" He stopped speaking as the door opened and he heard Jack greet Robert. A voice broke through the silence. It warmed Rodney's heart to hear Jennifer speak, but broke it when he heard the words.

"Daddy," she sobbed. "I want to go home."

Robert was prepared for the bruises: the split lip, the cast on her lower right leg and the total exhaustion that claimed her beautiful face. He wasn't prepared for the cry ripped from her heart or the vice-like grip she hugged him with. Something awful had happened to his little girl to change her so much. As he wrapped his arms around her sobbing frame, his eyes caught Jack's and a haunted look resided on the General's face.

Jennifer had claimed a piece of Jack's heart long ago and seeing her sobbing like a scared little girl had to hit the battle-scarred General hard. He squeezed Robert's shoulder in passing and said, "Whatever she wants, she's got."

Robert nodded as he stroked his daughter's hair and rocked her gently like he did when she woke up with nightmares after her mother's death. "I'm here, Jenny. I'll take you home if that's what you want."

After several minutes of sobbing, she got control of herself enough to loosen her hold on her father's ribcage. "S-sorry, Daddy." She only ever called him Daddy when she was really scared. "I don't want to be here. I want to go home as soon as possible."

"Jenny, I know what happened to you is awful and we'll do whatever it takes to make you better, but you're safe here. No one can hurt you. I've only seen a couple corridors, but the soldiers... the city itself will protect you." Robert was surprised with the reaction he got from his daughter. She was supposed to be nearly catatonic. The complete sentences she was using and the determination in her brown eyes told him that she didn't wanted to talk to the others, not that she couldn't.

"I-I know. I think they killed all of those… the…"

"It's okay, Jenny. You don't have to think about them right now." Robert placed his hands on her shoulders and looked into brown eyes that were as dark as the coffee she loved. "What is it?"

"I ruined my life and I want to go home. I just want to be a small town doctor. We can finally fix up the room over the garage," she pleaded. "Uncle Jack won't object."

"Jennifer Anne Keller, what is wrong with you?" Robert hated to hear his daughter talk like a quitter. "You never walked away from anything in your life."

"I…" Her eyes pleaded with her father to let her pass. She begged with her hands clutching his jacket for a reprieve from explaining herself.

"Jennifer, I don't know what they did to you, but I'm gonna go there and kill any of them left."

"This isn't about my attack. I know only time will heal that. And counseling. With so many people going through Post Traumatic Stress, doctors know how to treat it now back home." She swiped at the tears that continued to pour from her eyes.

Robert narrowed his eyes. "What is this about? I've never known you to drag your feet about telling me anything before."

"Because I've never been in love before," she snapped and her voice broke. "I fell in love and lost it." A sob erupted again and she threw herself into her father's arms once more.

Jennifer wanted to be wheeled out of Atlantis under a sheet on her bed. The desire to never see anyone but Carson on the base again was so strong it had kept her locked in herself the days. Once she found out Teyla was okay, she stopped talking to everyone unless she had to.

Her greatest fear had been realized. Rodney had rejected her. Another sob ripped through her as she clutched her father. The tight embrace made her suddenly realize her father was shaking. After taking a deep breath to stop crying, she realized her father was… chuckling. Pulling back quickly, she looked at the smile on his face. "What's so funny about my broken heart?"

"Nothing's funny, sweetie," Robert said, pressed a kiss to her forehead and got up.

"Where are you going?"

"Just give me a minute." He held up a finger."Daddy can fix this."

"Jack!" her father yelled as he stepped out of the door. "You might have saved Earth from alien invaders a dozen times over but you don't know anything sh..."

The door closed so she couldn't hear what her father was saying to her uncle and had no idea how it was going to fix the fact that Rodney found out about Jack and couldn't forgive her for the secret.

Before Jennifer could push the buzzer for one of the medical staff to come, the door opened and she saw her salvation. "Rodney?"

"Jennifer," he said as he stepped up to the foot of the bed. "I'm so sorry. I never should have let you go off world alone. You have no idea how bad everyone feels. I think Richards killed at least fifty of them by himself."

"Rodney?" She moved her leg slightly and the pain made her realize she was awake.

