Notes: Thanks to all of you who have been so kind to let me know that you have enjoyed this story. I hope you liked the last chapters. This is a bit longer than the other but I don't like loose ends unless there is another story to be written.
A Little Cheer
Infirmary
"I don't care, Carson, I'm staying until Sheppard wakes up and don't go get Jennifer to see she can get me to leave. I had this conversation with her last night and she lost."
"Rodney, I am not asking you to leave and not come back. I am just asking you to go to your quarters for a couple of hours, get some breakfast, take a shower, and get some rest. Mr. Woolsey and Colonel Sheppard are doing fine, the colonel will wake soon. Besides, he won't be alone; I am certain that Teyla will be back shortly and Ronon is here and I am here. Go."
"No." Rodney sat down in a chair next to Sheppard's bed, crossed his arms and refused to look at Beckett.
Beckett looked at Ronon, pleading for help. Ronon walked over to Rodney, leaned down and whispered something to the doctor, who looked up at his teammate, then got up and left.
"What did you say to him?"
"That he smelled and needed a shower; so I gave him a choice, either take a shower in his quarters or I would give him one here. Then he can come back."
"Ronon, he doesn't smell!"
"I know, but you wanted him out of here for a bit didn't you?" Ronon sat down in the chair Rodney had vacated and smiled. Beckett just walked away.
Dr. Jennifer Keller looked up from her computer as Beckett walked in her office. "You still look tired; did you get enough rest, Carson?"
"Beckett sat down, "To quote, Rodney; no. I am not leaving again until Sheppard is awake. We did managed get Rodney to at least go take a shower."
"Really? How did you manage that feat?"
"Well, Ronon told him he smelled and either go take a shower or he would give him one. He doesn't smell, you know."
Keller looked shocked and then laughed, "Only Ronon could get by with that; poor Rodney, it appears Ronon knows what switch to throw when it comes to our brilliant scientist. Don't worry, Rodney will be fine, I'll tell him it was a joke."
"Well, at least, it got him out of here for a bit."
"There is that. I just got the colonel's latest blood work back, looks like the bleeding from the liver laceration has stopped; his hemoglobin and hematocrit numbers are on the rise, almost back to normal range. His brain scan showed slight bruising on his brain but his cranial pressure is good. We got lucky, or maybe I should say that John got lucky; from the description that Mr. Woolsey gave us, the colonel took some pretty hard hits to the head."
Beckett sighed, "That he did, as did Mr. Woolsey. This was a bad thing; it was lucky that we found them when we did. How about the rest of his injuries."
"Two broken ribs, the fifth and sixth on his left side and we found an incomplete fracture on the eighth rib on his right side; most likely that one was caused by whatever blow cut his liver. He has numerous deep tissue bruises, a severely bruised jaw and two black eyes."
"So, the colonel's treatment is rest, rest, and more rest."
Yes, I want him on total bed rest for the next 48 hours." Beckett nodded in agreement with Keller's assessment.
"Now, Mr. Woolsey; how is he doing?"
"He is simply very bruised and battered; deep tissue bruises, two black eyes, nose looks bad but not broken. It doesn't appear that he was hit with the same intensity as the colonel. He did take a bad blow to the lower back causing a bruised kidney. There is no sign of bleeding so we just need to monitor him; I think it will heal on its own without any complications. Again, we were lucky."
"Aye that we were." Beckett leaned back in the chair, rolling his head from side to side.
"You look exhausted still; you shouldn't be back on duty."
Beckett smiled, "Well having that emergency c-section on P3X-734 at 3 a.m., then coming back here and finding out about the trouble on Tegera, you being in surgery with Dr. Mays' appendix, and the rescue team in need of a doctor, I was the logical choice. Especially since I have been on more than one of these rescue runs where Colonel Sheppard is involved. I shouldn't have gone to my quarters last night but I think I am glad you ordered me to go."
"It was not last night, it was 0400 hrs and here it is 0800 hrs and you are already back here. At least you do listen a little better than Rodney" Keller laughed.
