First off, this fic takes place after Rodney's death, ostensibly of natural causes. If that bothers you (Dani!) stop reading. :)

I will say that I tried to have it a feel good ending. Don't know if it comes through or not, but I've had this on my computer since last Christmas, so I think it's time to get rid of it. Right, Dani? Oh right….she might not read this far!

MGM owns SGA. It's unbeta-ed, so all mistakes are my responsibility.

Fluffy Christmas stuff to follow, I hope. Merry Christmas to all.


Dr. Jennifer Keller quickly raised her head up as her daughter walked into the living room, hoping that the younger woman hadn't noticed that she'd been napping. "Is she asleep yet?"

Teylanna sat down heavily in the chair across form her mother and closed her eyes. "Finally." Her blue eyes opened and asked the question of her mother before her mouth did. "Was I ever that bad?"

Jennifer laughed as she carefully tucked a stray strand of graying hair behind her right ear. "You were worse," she informed her daughter with an air of joviality that annoyed the younger woman. "Your father would get you to bed, most likely after five or six false starts, and when you finally fell asleep he would dart all over the city retrieving gifts to put under the tree."

Teylanna smiled as she thought up the image of her father running around the city with a bag full of gifts…her very own Santa Claus in the Pegasus galaxy.

"When you were six he finally figured out a way to make it easier," explained Jennifer, oblivious to the wistful look in her daughter's eyes. "He stored all the gifts in one of his top secret, no one enter or you'll never have hot water again labs and had the Daedalus beam them into our quarters after you fell asleep." Jennifer's nose wrinkled as she remembered something. "Although one year it was the Apollo, and another year it was the Hammond. Whatever ship was around and he could threaten to do it, I suppose." Jennifer adjusted the tiny wire-framed glassed resting on the bridge of her nose and smiled. "He was so mad at himself for not thinking of it sooner."

"I bet he was," sighed Teylanna as her eyes flickered to the picture of her and her father on her graduation day that rested solemnly on the table.

Jennifer noticed and pushed a melancholy sigh past her lips. "I miss him, too," she whispered as she fought to keep her eyes from filling with tears that had come so often in the past eight months.

Teylanna jumped up and rushed over to sit next to her mother. She wrapped her right arm around her mother's shoulders and drew her close. "It's just not the same without him here," she said with a sad sigh of her own.

"No," Jennifer agreed with a sniffle. She coughed to clear her throat and then straightened up. "And he certainly wouldn't want us to be sad on Christmas Eve because of him," she said, the conviction of that belief making her voice strong and crystal clear.

Teylanna leaned back to look at her mother and couldn't help but smile. People always said that her father was stubborn, but they never realized that her mother could be just as bad, or good, depending on the situation.

"You're right, Mom," she said after a moment. She stood up and walked around the coffee table, then turned to face her mother. "I guess we're ready."

Jennifer eased herself up from the couch and made her way around the small table. Once she was standing next to her daughter, Teylanna took a step towards the desk off to her left to retrieve her comm., but stopped when a bright white light flashed around the beautifully decorated Christmas tree. When the light faded away the tree was surrounded by presents of different shapes and sizes and wrapped in different colors of wrapping paper, from a subdued green to a zany blue, yellow and green concoction.

Jennifer looked to Teylanna, and seeing surprise in her daughter's eyes she shrugged to tell her she had no idea what was happening.

Teylanna shrugged back to her mother, then moved to investigate the gifts. She knew before she even got close that they were the gifts that she had hidden in one of the city's storage rooms, just as her father had done many times before. She shook her head and walked quickly over to the desk to get her comm. and placed it in her right ear. She tapped it and said, "Come in Sheppard. This is…"

'We're ready for transport when you are, Tey,' came the voice of her husband and the commander of the John Sheppard. 'Just give the word.'

"You didn't already send it?" she asked, the massive intellect she'd been blessed with by both her mother and father calling up the possible explanations for the sudden and unbidden appearance of the gifts, and then dismissing each one almost immediately.

"Tey," her mother's voice gently beckoned as her husband's voice filtered through the mini speaker in her ear.

'No we haven't sent anything, Tey.' His voice took on an anxious edge and she could practically see him leaning forward in his command chair, ready to pounce the instant he thought there was something to be worried about. 'What's going on?'

"Teylanna."

Teylanna started turning towards her mother at her second summons and out of the corner of her eye, for the briefest of instants, her mother seemed to be enveloped in a light, a shroud of energy so purely white that all she could see was her mother's silhouette. By the time she'd fully turned so that she was facing her mother, there was no sign of any light. Teylanna looked around and saw nothing out of the ordinary, and when her mother simply looked at her with her usual smile upon her lips, she passed it off as a trick of her peripheral vision or imagination.