"Carson said you were unresponsive. Not eating. Not sleeping," he continued as his hands started waving. "I came in one night and held your hand, but you didn't realize I was here." His eyes slid to the floor. "I know I can't help you as well as your uncle, but I've been hunted and tortured," he paused as his hand reached for his forearm where he carried the scar from Kolya's attack, "and kidnapped many times. I'm not sure if it'll help…" His eyes lifted and looked at her face. The flinch obvious when his eyes took in the bruises.

"Rodney!" she said forcefully. "You've stayed away because you didn't think you could help me?"

"General O'Neill felt that family was best for you. I couldn't argue with him because he was the only one you seemed comfortable with in the jumper." Rodney's expression turned to one of sadness.

"Jumper?"

"On the ride back from New Athos. Once we rescued you, the General carried you to the jumper. He didn't think I could manage carrying you through the woods, but we didn't have time to argue. I could've you know." Rodney's chin lifted in that arrogant look that Jennifer adored.

"Rodney!" she snapped to silence him. Her heart was pounding because Rodney seemed like he usually did. Except that he hasn't touched you.

"You probably want to rest. Or see your dad. He told me to come and keep you company while he talked to the General." Rodney motioned to the door.

"Did you find me in the woods?" Jennifer's mind suddenly pulled a memory from its depths. I love you too, Rodney once said in what she thought was a dream.

"Yes," he replied, his blue eyes connecting with hers as he took a step closer to her. "Richards killed the one… He was…" Rodney's voice broke.

Jennifer leaned forward as far as the pain in her chest from the cracked rib and her ankle would allow. Her hands reached for Rodney's and succeeded in capturing one. The warmth and feeling of security from that small contact warmed her heart.

Rodney seemed to come out of his flashback. "I never ran so fast in my life," his voice a harsh whisper. He stepped over to her and reverently cupped her cheek with his other hand.

"Rodney." Tears ran from her eyes yet again. But these tears were different from the ones she released with her dad. These were meant to wash away all the heartache, fear and pain that she felt. These tears, shared with the man she loved, were meant to heal.

When Rodney sat down next to her, she nearly crawled onto his lap. A hiss of pain because of her ankle brace had the physicist reposition himself so he was seated next to her on the bed, leaning against the pillows. Jennifer threw herself across his chest and cried in earnest.

"Rodney," she finally said after crying for some time. "I love you."

"Meredith." Was his only response.*

"Meredith?" Jennifer raised her head reluctantly from its position, nuzzled against his neck.

"My first name is Meredith. Meredith Rodney McKay." His blue eyes begged her to remember why he was telling her this.

Jennifer felt fresh tears start to fall. "Jennifer Anne Keller."

"Now that we know each others full names, it's time I told you how much I love you." Rodney smiled.

Jennifer's heart skipped a beat and all the physical pain she'd felt vanished. Leaning up to press her lips to his she knew they'd survive this ordeal and anything else the universe might throw at them.

Rodney was hesitant to kiss her because of her injuries, but she reassured him that his kiss was welcomed, if not a healing balm. Once he realized he wouldn't hurt her, he poured his love for her out in the gentle caresses that followed.

The last sight of Jennifer that Jack had that day was of her sleeping soundly while cuddled against Doctor Rodney McKay. He was going to make a comment about the fact that McKay was too old for her or that the man's arrogance would anger Robert to the point of violence, but it was forgotten when Jennifer snuggled closer to the physicist with a smile on her bruised face. Sleep had claimed Rodney shortly after Robert left them alone as well.

Jennifer's father slapped his shoulder and Jack turned from the observation window to look at the man he always considered a brother. "I didn't cause her first broken heart," he said.

"I still want to kick your ass though," Robert replied as the walked out of the room.

"I'm sure we could find some boxing gloves if you think you've got it in you," Jack replied.

"Maybe if I mess up that pretty fly-boy face of yours, that beautiful Colonel will turn her eyes on me."

Jack's brow rose. "You're on, old man."

A/N: That was a long one, but so much to wrap up from both stories.

(* Refers to a conversation in Welcome to Pegasus about names.)

Thank you for following this story. I do have a couple more ideas for these Welcome to… stories, but I'm not sure I've got the time. Keep an eye out though, as my muse takes control and leads me places I never expect to go.