Chapter 6

Ben Sheppard had never really been one to gossip, not even about his drill instructors in in boot camp way back in the day. Somehow though, he frequently found himself talking to Mrs. Evans while he trimmed the shrubs between their yards. Though most of the time the two retirees would talk about what was going on in their own lives; Mrs. Evans grandchildren, how Ben's arthritis was acting up, their own children. Sometimes, like today, their conversations tended to be about their neighbors. The topic today? The Norton's grandchildren. Those kids were little terrors, running rampant through the neighborhood, and yet the Norton's didn't notice a thing.

"This time I am bringing in my potted plants," Sarah Evans was saying. "Last time those heathens visited I kept finding bits of broken pot around for a week."

"I almost think I should install a security camera to watch my yard," Ben said. "The Norton's just will not believe that their grandchildren are anything but perfect little angels."

"Their children were well behaved from what I remember. My Laura was very good friends with their daughter. I can't believe that these heathens are theirs."

"I think they are just to spoiled. Their grandparents defiantly never tell them no, and I bet their parents don't deny them anything either."

"Children need to be told no occasionally. They need to learn that they can't always get what ever they want now or they will be in for a rude awakening when they are older. Now, I love to spoil my grandchildren, that's the best part. Spoil them and get them on a sugar high then send them home to their parents. But as much as I spoil them, I don't let them walk all over me and I do say no every now and then."

"You are a very good grandmother Sarah. I see it every time you are with them, even when you are just talking about them."

"Why thank you Ben. I bet you will make a wonderful grandfather some day."

"Better grandfather than father anyway," Ben said with a shake of his head. "But either way, it will be awhile before that happens. John is currently the military commander at a remote base so there is nothing going on there, and he did not mention any girlfriend or anything here in the states."

"Do you think he would tell you about a girlfriend if he did have one?" Sarah inquired with a laugh.

"I hope so, but you are probably right that he wouldn't mention one in his first letter. Still, from the way he talked, it didn't sound like he had anyone here in the states."

"Well, when the day comes, you will make a terrific grandfather."

"Thanks," Ben said as he stood up. As he stretched the kinks out of his back he noticed the mail truck making its way up the street.

Sarah turned around to see what had her friends attention." Hoping for another letter from John?"

"Am I that obvious?" Sarah just smiled.

"I have been looking forward to one. At the moment it is the only way I have of getting to know my son again. Though if he replies to my letter by snail mail it will be several more weeks before I receive it."

"Well then, how about we go inside, you check your email, I'll start some coffee and then we can go and sit on your wonderful back porch and if you have a letter you can read it and if you don't, you can just tell me more about this son of yours"

"Are you making fun of me Sarah?" Ben asked with a smirk that would have many of the Atlantis crew doing double takes. "That does sound like a good plan though. I think I will get the mail out of my mailbox first though, the Norton's grand children might get to it otherwise."

"That sounds like a good idea. I'll meet you on your porch in a little while."

Twenty minutes later Sarah Joined Ben on his back porch with two steaming cups of coffee to find Ben amerced in several pages of paper.

"Looks like you did receive a letter toady," she said as she handed him one of the mugs.

"Yes, it's from John," he said with a smile. Then noticing the coffee he relived Sarah of one of the mugs. "Thanks for the coffee."

The next several moments were spent in silence as Ben finished the letter, occasionally broken by a laugh or muttered curse.

"John says he would love some of your cookies as long as they won't melt and doesn't care if they are stale."

"He must really be yearning for home cooked food."

"I am sure he is, I know that I spent many a night dreaming of my wife's home cooking when ever I was deployed. John also says that he would love some of your lemon bars, because then he knows he'll get to eat them before his friends get to them. Apparently," Ben continued at Sarah's questioning look. "One of his closest friends there is deadly allergic to citrus. Guess he wants to make sure that he gets to eat some of his own care package."

"Well I think I can manage that. I will add in a batch of peanut butter and maybe some oatmeal resin as well so that he can share the wealth."

"I'm sure he'd like that."

"So what else does he have to say? If you don't mind me asking."

"Not at all. He hates paper work, and it sounds like he has a lot of it. He says he thinks his civilian boss sends out his military second in command out own missions on days they receive supplies so that he can't delegate the supervision of unloading." Sarah laughed at that. "There are a few funny anecdotes about the unloading. Supposedly the coffee almost ended up in the Amory."

"Defiantly not where that belongs unless they have found a way to turn it into a weapon."

"Not since I last heard."

Ben looked down at his email for several moments, a frown marring his face.

"What is it Ben?"

"John was injured," Ben said after a moments hesitation. "The day he wrote his first letter he cut it short because some of his men were penned down. He was hit as they were pulling out."

"Is he okay?"

"He is now, he says he's been back on full duty for several weeks now," Ben sighed. "As a military officer you know that some of your men will be injured and that some of your men wont make it home again. You learn to live with it though or you don't make it very far yourself. But to know your own son is out there, knowing that he has been injured, that is a totally different feeling."

"I can't even imagine. Somehow, even though we live so close to a military base and so many of our neighbors over the years have bee military, none of my children were interested in joining up, though Michael was obsessed with fighter jets for a while, and Howard was never drafted," she said of her late husband. "Though if he was he would have been saving lives instead of taking them being a doctor and all."

"I'm glad you never had to go through this worry. I am beginning to get a taste of what Mary went through. I am almost glad that she is not alive to go through this worry with her son, because I am almost certain for her, that it would have been even worse than waiting for me."

The two sat in silence for several minutes before Sarah decided it was time for a lighter topic. "What are you in the mood for, for dinner?"

"What ever you cook is fine with me."

"You are no help what so ever Benjamin Sheppard."

"Am I supposed to be?" he asked with a laugh."

"Men, your all the same. Don't care what's on your plate as long as there is some meet and it's ready when you come in the door after a hard day at work."

"Hey, I resent that. I was never that bad with Mary. It is just that the two of you are (and were) such good cooks that I will like anything you cook. So, you should cook whatever you are in the mood for and I will enjoy it as well."

"Now isn't that some wonderful buttering up?"

"Is it buttering up when it's true? While you are cooking dinner, I think I will head inside and email my son, unless you need help chopping or something."

"Nope, I'm good. You go and write your letter. Tell John I say high and that the next care package will contain cookies."

"Will do. Let me know when dinner is ready."


A/N: Sorry it took a little while with this update. There will be more soon. Let me know how you all like to read the letters. As they're being written or as they're being read?