"Aye, that I do but then the only person more stubborn that Rodney around here is Sheppard. The rest of us listen fairly well. Now, you listen, since you have been here all night, go check on Rodney and make sure he gets some breakfast at least and you get some rest. I'll hold down the fort for a while."
"Good luck with that, sheriff; Sheppard's back in town." They both laughed.
Control Room
It was nearly 0900 and Major Lorne had just arrived in the control room when the gate activated; Sgt. Campbell announced 'unauthorized off-world activation' and immediately the Marines on duty took a defensive perimeter around the gate.
"Chuck, any teams out?"
"No, major, there are no scheduled off-world missions until after Christmas, the colonel didn't want anyone caught off-base during the holiday unless there was an emergency. We haven't received an IDC yet either."
"Well, it can't be the wind, so let's wait and see who wants us." A burst of static sounded in their COM's as they heard Persim's voice requesting to speak to someone from Atlantis.
"Persim, this is Major Lorne; it's good to hear from you."
"Major, good to hear you as well; I am with the governor and we have a request."
"What can we do you and the governor?" The major got Chuck's attention and covering his mic he asked the gate tech to get Teyla to the control room.
Major, first we would like to inquire as to the condition of Mr. Woolsey and Colonel Sheppard."
"They are doing well, the colonel is sleeping quite a bit but the doctor said he was going to be fine."
"That is good to hear; we have been most worried. Major, the governor and I would like to come to Atlantis. We have much we would like to discuss; would it be possible for us to come through the gate now?"
Teyla had arrived, she had been listening to the conversation; Chuck had patched her in as soon as Lorne had requested for her to come to the control room. She nodded to Lorne, who covered his mic again. "Let them come, we need to maintain a relationship until Mr. Woolsey and the colonel are well enough to resume their talks."
"Persim, you and Governor Lalrahn are more than welcome to visit Atlantis; please come through the gate."
"Thank you, Major. We also have some gifts for you; there are three others with us but they can return immediately to Tegera once they have delivered the gifts."
"No problem, the Tegeran people are welcome to Atlantis."
He motioned to Chuck to cut the audio and looked over the railing at the Marines, "Stand down guys, friendlies coming through the gate."
He and Teyla went down the gate room stairs and arrived at the gate as the governor, Persim, and three Tegerans bearing small carts full of fresh vegetables, breads and pastries, bolts of fabric and other items.
Teyla bowed in the Tegeran tradition and smiled warmly, "Governor, Persim, gentlemen, welcome to Atlantis."
Both the governor and Persim were overwhelmed and stood speechless as they looked about the gate room and beyond. The governor found his voice first, "By the Ancestors, Atlantis does exist. Of course we knew it was true but to see it, to really see the home where the Ancestors lived; it is remarkable."
"Although we may live here governor, we are still as in awe of Atlantis as you are. We treasure this city and respect it." Teyla smiled.
"Having seen what you would do for my people and your own, I have no doubt what this city means to you."
Governor, let us show you to the conference room; we are anxious to find out how your people are doing after the last few day's events. Please, follow us." With Teyla leading the way, they climbed the stairs to the conference room.
The Infirmary
Richard Woolsey had tried to eat the soft unappetizing lunch he was given but found he had little appetite. Although he felt much better, he was still very tired and very sore. The muscles in his arms and legs were painful and tender but they felt much better after one of the nurses had rubbed some analgesic cream onto them. His nose was hurting and he still had a headache.
At least he was home, he thought. Home, he had just referred to Atlantis as home; he wondered when he began to feel that way. He looked around the infirmary; Colonel Sheppard's bed was two beds away. There was an empty bed in between; a bed he believed that he saw Dr. McKay sleeping on when he woke up during the night. Surrounding the colonel was Dr. McKay, Dr. Zelenka and one of the Marines. He was shocked to see Ronon sitting next to his bed.
He looked across the ward and saw Dr. Mays; he wasn't certain what had happened to him but he was sleeping, looking quite comfortable. There was a scientist, he had forgotten her name, who was sitting next to him; she was quietly typing on a tablet. There were what appeared to be handmade cards on the bed stand, along with a poinsettia plant. In fact, he and the colonel also had a poinsettia and cards. Home, home is where people care about you; maybe Atlantis was home, after all.
