Homecoming Heroes by catescorner

Well, after a slight delay, here's the chapter that I was hoping to post yesterday. So, Family Lorne, and Team Sheppard, are stuck in a bunker during an earthquake. And the lights are out. There's going to be a lot of dangerous damage too. Time for our favourite heroes to swing into action!

Enjoy!

Homecoming Heroes

Chapter Nine - The First Duty

John Sheppard couldn't remember a time when such a short space of time had passed so slowly. The 'quake had lasted for just thirty three seconds, but… damn, it had felt more like thirty three hours. And being plunged into pitch darkness had done nothing to ease McKay's already frayed nerves.

They'd come through it, though. They were shaken, literally, and some were more stirred than others. But as torches and light-sticks restored some sense of normality, even Rodney started to settle down – relieving his stress and anxiety, as he always did, through his equally insatiable need for knowledge.

"Was - Was that the San Andreas? I mean, it didn't feel like the big one, but it was still… well… big."

Seeing this flurry of questions and opinions for what they were, Evan smiled, and shook his head.

"No, if it's just affected this part of Berkeley, it's more likely to be the Hayward," he said at last, letting the smile widen, just ever so slightly, for the startled 'you-know-that-how?' glance that Rodney threw towards him. He'd never crow over it, like McKay did, but… yeah, that geology degree still came in handy sometimes. Especially after an earthquake.

Instead, he slipped back into the role that formed the greater, more natural part of his character - keeping protective hands on his nephews' shoulders while he checked through the rest of his family.

"It was still one hell of a jolt, though… is everyone okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good," Rodney nodded, interrupting him before he'd even finished asking the question – meeting five gently exasperated glares with his patented 'what?' face of puzzled ignorance.

"Yes, Evan, we're fine too," Teyla assured him, studying Torren with the same, gently amused smile. From Wraith assaults to earthquakes, and everything else in between… yes, her son slept through them all.

Smiling too, at such familiar resilience, Evan then reached for a nearby radio – all amusement vanishing from his face, and those around him, as the first, patchy reports came through. Its scale as yet unknown, the 'quake had hit central Berkeley, before migrating up into the hills. And when John's voice finally broke the silence, it expressed the relief, and gratitude, that all of them felt.

"Sounds like we got away pretty lightly."

"Yeah, it could have been a lot worse. But there's still going to be a lot of damage," Evan agreed, turning back to Andy and Kevin, dropping onto his heels to give them a soft but unmistakeable order. "Okay, we can move out now, but you know the drill… you stay behind me, 'til I say it's safe… okay?"

Giving two sombrely nodding heads a gentle ruffle, Evan grabbed several more lightsticks, and a sat-phone, from the shelf behind him, before striding back to the main hatch. A proud smile widened, before he even had to look, as John and Ronon took their places beside him. Some people would call it teamwork. He'd call it true brotherhood in arms.

A testing shove met with promisingly little resistance, but that didn't make them any less cautious. And the unique understanding that had kept them alive through so much in the past served them just as well now. Torchbeams found the hazards ahead of them, lightsticks marked their positions, while careful hands cleared the worst of the debris.

With sighs of relief on all sides, they finally arrived at the front door, that led out onto the road – the devastation that met their eyes outside every bit as extensive, and shocking, as they'd expected. And as Evan's radio now inevitably reported, the damage in Berkeley itself was much, much worse – the appeals for help that followed throwing him into the equally familiar conflict between duty and his family.

But as his mother calmly pointed out, they'd managed without him before. They'd do the same now.

"If they're calling in off duty personnel, Evan, it must be bad. They'll need you too," she said gently, smiling up at him, and so lifting the burden of duty and torn priorities from her son's shoulders. "Get to be where you can do the most good. Don't worry, we'll be fine."

"Yeah, if we can't come with you, then me and McKay can help out here instead," Ronon agreed, glaring at his fellow volunteer, until Rodney caught the hint, and wisely nodded his agreement.

Without any kind of prompting, Carson and Jennifer were also determined to play their part too.

"Aye, son, there'll be casualties in those buildings. People needin' our help."

"Yes, count me in too. In these situations, you can never have too many doctors," Jenn agreed, earning her two proudly grateful grins as Evan and John nodded, their priorities now settled.

"Okay, I'll get Doug to meet us in People's Park, and he can fly us in," Evan said at last, crouching down onto his heels, to offer two anxious nephews the brightest smile he could manage. "Now, you guys stay here, and do everything your mom, and grandma tell you to do… okay?"

Even as two loyally nodding heads answered him, Evan still needed something more to lift a still heavy heart. And as he'd found, so many times when he'd needed it the most, nothing did it better than his kids.

"We will, Uncle Evan. And we'll take care of Uncle Rodney too."

"Yeah, I bet you will," Evan chuckled, ruffling Andy's hair, and cherishing the expression on Rodney's face, before turning back to his new team. "The park's not far from here. It'll be quicker to walk, especially if the roads are bad."

Watching them head out into pitch black darkness, Ellie Lorne kept her head proudly, and inspiringly, high – the words of another, equally brave woman ghosting through the voice of a silently anxious mother.

"Be safe."