Author's Note: My husband has pointed out that I forgot my toothbrush warning on the last couple of chapters. So, in deference to him, here's a fluff/angst warning for this chapter! Enjoy! ~lg
oOo
Shani knew the art of distraction well. She had used it countless times on her late husband and Javan. To have it used on her, now, was disconcerting. Within the hour, Evan had neatly maneuvered her into the copilot's chair of a Jumper and had taken off for a sunset run.
In that short amount of time, she had gone back to her home, changed into a fresh dress brought from Ataliya for just such an occasion, and took her hair out of the braid she kept it in most days. She also gathered a light meal, knowing she would be hungry before they returned to the city. After nearly running to get to the hangar, she found Evan sitting in the pilot's chair, sketching on a bound pad of paper. There were already other sketches on the page, and he worked quickly. Unable to sneak up on him, she did not ask to see his work but simply enjoyed the sheepish grin he gave her.
They left the city moments later. The sun, which had barely begun to set when he found her in the clinic garden, had settled into its full display. What would typically have lasted for ten minutes now took much longer. Evan never took the Jumper out of Sateda's atmosphere but flew toward the sunset at just the right speed so that it seemed to last indefinitely. They flew over mountains, and she caught sight of water in the distance. The colors changed as they moved through cloud banks, but the breathtaking quality never faded. Shani sat, entranced, for many moments before she caught one of Evan's amused glance.
"It is incredible." She grinned at him. "I now understand what you meant by 'chasing the sunset.'"
"On Earth, we do this in planes." He shrugged. "It's a bit different in the Jumper. I have to keep the speed fairly slow."
"Can we land?" She motioned behind her. "I brought some food—I believe you called it a picnic."
"Sure." He changed his course and, within moments, had found a wide open spot of land to set down the Jumper. They had flown a bit toward the equator of Sateda, and the climate change was drastic. Shani stepped out of the small ship and grinned at the hot breeze that blasted them. It was still more humid than home, but she felt the warmth seep into her body. Evan clearly intended for that to happen because he carried her basket out and waited for her to follow him down the path.
A sound reached Shani's ears as they walked. Evan didn't say anything, choosing instead to keep trudging down this trail while she tried to place it. She had heard something similar, but her time had more often been spent learning from various healers than traveling. So, when they broke between the trees, she gaped as she stared over crisp sand and onto the ocean. The roar of the sea rose and fell as it broke onto the shore. Light clouds turned lavender and deep purple as the sun colored the sky orange and pink. The water reflected the colors, creating a magical setting that Shani had never seen in her life.
"Oh!" She walked a few steps onto the beach, entranced. "Evan, this is beautiful!"
He set down the picnic basket and moved to her side, slipping his arm around her waist as was his habit. "I agree." His breath ruffled the hair around her ear as she leaned into him.
They stood in place for a long time, watching the colors intensify as the sun went down. The clouds made the twilight disappear quicker, but Shani would not have traded these moments for anything. She wished she could paint as well as Evan and commit this moment to memory for all time. Sighing wistfully, she laid her head onto his shoulder and slipped her own arms around his waist. The ocean breeze tugged at her hair, but she ignored it. At this moment, there was no one else around to distract either of them from one another or the beauty of this place.
oOo
Later that night, Evan walked into his home and immediately started a fire. While he and Shani had strolled the beach arm in arm, they'd become accustomed to the much warmer, tropical temperatures. The city was still in early spring, and the chill in the air cut through the layers he wore. While waiting for the fire to warm his home, he pulled out his sketchbook and flipped it open to the page he'd been working on when Shani first appeared in the Jumper.
The sketch was far from finished. But it was enough of one that he could picture the sight he'd seen when he first arrived at the clinic. Of course, his time with her on the beach had only helped, and he smiled as he thought about how her hair had blown in the wind. Not to mention that dress! She'd clearly brought more clothes from Ataliya after her recent visit and had chosen to wear a bright yellow gown that looked very much like an Indian sari. With her hair loose and the gown rippling in the wind on the beach, it was an unforgettable scene.
She is unforgettable, his mind corrected him. Evan chuckled to himself as he began applying paint to the canvas. It was late, time for bed if he wanted to be at the top of his game for the meeting coming up tomorrow. But his thoughts wouldn't allow him to rest. Thinking of Shani always made him smile, but tonight had been different, almost magical. Something had happened while they'd walked that beach arm in arm, something that Evan hadn't thought he'd ever experience again.