Woolsey had decided to go back to sleep and had just closed his eyes, when he heard Dr. McKay's excited voice, "Carson, Carson come here, he's waking up." Ronon stood up, the young Marine scurried out of the way as Beckett came flying down the aisle. For the next few minutes there was a flurry of activity around Sheppard's bed and finally he heard Sheppard voice, a bit weak but clear. "Rodney, I have told you about crowding Dr. Beckett when he's working. Go over there and stand with Ronon." Rodney didn't move, "Now, Rodney." Reluctantly, he moved over next to Ronon.
"Hey, McKay, you smell better." Ronon was grinning at McKay.
"Listen, Conan, I didn't smell to begin with, you were just trying to run me off."
"It worked, McKay."
McKay started to retort but didn't have a comeback so he started on Carson again.
"Carson, how is he."
"He's fine, Rodney, now be quiet." Beckett continued to examine Sheppard for a few minutes, added something to his IV that the nurse brought to him, and then helped Sheppard sit up.
"There you go, lad. Now, how does that feel? Can ya breathe OK?"
Sheppard took a breath and answered, "Breathing seems to be working. How's Woolsey?"
"Ask him yourself." Beckett pointed to Woolsey's bed and Sheppard looked over at the Atlantis director.
"You doing OK, Richard."
"Yes, John, I am fine; it's good to home."
"Yes, it is." Sheppard smiled because he realized that Woolsey finally understood; Atlantis was home.
The Conference Room
The governor was finishing his coffee, which he seemed to take a great liking to, "Teyla, I am pleased that we have had this opportunity to talk; I realize that Persim had already expressed to you and the others that we were incredibly embarrassed by our behavior. We are stronger people than we have shown you; you must let us prove that."
Teyla only smiled, "Governor, we understand. Your families and your colleagues were at great risk, yet your people found the courage to stand up to a very bad man and help us to not only free your people but ours as well. We are very grateful.
She continued, "When the colonel and Mr. Woolsey are well enough, we can continue the discussions regarding your petition to the coalition and the naquadah. I promise you, Mr. Woolsey is a very fair man and he will protect your interest as well as ours."
"Of that, we have no doubt. Now Teyla, Major Lorne, would it be possible for us to see the Mr. Woolsey and the colonel for just a few minutes?"
"Governor, I do not know but let me check with the infirmary and see." Lorne walked out to contact the doctors.
The Infirmary
Dr. Keller had returned to the infirmary and she and Dr. Beckett were reluctant to allow the colonel and Mr. Woolsey any more visitors than the ones they had no choice about but Woolsey insisted.
Dr. Keller met the governor, Persim, and Teyla at the door. "It is very nice to meet you and I want to thank you for your help in getting our people back. I would ask that you only stay a few minutes. Both of these men are very tired and need to rest."
The governor took Keller's hands, "I promise we will only be here for a brief time, but this is important to us." She led them to her patients.
When the governor and Persim got their first look at the two Atlantian leaders, the shock of their condition was evident on their face. Sheppard noticed and smiled as best he could, "We've looked better."
Both Tegerans were shaken; Persim spoke first, "Colonel, Mr. Woolsey, we are so very sorry for your suffering. We are ashamed that we were not strong enough to fight them and not allow this to happen. We asked for your forgiveness."
Woolsey spoke, "Gentlemen, there is no need for apology. Your citizens were in danger as were mine. We are both fortunate that we were able to free all from the clutches of such a vile and dangerous man. I believe that we have both found strength in the other and we now have a mutual respect to build our relationship on."
"You know, governor, this might not have gotten so out of hand if Ferish and his men had not wanted me for revenge. If anything, our past actions brought this on all of us; perhaps we just need to put it behind us and move forward." Sheppard looked a bit winded but he managed to say what he needed to say. Persim walked over to him and put out his hand as he had discovered from Lorne was the proper greeting for these men from Earth. Sheppard grasped his hand.
