Chapter 13: This is not a quickie wedding
"You want to get married right now?" John asked in surprise.
"I do," I announced firmly. "We have everything we need to do this now. And the beauty of it is that the IOA doesn't get a say in it. It'll be completely legal and we can do whatever other paperwork we have to do before we go back to Atlantis." When John looked at me apparently speechless I rushed in to words again. "Look, we don't have to do this now if you had something else in mind. We can send the celebrant guy home and just enjoy the dinner I organised. I just thought ... when you said you hoped I wouldn't want to wait that long that ..."
John put a gentle hand to my mouth to halt my rambling speech. "I am ... amazed that you did this by yourself," John's eyes shone with emotion. "And I'll marry you any time you want ... but ..."
"But what?" I asked worriedly, suddenly nervous that I'd messed the whole thing up.
The fear of rejection surprised me ... I knew John loved me but putting myself on the line was tougher than I'd realised it would be. Only then did I think about how I'd feel if John put this off, if he said thanks but not right now ... because I was feeling it right then. Scared, vulnerable, foundations shaken, pride in danger of being stamped into the ground. It was a struggle but I met John's gaze bravely, trying to show him I was confident that what I'd proposed was the right thing for both of us.
"But I need to make sure this really is what you want," John returned insistently, his expression suddenly serious. "That you're not just doing this because of what happened with Walker."
"Why would that have anything to do with it?" I asked defensively, turning away from him.
"Sabina," John drew me back around, bending his head low so he could see my expression. "Getting married is as big a distraction as you can get!" Noticing my hurt look John squeezed my hands tightly, his expression determined. "You can't blame me for questioning your haste here ... you've gone from hardly being able to say the word 'wedding' without shuddering and describing us getting married as a long time in the future event to wanting to get married only a week after we got engaged!"
"I know it seems sudden," I met his eyes intently, letting him see every expression as I tried to reassure him. "And maybe, indirectly, my experience with Walker has changed my outlook but not in a negative way. This isn't about distracting myself or trying to pretend what happened didn't happen. I just ... I realised when it seemed I might not make it just how important forging a life ... a family ... with you is to me. And I'm certain ... one hundred percent ... that right now is the time for us to get started. I don't want to waste any more time ... do you?"
"We haven't been wasting time," John countered, letting go of my hands and turning to look at the room ... and the setting that awaited us. He stood for a moment, thinking over what I'd said before glancing at me again. "What about our friends? Your team? You sure you want to get married without them here to witness it? We're only gonna do this once."
"They'll understand," I said simply. "Besides Teyla, Ronon and Rodney will all be here in a few minutes."
"You invited them?" John asked, surprised.
"Of course," I returned with a hint of impatience creeping into my voice. "I know I should have asked if there was anyone else you'd want at our wedding but ... there wasn't any time and I really wanted this to be a surprise." I gave him a moment to digest than and then spoke. "So - are we getting married or what?"
"Yes," John said simply, taking my hand and pulling me into his tight embrace. We stood united like that until our attention was drawn away and we shifted to greet our guests. Team Sheppard had arrived, announcing their presence by crowding, noisily in Rodney's case, in the doorway.
"Hi guys," I greeted them, still feeling nervous. "Teyla – you look fantastic!" I smiled in delight, glad the black dress we'd picked out that morning looked as good as I'd remembered. Even Rodney and Ronon had dressed up, Rodney in a suit and Ronon in a sports jacket that actually fit quite nicely - no idea how they'd gotten that but I was sure it would be thanks to Teyla!
"This is a surprise," Rodney said with faint amusement.
"Before you say anything," I jumped in, "this is not a quickie wedding so don't you dare mention Elvis or any other dead musicians!"
"I wasn't going to," Rodney protested. "I was actually going to say I was surprised you didn't just run off and do this and then tell us about it later."
"Believe me I was tempted," I smiled to take the sting from my words. "But we need witnesses – why use strangers when we've got you guys?"
"So John has agreed to these arrangements?" Teyla asked.
"I have," John spoke for himself, thankfully not mentioning the fact that I'd had to work to convince him. "I take it you helped Sabina with all this?"
"It was an enjoyable morning, made more so by the end result," Teyla excused, glancing around the room happily.