While his hands moved across the canvas as if by habit, adding color to his brush and capturing the sunset, his mind moved into his past, to the last woman to ever capture his attention the way Shani did. Kerry had been a beauty, one of those women blessed with perpetually clear skin, flowing blond hair, sparkling green eyes, and an irrepressible personality. The old cliché of "You had me at hello" definitely applied to how Evan had felt about Kerry. She'd been an unexpected development in his life, one that lasted for several years. With his military career, he'd traveled a lot while moving up in the ranks. But Kerry was always there, always waiting to welcome him home with laughter and warmth. Before long, he began to equate going home with seeing her. His parents and sister had seen the sparks flying between them and weren't surprised when Evan and Kerry announced their engagement.
The military, however, had other ideas. Evan was recruited by the SGC and started traveling on a more regular basis. Kerry moved to Colorado Springs to be near him, and he tried to make life bearable for her in spite of his long absences. She took a job as a real estate agent and settled into the home they now shared. As far as Evan was concerned, the only formality remaining was their wedding. He would have gladly supported her even though she insisted on working and paying half of the bills. With their wedding six months away, he traveled to P3X-403 to assist with a military mining operation, his training as a geologist useful when analyzing the naquadah being mined there. After that horrific experience with the Unas, however, Evan had wanted nothing more than to return home, to see Kerry, and to forget about everything that happened.
But it was not to be. He'd returned to Earth three months early after Daniel Jackson negotiated a peace treaty with the Unas. Kerry hadn't been expecting him, so she didn't meet him. Evan figured that he'd surprise her. He stopped at the grocery store on the way home, buying the largest bouquet of wildflowers he could find. Kerry never cared for roses, and he was okay with that. It made her a little less cliché.
Walking through the front door was something Evan would never forget. He heard sounds coming from their bedroom that he recognized well from the nights he spent with Kerry. Normally, hearing her gasp like that thrilled him, but today it crushed him. Trying to close out the sounds, he tossed the flowers carelessly on the side table and dropped into the couch. At times, he almost got up and walked out rather than listening, but he wanted to make a point to Kerry. Swallowing the nausea, he called on every ounce of willpower that he'd gained on P3X-403 to keep him in place. He was still there when she strolled out of the bedroom, wearing nothing but the silky white robe he'd bought for her during a romantic vacation to Raleigh, North Carolina. She froze mid-step, her shapely leg revealed to him as he just stared at her with tears in his eyes.
It was the last time he'd really cried until he got drunk on Kiah. For that matter, he'd gotten drunk that night, too. He had checked into his quarters at the SGC with a case of beer and then locked himself inside. The next morning, he called Kerry to arrange a meeting. They sat across from one another at O'Malley's and suddenly had nothing to talk about. The sparkle was gone from her eyes, and she was so cold that he wondered if he'd ever known her. He'd asked for the engagement ring back, and she had given it to him that day. He moved out of the home they'd built together, never looking back and never allowing another woman to get that close to him.
Until now.
Evan shook his head as he began to mix the yellow for Shani's gown. He hadn't set out to think about Kerry but it had been unavoidable given the circumstances. His walk with Shani had stirred things he'd thought dead until now. While he had been attracted to Shani for some time, he had never really considered doing much more than spending time with her. She was a great friend, someone he trusted enough to talk to when things got too stressful for him. But the idea of making this relationship anything more, while something he'd entertained, had never been a reality for him. His arguments with Carson aside, Evan had always allowed Shani to keep some distance between them. Even when he and Shani had discussed dating and betrothal, he hadn't made this connection. If he and Shani's relationship continued to grow, it would lead to that.
Did he want to allow himself to be that vulnerable to another woman? While Shani was not Kerry—nor would she ever dream of doing what Kerry had done—he still had to deal with the emotions and questions. He still needed to cope with his past and face those fears before he could move beyond what had happened. Until just now, he hadn't even thought that Kerry's betrayal still lingered.
In his typical pragmatic fashion, Evan began to lay out the pros and cons of his relationship with Shani. Pro: he could talk to her. Con: that kind of talking produced intimacy. Pro: he trusted her. Con: she had the power to betray him. Pro: she was elegant, graceful, and understood the softer, artistic side of him. Con: she was beautiful, and that beauty could be used for her own gain. Pro: she'd been married before. Con. . . .He couldn't think of a con for that. The fact that Shani had been married—to an older man, to boot—and had loved that man until his death showed her faithfulness and trustworthiness quicker than anything else could. For the first time since entertaining this line of thought, Evan finally felt a bit of peace. And a decision.