The governor walked over to Woolsey's bed, "We have something for both of you; when someone on Tegera shows courage in the face of danger and accepts that danger in order to protect our people, they are awarded The Medal of Tegera. Normally, there is much fanfare and celebration when this medal is given as it is our highest honor but we felt we could not wait."
The governor and Persim each took a box from a pocket in their tunics and opened them, handing them to Sheppard and Woolsey. Inside was a gold colored medal adorned with the seal of Tegera and hanging from a silken cord; both Woolsey and Sheppard were speechless.
"We cannot accept such an honor, governor." Woolsey finally said.
"Please it would be an insult to Tegera for you to refuse. We want you to return to Tegeran soil as champions of our people and hope when you are well enough, we can hold the celebration these medals require."
Both men nodded, embarrassed even more. The governor smiled, "We will take our leave and let you get the rest you need. Please let us know when you are ready to resume our talks. Good day, gentlemen."
As they began to walk out, Woolsey stopped them, "We have a celebration every year that is called Christmas and it involves a feast. We are having that feast in two days; we would be honored if you and several representatives of your people join us to celebrate our families, our friends, and our home."
The governor looked positively ecstatic and said, "We would be honored."
Teyla hooked her arm though the governor's and said, "As I walk you to the gate, I will be happy to give you details for our Christmas Day."
Sheppard looked over at Woolsey who simply smiled, "Well, colonel, it is home."
The Infirmary
It was late, almost midnight and Rodney was asleep in a chair next to Sheppard's bed. He woke with a start as he heard the colonel start to get out of bed.
"What the hell do you think you are doing?"
"Rodney, be quiet, you are going to wake everyone. I simply need to go to the little colonel's room and I don't want to get the nurses involved. Besides 'Nurse Godzilla' is on tonight and I do not want to have to deal with her."
"You mean the one that relishes giving shots?" Sheppard nodded yes.
"Here, I'll help you."
Rodney managed to get Sheppard to and back from the rest room and into bed and the nurse in question never knew.
"Thanks." Sheppard struggled to get settled and Rodney help him get more comfortable.
"Rodney, why are you still here?"
"What do you mean, you're sick, that's what we do."
"No Rodney, we stay with each other when we are injured until we know that we will be OK. I'm going to be OK; you need to sleep in your own bed, you look exhausted."
"No, I am not going to leave you until you can walk out of here."
"Rodney, what's going on?"
Rodney dropped his head into his hands, "We abandoned you, we should have never let you and Woolsey go into that office without us. If there had been enough of us, we could have overpowered them and then you and Woolsey wouldn't be hurt."
Sheppard breathed deeply, a bit surprised it didn't hurt as much, "Stop it, you are not responsible for this; Ferish was. Woolsey and I both knew that we were walking into a possible trap but no one knew who was behind this at that time. This is not your fault, Teyla's fault, Ronon's, mine, Woolsey's, not anyone's. You've been here long enough to know that things happen, Rodney, no matter how well we prepare."
"Yeah, go with the hand we get dealt." Rodney looked at Sheppard, "You and your silver lining; well, I guess so far, it's worked."
"I like silver linings, Rodney, and I would like to get some sleep. Go to your own bed and get some sleep yourself. You can bring me a real breakfast tomorrow morning; I am tired of this soft crap."
Rodney smiled, "You're on." He got up and walked off but turned around one more time. "Sheppard, you really OK?"
"Yeah, I'm OK, buddy, Good night."
Sheppard had closed his eyes when he heard someone sit down in the chair next to his bed. Not opening his eyes, he spoke, "Rodney, I told you to go to your own bed."
"I believe he was heading toward the atrium as I passed him, colonel."
"Teyla, not you, too. I am fine, no one is to blame and you need to be with Kaanan and Torren, it's late."
"No, John, I need to say something to you. I am ashamed that we waited so long to come after you. Both Lorne and I were so torn between what we knew we needed to do and what you had told us to do. We should have done what we needed to do. We shouldn't have waited three hours after you and Mr. Woolsey went to that office alone. We shouldn't have let you go alone."