"I don't mean to rush everyone but I only hired this guy for an hour so we need to get on with it," I said, smiling weakly when the others laughed.
oOo
Minutes later John and I stood before the celebrant, Teyla, Ronan and Rodney forming a half circle behind us. It was a standard ceremony with standard, traditional words because I hadn't had time to think about tailoring anything, but it was perfect.
I'd managed to find a simple wedding band for myself, my tastes ensuring it would look good with John's mother's ring even though I hadn't seen it beforehand. I'd also decided to get a matching ring for John – I had no idea if he'd want to wear one but the whole idea of a ceremony seemed to call for it and in the end it didn't really matter if John's ring ended up in the top draw.
We exchanged our rings, each of us unable to contain our smiles at the joy of what we were doing. When the celebrant announced that John and I were husband and wife I couldn't contain the huge grin that took over my face. I threw myself into that first kiss as married people too, not caring about any etiquette associated with the tradition of it.
Breaking away I smiled up at John. "You're mine now," I told him in a low tone, well pleased with that fact.
"Back at you," John returned with a grin, leaning down to press a firm kiss to my lips.
And then it was time to get the kudos from our witnesses.
"You did good," Ronon hugged me close, giving his approval not just to the marriage but also to the way I'd gone about it
"Thank you," I squeezed him tight. Ronon moved on to the usual 'lift him off the ground' bear hug with John as I turned to Rodney expectantly.
"Congratulations ... Mrs Sheppard," Rodney grinned smugly, knowing he was the first person to refer to me like that.
"I still haven't decided about that," I murmured as Rodney hugged me quickly before stepping aside to let Teyla have her turn.
"Is it not customary here for a woman to change her name after marriage?" Teyla asked.
"I'm impressed that you know so much about Earth customs," I complimented. "These days women don't always change their names – it depends on the circumstances."
"And are you gonna change yours?" Rodney asked curiously.
"Like I said, I hadn't thought about it," I looked over at John with a raised eyebrow, remembering how he'd joked earlier about giving me the incentive.
"It's entirely up to you," he replied to my unspoken question. "I don't mind admitting that it'd be nice but I'd understand if you wanted to keep the Scott."
"I rarely even think of myself as anything other than just 'Sabina'," I said thoughtfully. "Sabina Sheppard does have a nice ring to it though, doesn't it? I guess I could get used to that." I looked at John, returning his silly pleased grin with one of my own.
"It might cause confusion on Atlantis if someone's yelling out 'Sheppard!'," Rodney quipped, making John's name sound like a reprimand.
"If they say it in that tone I'll know straight away it's John," I smiled in amusement. "He's the one always getting into trouble."
"I am sure we will all adjust once you have taken John's name," Teyla said simply, bringing my attention back to her.
"Thank you for helping with this," I told her gratefully.
"It was my pleasure," Teyla reached out and drew me down to her for an Athosian forehead embrace. Straightening she added "you made a wonderful bride."
"And you made a wonderful brides assistant," I replied. "Thank you for being our witnesses," I encompassed the three of them in that statement. "I guess we should move on to dinner."
I didn't keep any of the other wedding customs either – no bouquet to throw, no wedding cake to cut – and it was the best wedding dinner I'd ever gone to. And not just because it was my own! John and I had people there important to both of us and we'd focussed on the essentials. I'd have to make it up to Major Lorne and the others when we got back to Atlantis but I knew in the end they'd just be happy for us ... after they'd finished pretending to be mad of course.
It had been a big day and despite my afternoon nap I found myself running out of steam earlier than I would have expected.
"Time to go," John announced when he caught me yawning for the third time in as many minutes. "Feel free to hang around," he told his team, putting an arm around me and guiding me towards the door.
"Bye," I called out to them, gratefully letting John support me into the corridor and all the way back to our room.
"What are you doing?" I yelped in surprise when he stopped at the door and then picked me up.
"It's tradition," he laughed, carrying me over the threshold.
"A very strange one," I mumbled, giggling when John dropped me down on the bed before throwing himself down beside me.
"Hello Mrs Sheppard," he leant over me with serious intent, pressing light kisses across my cheek.
"Hello Mr Sheppard," I replied, pushing my hands into his hair so I could make those light kisses into something with more impact.
Should I resort to cliques and tell you our first married sex really did have that extra edge because we'd made the ultimate legal commitment?