He wanted something incredibly special with Shani. He thought Kerry had killed a part of him him, but she hadn't. And Shani seemed to be the person to bring it back to life. That decision, and the relief it brought, left him feeling exhausted and ready to sleep. Fortunately for him, the painting was done. On the canvas, Shani faced the sunset, waterpot on her hip as the wind blew her hair and yellow gown to the side in an alluring and utterly elegant sort of way. Sighing deeply, Evan rubbed eyes that had begun to sting and cleaned his brushes. Leaving the painting to dry, he turned to his bed. . . .
And froze. The Satedan sky was tinged pink with dawn. A quick glance to his watch told him that he'd been painting and thinking for the majority of the night. He had a little over three hours before he had to meet with Ronon, Kavanagh, and Sheppard. Perhaps it would be a good idea to get some rest before then.
Decision made, he set the small alarm on his watch and dropped into bed. He drifted to sleep right away and slept soundly for the next two and a half hours.
oOo
"You want to put this drunkard on my team?" As expected, Orsic did not like Ronon and Lorne's request to place Kavanagh on his team. In fact, he'd practically spit in the other man's face.
Lorne exchanged a wary glance with Ronon, who could see the dark circles that indicated the major hadn't slept much in the last couple of nights. "That's right."
"No!" Orsic folded his arms, his bulky frame adding to the obstinate tone in his voice. "My men aren't drunkards."
Kavanagh had clearly had enough of the insults. "Drunkard?"
"You sit here every night," Orsic hissed as he leaned forward, "drinking yourself into a stupor. Why would I want you on my team?"
"Please!" Kavanagh laughed in his face. "I drink a lot less than you do."
"Do you?"
"Yes!"
"So passing out on your table and staying there until Sincha has to drag you out of here is less than me?" Orsic asked. Ronon looked to Kavanagh for an answer, already knowing from Solen that Kavanagh's drunken stupor was an act.
"You have no idea what's going on." Kavanagh's superior tone grated on everyone's nerves, and Lorne sent another warning glance to Ronon. The big Satedan wondered if they'd picked the wrong man after all.
Orsic sat back, his shoulders lifting in an expressive shrug. "Then explain it to me."
"Okay, I will." Kavanagh's ponytail moved against his shoulders as he opened his mouth to speak.
Lorne had clearly had enough. He slammed his hand on the table. "Kavanagh!"
"What?"
"Shut up!"
Ronon, shocked at Lorne's blunt and tactless instructions, choked on his drink. He'd once wondered if a man like Lorne could lead much of anything, but seeing him face down Solen Sincha had banished what doubt had been left in his mind. Now, however, the major actually impressed both Satedans sitting at the table.
Turning to Orsic, Lorne added a tone of patience to his voice. "You agreed to start allowing our men to train with your teams."
"Your men, yes!" Orsic said with a sneer. "This being isn't what I had in mind."
"Oh, yeah?" Lorne asked, his eyebrows rising. "And when you need some Ancestor technology studied so you can get out of a trap? When you need someone who understands what scientists are saying so you can get a non-working DHD fixed? What do you do then?"
Orsic glared at Kavanagh, clearly hating the scientist's superior smirk and attitude. "One false step, Little Man," he said as he rose, "and I will see you humiliated!"
"Looking forward to it." Kavanagh's quiet retort actually impressed Ronon. Not that he would ever admit it.
Orsic snarled. "Be ready at dawn tomorrow." With that final instruction, he stalked out of the tavern.
For several moments, all was quiet. Then, Lorne looked Kavanagh in the eye. "Don't get cocky, Kavanagh. Just find out the information we need and bring it to us."
Rather than replying, Kavanagh pushed out of his chair and stormed out the door. Ronon watched with his own smirk, partially wondering just how long it would take for the scientist to get dead, as Sheppard once said. He was still contemplating that when Lorne snickered.
"That went well."
Ronon rolled his eyes. "Yeah," he agreed with the same dry tone. "How long do you think before. . .?"
"I give it a week. Tops." Lorne rubbed his forehead, clear signs of exhaustion on his features.
Ronon leaned forward. "You okay?"
"Yeah, just didn't sleep well last night."
Taking him at his word, Ronon nodded. "'Cause I wanted. . . .Uh. . .I had a favor to ask."
Lorne straightened, his brow lowering.
Ronon took that as permission to ask. "I kind of need a bigger house."