Sheppard closed his eyes for a moment; how could he ever make these people, his friends, understand that they were never responsible for what happened to him. Yet every time he was in danger or injured, they would move mountains to protect him. What was it Woolsey said, this was home. Maybe that was it, home and family, his family. The family he chose.
"Teyla, listen; Woolsey and I knew that we were most likely walking into a trap, we just didn't know who was behind this. I gave you and Lorne, everyone, clear orders not to interfere unless you had concrete information that we were in danger. According to the report Lorne gave me right after dinner, you did everything just as we discussed. Besides we weren't in that office very long, even if you had come thirty minutes later it wouldn't have mattered, we were long gone. If you had come with us, he might have killed you then."
"I know all that, John. But that doesn't make any of us feel less guilty that we contributed to you and Mr. Woolsey being beaten."
"Did you ever think that this is how it was supposed to happen? We are all here, Woolsey and I will be fine, and we have made new friends on Tegera. Good friends, Teyla. Hell, we even got medals. How can that be wrong?"
"Why do I try with you, John Sheppard? You always manage to make me feel better, even when I know better."
"Must be my charming personality." Sheppard grinned.
Teyla laughed, "Well, it not because of your looks, not today anyway."
Sheppard feigned hurt, "Now you have wounded me."
"Just understand this, Lt. Colonel John Sheppard, I will not stand by for that long waiting on your fate or the fate of anyone on this base, so do not ask or order me to that again."
"Fair enough, now go, you need sleep and so do I."
"Good night, John." She squeezed his hand and left.
It took Sheppard a while to fall asleep.
Christmas Eve
Ronon was pushing Sheppard's wheelchair toward the Mess Hall; Sheppard had tried to walk to the Christmas Eve party on his own but neither of his doctors would allow it. Woolsey hadn't tried and Lorne was pushing his wheelchair in front of Sheppard and Ronon.
"Hey, Sheppard, about Tegera. You know, we probably should have..." Ronon was interrupted by Sheppard's index finger pointed upward.
"No, do not start; I have already been through this with Teyla and Rodney. You did nothing wrong, none of you, so don't go there."
"But, Sheppard…"
"No, do not bring it up again."
"Well, I was only going to say, we should tell them about the gum thing."
"Oh, yeah, that. I guess we should. Hell, it worked, who knew." Sheppard was grinning.
They entered the Mess Hall and immediately, Sheppard looked at the tree, it was beautiful. Then he looked around the room at the faces of the people of Atlantis, the Athosians from the mainland, and the crew of the Daedalus that had arrived in the afternoon. They were laughing, eating, drinking; exactly what he had hoped for.
They had decided to have the gift exchange on Christmas Eve because nearly everyone would have all of Christmas day off and the ones who were going to work were on very short shifts. Sheppard had wanted people to have the day off with their friends and enjoy the big feast tomorrow.
At 2000 hrs, Santa suddenly appeared in the hall and the gift giving began. The Atlantis crew didn't know that the Daedalus was bringing presents from their families so there were a lot of very happy Atlantians.
Sheppard was sitting at a large table, punch in hand and a few cookies ahead of Rodney when one of Santa's helpers brought him a present, a big long box. He was puzzled until he read the card; I hope you can use this wherever you are and that you are safe. Happy Holidays, Dave.
He opened the box and found a new driver and putter for his golf club set, supposed to be some new high tech clubs, new golf balls, golf gloves, some golf magazines and some golf videos. He was a bit overwhelmed and when he glanced up at Woolsey, he saw he was looking at him. He raised the card to show Woolsey.
"From my brother."
Woolsey smiled and held up what appeared to be very old leather bound, gold-leafed book. "From my sister."
The presents kept coming, Torren was the one who seemed to rake in the most, although Teyla and Kanaan seemed to be confused about a lot of the educational toys. Sheppard got him a football and Teyla shook her head but smiled.
"I have a question, colonel. It seems that all of the Athosian children and adults have received a present. How did that happen?"
"We have explained Santa Clause; he did it."
To which, Rodney replied, "Yeah, that Santa with the messy hair."