It did.
Something of that must have come through because the Ancient necklace I still wore glowed it's blue light into the darkened room right at that key moment – it hadn't done that since we'd completed the vinculum and I could only surmise that somehow it knew we'd finally lived up to the connection we'd made all those months ago.
oOo
"You got married and you didn't invite me?" Daniel tried to look affronted by that. His team were still off on individual assignments and he was still looking for that elusive Ark, a project that was clearly going to take him a long time to complete.
I could hardly believe our holiday was over and that we'd be heading back to Atlantis that afternoon. We'd returned to the SGC the day before after finishing up in Vegas and making a trip of the drive back. I'd tried to catch up with Daniel as soon as we'd arrived but he'd been out of the mountain and in the end I only had the hour before our scheduled departure to say my goodbyes.
"It was spur of the moment," I excused. "You can come to the reception thing we're having back on Atlantis – assuming General Landry approves the extra gate travel."
"Smart," Daniel said approvingly. "Holding a big party back there should divert everyone away from the fact that you got married without telling anyone."
"It was John's idea," I admitted, falling silent as Daniel looked at me. "John told me how you helped him when I was ...," I stopped, not sure what word to use, not that it mattered because Daniel knew exactly what I was talking about. "I know I didn't say much the day after when I called you ... but it wasn't because I didn't appreciate it. Thank you."
"I only wish I could have done more," Daniel excused the need of thanks. "How are you doing – really?"
"Better than I could have hoped for," I said honestly. "I have moments, flashes of memory but already I can feel it sinking into the background."
"Having the perpetrators punished, not to mention going off and getting married, would have helped," Daniel suggested.
"The break did me good," I agreed, getting reluctantly to my feet when I saw the time to depart was fast approaching. "As always these visits never seem long enough. I really hope you can come to Atlantis soon."
"Me too," Daniel stood and actually pulled me into a hug before stepping back. "Take care."
"You too," I smiled and then turned to leave. "Good luck with the Ark ... Indiana."
oOo
"Colonel," General Landry stood at the bottom of the Stargate ramp to see us off. "We should have a decision from the IOA within a few days regarding the new leadership. Until then, you remain in charge on Atlantis."
"Yes Sir," John replied with a slight grimace.
"Walter, dial the Gate," Landry called up the control room. Turning back to us he added "congratulations once again on your marriage. I'm sure that'll make your return home interesting." The faint sparkle in his eye reassured me that he really did approve the sudden turnaround from us wanting things done on Atlantis to doing them on Earth. And I'm sure the fact that Richard Woolsey had tried to find some kind of loop hole to give the IOA approval rights ... and failed, had nothing to do with it.
"I'm sure it'll cause a stir for a few days," John dismissed. "Until something more interesting comes along."
"Of course," Landry agreed. We all turned as the wormhole stabilised. "Ronon, Teyla, Doctor McKay – thank you for coming here on such short notice to assist us," he nodded to each of them in turn, and then to John and I. "Colonel Sheppard. Mrs Sheppard."
I did one of those little 'yes I am awake' jolts when he called me by my new name, all legal and everything. "Gotta get used to that," I muttered, before pasting a smile on my face. "Thank you for everything General," I said gratefully. "I hope you'll be able to make it to Atlantis for the reception – once we've organised it."
With all the pleasantries concluded and nothing further to say we all picked up our bags and walked through the Stargate.
oOo
"Welcome home Colonel," Major Lorne said respectfully, waiting near the Gateroom stairs for our return. "Colonel Caldwell is readying the Daedalus for takeoff and said he'll meet with you at fourteen hundred hours." Glancing at me he smiled. "Sabina - you look ... relaxed."
"Thank you Major," John looked at me with a mischievous grin.
"John," I tried to put a warning into my tone because I knew he was about to spill the beans, big time.
"Yes Mrs Sheppard?" John asked, taking delight in the open mouthed surprise that overtook Evan's face. "That's right Major – you haven't been introduced to my wife."
Author's Note:
Apologises for another delayed post ... this last part on Earth has given me no end of grief but it's done now (breathes a sigh of relief). So, were you surprised I married them off at the beginning of season four like this? Maybe not, but I hope it wasn't too predictable!!!
Next Up? Fortunate Journey Season 4 Chapter 14