Jennifer nodded towards the newly arrived gifts, bathed as they were in the multitude of colors being cast off by the lights of the tree. "It's fine, dear," she said, her voice the essence of assurance.

Teylanna could see that her mother truly believed that it was, and she trusted her mother. "Ah, everything is okay here, Sheppard."

'Are you sure, Tey?'

"I'm sure. The gifts are here and I'll see you bright and early. Love you. Out." She reached up and quickly killed the line, knowing that her husband would be pissed and she would have some serious making up to do eventually. But right now the more important thing to her was her mother and the serene look upon her face.

"If you don't mind, I think I should turn in for the night." When her daughter's face became worried Jennifer held up her hand and said, "I'm fine, just a little tired. It's getting late and it's been a long day."

Teylanna cursed herself for forgetting that her mother was over sixty years old and had only earlier that day traveled to Atlantis from Earth via the Stargate. Her mother was the picture of health, but a day as long as she'd had would make anyone tired. "Of course, Mom," she said as she walked towards her mother. She wrapped her arms around her mother's shoulders and pulled her into a warm hug. She knew her mother would be angry if she'd started apologizing so she said, "Of course I don't mind." She eased back from her mother and found her brown eyes to be clear and alert despite her declaration of being tired. "I'm going to turn in soon, too." Her smile turned into a dry one, and with a glance towards her child's door she added, "I imagine it's going to be an early morning."

Jennifer laughed and nodded knowingly at her daughter. "That has been my experience. Good night, dear."

Teylanna released her mother and returned the sentiment. "Good night, Mom." She watched her mother make her way to the guest room, and when she was about to enter it something within Teylanna compelled her to say, "Mom?" When Jennifer looked back at her Teylanna said, "I'm so glad you're here."

Jennifer smiled lovingly at her daughter. "Me too, Tey. I wouldn't have missed it for anything."

Teylanna returned her mother's smile as the latter woman went into her room and closed the door. Teylanna stared at the door for a moment, then checked the time- 2347 hours- before turning to regard the gifts and contemplating their mysterious appearance.


Four hours later Teylanna gingerly and as quietly as possible made her way through the darkened living room towards the kitchen. Her eyes were still half-filled with sleep and her mind was only partly aware of what her body was doing. After seeing her mother off to bed, she'd spent the better part of three hours going over sensor logs and city diagnostics trying to determine how the gifts had arrived under the tree.

Without success.

And during those three wasted hours she'd downed so much water that five minutes ago she'd had to leave the warm sanctuary of her bed and use the washroom. And, of course, after leaving the bathroom she found herself thirsty again, necessitating her current trek to the kitchen. She took a bottle of water from the fridge and headed back towards her room, sparing only a glance at the tree and the booty resting beneath the branches as she passed by.

Teylanna opened the bottle and took a mouthful of water as she walked through the living room, and as she finished tightening the cap on the bottle she froze. Her heart began thumping an increasingly loud drumbeat in her chest and her breathing quickened at the sight of an unearthly white glow peeking out into the living room underneath the door to the guest room- her mother's room.

The bottle dropped to the floor and bounced away from her as she bolted to the door. She passed her hand over the sensor that should have opened the door three times without success, and then put both hands on the cold door and leaned close to it to listen for any sounds coming from inside.

Nothing.

Her left hand stayed on the door as she moved back to face it. She drew her right arm upwards, making a fist with her hand that she intended to bang against the door to get her mother's attention. She was just about to slam the door when her left hand suddenly became warm.

Teylanna's eyes widened as the area where her hand was touching the door turned white. She opened her mouth to yell out to her mother, but when the light leeched through the door and onto her hand the only word that came from her mouth was, "Dad?"

Her hand glowed as the light enveloped it, and she knew. She could easily feel the warmth of her father's love, his pride in her and his promise to always be with her.

Tears formed in Teylanna's eyes, though they didn't fall until a minute later when the light began to slide off her hand and back through the door into her mother's room.

She wanted to call out to him, to beg him not to leave, but her rational mind was still holding on enough to know that he couldn't.

As the last vestiges of light disappeared from the door, leaving it and her hand once again dark and cold, Teylanna looked down to see the already bright light underneath he door intensify.

Teylanna caressed the door where the light had been and then reluctantly removed her hand. She smiled, and after taking in a shaky breath she whispered with all the love she felt, "Merry Christmas, Mom…and Dad."