Teyla then turned to look at both Sheppard and Ronon. "All right, Ronon you promised an explanation of how you were so certain what direction the colonel and Mr. Woolsey took from the farmhouse. How did you know?"
Woolsey looked up from his new book, "I get it now, colonel; it was the gum."
Sheppard laughed, "Yeah, it was the gum." Teyla was looking very puzzled as Sheppard continued. "Ronon and I were really restless one night after we returned from a mission, so we went on a long run. After we had run enough, we sat out on the pier for a long time; I asked him how he learned to hunt and track and he was telling me about tracking. Well, I reached for a piece of gum and had this thought, wonder if this green colored gum could be use to mark a trail if one of us was on the run or kidnapped. So we decided to try it; we were going to go to the mainland and test it but Tegera came first. I thought it was worth a shot, Ronon remember and here we are."
Ronon added, "I looked for the first piece and when I found it, I knew he was going to keep it up. He left a big piece next to the door handle on the hut. That's how I was sure they were in there.
"Colonel, are you telling me that our rescue was hinging on Ronon seeing wads of gum." Woolsey asked, a bit incredulously.
"Yeah, that's about it. Surprised us that it worked, might not all the time but this time, it did."
They talked about other weird ways to mark trails as the evening wound down. Just before they started to leave, Sheppard got up and went over to sit next to Woolsey.
"Richard, I just wanted to tell you that if I had to be on the run with anyone, I would never worry if it was you. You handled yourself very well out there in a very difficult situation."
"Thank you, John, but we would not have gotten out of this without your skills and intellect, and gum." Woolsey laughed.
"Yeah…that is what saved us."
"I spoke to Lorne this afternoon and to Ronon, apparently they both felt that Lt. Isaacs performed above and beyond the call of duty during this incident. He was observant and contributed to my team getting out the detention center; even Rodney talked about his ability to take command and protect them. I am going to put him in for an accommodation and he is in line for a promotion to captain. I need for you to make that happen as soon as possible."
"I will, as soon as I am back and we have all the mission reports, I will file the request for you; just be sure to get your letter of recommendation." Sheppard nodded he would.
Also, colonel, I had a conversation with General Landry and the IOA late this afternoon. I told them in no uncertain terms that we were going to negotiate a fair and equitable deal with Tegera for the naquadah that would include the needs of the people of the planet, the Pegasus coalition and Earth. That there would be no further discussion about Earth only rights to the mineral.
Sheppard smiled, "Good job. It's the right thing to do." He continued, "Colonel Caldwell stopped by the infirmary after he arrived to see how we were doing; I think you were in therapy at the time. He also had something for me that I had asked him to bring me." Sheppard pulled out a small box and handed it to Woolsey. "Merry Christmas, Mr. Woolsey."
Woolsey looked very surprised, "Colonel, I had no idea; I didn't…" Sheppard held up his hand and shook his head. "That is not what this is about, open it."
He took the lid off of the small black box and inside found a small badge, a USAF badge. He looked up at the colonel. "John, what is this."
"Well, that is a Command and Control Badge issued by the Air Force to anyone in an active command, generally given to non-flying personnel or base commander. While it isn't something that you can wear, it is something that you have earned. I felt you should have one; you've done a good job here."
"Colonel, I don't know what to say."
"Then don't, let's just enjoy this holiday."
"You were right about this holiday thing. The card from my sister and bother-in-law, simply said, Life goes on and he would want us to not forget that he loved the holidays, so my dear brother, Happy Holidays.
That's good; I had a little good cheer from my brother that I wasn't expecting. There may be hope for us yet."
Woolsey laughed, "I think there might be, colonel. Especially since I requested that Colonel Caldwell turn over the several cases of champagne that he keeps on the Daedalus and thought no one knew about. He should have thought about General Landry, who just happened to mention it to me today. So we will have a lot of champagne for the big New Years Eve party next week. I am not certain he was happy but he was cooperative."
Sheppard leaned back in his chair winching a bit and said, "New Year's Party? Good deal. Well, by next week, we will be healthy enough to enjoy it. Richard, you are OK in my book."