Please see first chapter for disclaimer, rating, warnings, pairings, etc.
Part 24/24
-Epilogue-
-Atlantis – One Year Later -
"So much has changed this past year," Elizabeth said softly as she and John went out onto the little balcony outside their quarters. She sighed heavily, her gaze lifting automatically to the extravagantly starred sky.
"Most of it for the better," John reminded her. Putting his arms around her, he drew her back against him and rested his head against hers. He laid a very gentle hand on her barely-swollen stomach. "You all packed and ready to go in the morning?"
"I am, almost." She rested her hand over John's, her thumb idly brushing over his wedding band, enjoying his nearness. "It'll be nice to have a few days off." She sounded a little pensive, though.
John puffed a breath of laughter into her hair. "And we'll still be within easy reach on the mainland, just in case the newbie decides that she can't handle the stress."
Elizabeth turned in his arms to slide her own around his waist and grinned. She looked the most relaxed he'd seen her in months -- well, at least since they got back from their honeymoon. "What, you don't trust Dr. Peterson to run Atlantis for the next few days?"
John hesitated. "Elizabeth, don't get me wrong, taking some time off with you for our sixth-month anniversary is great. But I can't help but think that no one can run Atlantis as well as you do."
She smiled, a blush turning her cheeks pink as she buried her face in his shirt. "You flatter me too much," she mumbled into his chest. "That's not healthy."
"For who, you or me?"
"Whom," Elizabeth teasingly corrected him. "And for either of us."
They lapsed into comfortable silence. John sighed quietly and closed his eyes, tipping his head to the side to rest it against Elizabeth's. Since the defeat of the Wraith attack a year ago, all the Wraith ships that were left had steered very clear of Atlantis. It appeared as though they'd gotten the message: the Earthlings were not the Ancients. They would go to any length to protect their city, and they would stubbornly refuse to take defeat as an answer and run. John knew not to get cocky until the rest of the Hives had been destroyed, but he also knew that that same stubbornness would help them defeat the rest of the Wraith.
Granted, he knew the defeat of the Wraith would open a power vacuum in the galaxy, inviting the inevitable power struggle over who would fill it. But at the moment he was content to leave those concerns to others. For now, he was just happy to take the gift he'd been given, spending time with his wife and letting the future worry about itself.
Focusing his eyes on the two brightest stars in the sky, he smiled and softly whispered: "Thanks, guys."
-Atlantis – Present-
"We are getting married." Teyla's voice was hushed, awed, when she spoke.
Ronon smiled into her hair, feeling much the same way she sounded. "Yep. We are." He had willingly waited almost a year for her to agree to his marriage proposal. Dealing with the events of a year ago had been a long and difficult struggle for her, not to be easily resolved in a night or a week or a month. For a while it seemed as if every time she made progress in her battle with her deepest fear, something would happen on a mission to shake her hard-won confidence. He'd stayed patient, loving her and never doubting her love for him; and he never stopped believing that the wound on her soul would finally heal.
And now the time had come: she'd accepted his marriage proposal, and they'd officially announced their betrothal.
The thought amazed him. Teyla had seen him at his berserker darkest; yet she still loved him, still wanted to marry him. He loved her all the more for it; though he knew that she was not perfect herself—no one was, not even the highly revered Ancestors—he still couldn't help but hope that none of his darker undertones would ever rub off on her.
"Stop it, Ronon."
He jumped a little guiltily. "Stop what?" He had never been good at "innocent."
She tipped her head up to look him in the eyes. "Stop tearing yourself down. You are a good man, and I love you just the way you are."
Ronon sighed. "You have a good heart, Teyla Emmagan. I love you," he buried his face in her hair and closed his eyes, "always."
They stood for a long time in close embrace, savoring each other's presence and the peace of the night. Ronon's mind drifted, bits and pieces of memories swirling idly in the back of his consciousness. A deep feeling of gratitude suffused him.
"Things have changed a lot this past year," he finally murmured. "I wonder--" He hesitated, feeling almost embarrassed to go on. "Sometimes I wonder if they know."
Teyla pulled away slightly so she could tilt her head up to look him in the eye. Her expression was very serious. "I like to think they do. And that they are pleased that so much of it has been for the better."
Ronon nodded, the slightest hint of a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "Yeah. Definitely for the better." He bent his head down and kissed her then, while sending a silent thought to the skies above. Thank you—for everything.
Suddenly Teyla gasped a little and pulled away, her head jerking towards the door that led back into the city.
Ronon swallowed back the foreboding that suddenly leaped into his throat, pushing away all the contented feelings from just a few seconds earlier. "Teyla? What's wrong?" He took her face between his big hands and gently forced her attention back in his direction.
Something dark and terrified lingered in her eyes as she turned back to look at him. Almost before he had time to register it, it was gone. "N-Nothing," she finally managed. "It was just a-a momentary bad feeling." She let out a shaky laugh. "Perhaps it was only a lingering memory of a dream." But she didn't look convinced at her own words, which worried Ronon more than anything else.
He looked towards the city, wondering what dangers those ancient halls might still hold.
-THE END-
If you liked "Journey to Forever," (and are intersted in knowing "what those ancient halls might still hold"), this fic has a sequel, "Shattered." I thank you so much for reading "Journey," I hope you enjoyed, and please leave me a line or two letting me know what you think!