"Kind of?" Lorne's eyebrows rose again, but a friendly smirk tipped the corners of his mouth upward. "Or you do?"
"I will." Ronon wanted to snarl at the man but knew that Lorne had the responsibility of assigning living quarters based on what the city could support. He'd seen the major dole out the space fairly and with respect to each family's needs. "Olina and I. . . ." He cleared his throat.
Lorne's grin exploded across his face. "There's some homes about a block away from the clinic. They're not much, but they've got potential for adding rooms. It'll take a bit to clear them out, though."
"Sounds good." Ronon stood, prompting Lorne to do so as well. He headed for the door.
"Hey, Ronon?" Lorne's voice stopped him, and he turned. "Congratulations."
Ronon nodded rather than answering and, after a moment, frowned. "Get some sleep."
Lorne chuckled. "I think I will." He left the tavern before Ronon and turned toward his one-room home.
Ronon followed the major at a much slower pace. His thoughts turned to Olina, and he walked through the streets of the city as he considered the previous night's revelations. When he'd made the decision to ask Olina to join with him, he had done so from a point of experience. He'd once had that with Melena and, now that he'd been freed from his Wraith tracker, wanted it again. The biggest change, however, was that he now saw Olina at his side. Her presence after long missions was soothing, and she often had the right thing to say—or not say—when he was angry.
The houses near the clinic were obvious. While still in a state of disrepair, they'd been cleared by the structural engineers, as evidenced by the strips of bright green fabric on the doors. Red meant that the building needed to be torn down. Ronon walked in and out of homes, wondering who had lived here, what had happened to them, and if any of the Satedan survivors had friends or family who had once inhabited these homes. They all had one main room that acted as living room, kitchen, dining area, and office. Two smaller rooms off of a short hallway, along with a shared washroom, completed them. After thoroughly studying each of them, he picked one that reminded him of Olina. Then, he spent the remainder of the day working to bring it back to its full glory. That night, he fell asleep with a grin as he thought about what Olina would think when he showed her.
oOo
Shani and Carson enjoyed a very quiet clinic the next day. They spent it in companionable conversation, with the doctor asking her about her relationship with Evan. Shani did not mind the questions and took great pleasure in telling him of their trip to the beach. Carson smiled indulgently as she raved about the beauty of the place and patted her hand as he went to make more tea. He was happy for her, he said, and Shani believed him.
Around midafternoon, however, the door to the clinic opened, admitting Kevin and Lindsey Marks. The pair looked a bit tense, and she had her hand draped over the small bulge that represented their unborn child. Shani jumped to her feet, a bit concerned over their sudden arrival.
Kevin turned to Carson. "You're sure these devices won't hurt the baby?"
"Aye," Carson assured him with a smile.
Lindsey nodded and swallowed. "We want to help. We really do. But," she paused for a hiccup, "I just worry."
Shani moved forward, putting a hand on her arm. "We will monitor your child closely to prevent anything from going wrong. From what Carson explains to me, this device is not designed to do anything save scan your child."
The couple exchanged long glances before Lindsey nodded decisively. "Okay." She hiccuped again, betraying her tension over the matter.
Carson grinned and turned to Shani. "Would ye get Mrs. Marks set up in the other room?" He nodded assuringly. "Major Marks an' I will be along shortly."
"Of course." Shani escorted her friend into the other room, already mentally preparing for questions. She and Carson had discussed the devices, and he had spent some time with Rodney the night before to start the process of reprogramming them.
Carson walked into the room a short time later, smiling at Lindsey and her new position on the bed. Shani stood next to her friend, holding her hand as she waited for Carson to adjust the collar on his lab coat. He still insisted on wearing the tattered thing when treating patients, and Shani had already ordered the right fabric from Ataliya to make a replacement for him. Now, however, he led Major Marks to the bed.
"Right." His smile lit up the room and immediately put everyone at ease. "This device works to scan a person's DNA to determine whether or not the subject has the ATA gene. Wha' we're doin' here is tryin' to reprogram it to figure out your child's parentage. With the two o' you, it'll be easier because I have DNA profiles for both of you on record."
Kevin frowned. "Wouldn't it tell you that when you took the first scan?"
"No." Now that he was back in his element, Carson looked quite confident, and his voice took on the tone of an instructor. "When scannin' someone for the ATA gene, it's like scannin' a man an' lookin' for the Y chromosome. Every man has one as that determines his gender and doesnae tell us anythin' about who gave the babe his Y chromosome. Or who fathered the girl. Wha' we want to do is take that genetic code an' break it down, lookin' for a match to one specific man. So, knowin' your genetic structure, we can take your wee one's DNA an' break it down to determine how this device here works. Once that happens, it'll be a simple matter o' scannin' the mum an' removin' her portion o' the DNA from the child's genetic code."
"Okay," Kevin said with the same glassy look that Shani imagined Evan would wear.
Lindsey patted her husband's hand. "It's okay, Kevin." She smiled. "I want to help Colonel Sheppard, and I know it will help Carson in the future."
Shani shared another glance with Carson, knowing what the doctor was thinking. If they had another tragedy like when the building collapsed a few weeks ago, Carson would be able to identify the victims. He hated that portion of his job but chose not to focus on it. Shani saw the strain, however, and had been incredibly grateful when the man started taking time to himself. Now, she watched as he activated the device over Lindsey's unborn child and studied the screen in his hand. Another grin started, this one slow and filled with delight.
"What?" Lindsey asked nervously. She hiccuped, no doubt causing the machine to flicker and "spaz," as Rodney had once said around Shani.
Carson's grin widened. "Och, nothin' bad." He met the eyes of worried parents. "Would ye like to know if you're havin' a boy or girl?"
oOo
That evening, Carson wandered into the tavern. He'd gone looking for Sheppard, wanting to touch base with the colonel since Mara had returned to her home planet. He found Sheppard in a corner, nursing a large mug of ale. Zelenka, who manned the bar, caught Carson's eye and held up three fingers. So, the colonel's drinkin' away his troubles.
Settling across the table, Carson allowed himself to study his friend. He liked Sheppard well enough but knew the last months had not been easy. The betrayal on Kiah was the worst that Carson could imagine, and he knew he couldn't understand the emotions and rejection that Sheppard felt. But alcohol was just as poor a substitute for feeling as sleeping around with vindictive women was. "Colonel?"
Sheppard looked up with a start. "Hey, Doc." For what it was worth, he sounded sober.
"How are ye, lad?" Carson propped his elbows on the table and watched as Sheppard contemplated the bottom of his cup and thought over the question.
"Fine," he said after a moment. Glancing up, he grinned. "How'd things go with the Marks?"
"Och, it'll be a while yet," Carson said quietly. He hated giving that sort of news to Sheppard but knew the colonel wouldn't want platitudes. "I promise ye'll be one o' the first to know."
"Good." John shook his head. "Carson, if that kid's mine. . . ." He couldn't continue, the conflict on his face difficult to watch.
"Aye," Carson agreed. He himself had once considered staying with a pretty lass since this chaos had begun. The only thing that stopped him was the thought of his mum's reaction when he did return to Earth. If he ever returned to Earth. That and the constant pressure of caring for the refugees. Now, he was grateful he hadn't taken that step. Otherwise, he could have been in the same boat that Sheppard now found himself.
John sighed. "I suppose this isn't the way to deal with it." He pushed away his mug. "I just can't get over. . . ." Again, he didn't finish his sentence.
Carson sat back in the chair as Zelenka delivered his meal and drink. Pushing the ale to the side, he stared at Sheppard. "Did ye ever think that ye're no' the only one who's hurtin'?"
His soft question caught Sheppard's attention. He blinked. "Who?"
"Teyla." Carson watched the reaction to that. "Colonel, you were betrayed, an' ye have every right to be upset. But Teyla was also betrayed. An' she needs her team leader in fit condition, no' drinkin' himself to sleep each night."
While delivered quietly and in a compassionate tone, that statement seemed to sober Sheppard up a bit. "I guess," he said with a shrug.
Carson smiled, not really hungry after Shani had fed him. He hadn't had the heart to tell Zelenka that and didn't want John to feel like he'd come in here just to drag the colonel home. Now, with John thinking about what he said, he pushed to his feet. "Come on, Colonel. Let's get ye home. Tomorrow, I want ta do a complete physical. I need ye in top condition for that."
"A physical?" Sheppard demanded. But he stood with Carson.
"Aye," Carson said wryly as he steered the man toward the door. "I need a sample o' your DNA for this whole thing, an' I'd like to assess your condition after that knife ye got."
"Oh. Right." John followed him out into the air, and Carson accompanied the man home. Content that Sheppard wouldn't go wandering much in the night, the doctor headed to his own home and bed. It had been a long couple of days, and this latest drama was far from over.
He just wished he could shake the concern that lingered in the corners of his mind.
~TBC