Vegas: Resistance4
"As modest stillness and humility:"
The three children are settled at last, after running around the back yard and playing, after exploring their rooms and creating a mess of the unpacking of their clothes and toys. After dinner they have cuddled with their parents on the couch, but one by one they drop off to sleep, and John dutifully carries each child to their respective beds and tucks them in under the blankets. The temperatures dip quite low at night and John makes sure the heat is running through the house and that the windows are tightly shut and all is well.
John walks through the house, making certain all is secure, although there is no immediate threat. The Wraith have been neutralized, and what pockets of their species that still exist are being systematically hunted down and slaughtered. John knows that not all of them will be found, but he is confident that the planet is no longer in any danger. He is confident that life can continue in this new world, with half of its former population and the reforming of the continents.
He pauses on the threshold to the family room. Moira is sitting on the couch, ever present laptop on her knees as she works now that the children are in bed. Her gaze is pensive, solemn as she types and reads, changes windows, clicks and chews on her lower lip. She is engrossed in her work and doesn't feel her husband's gaze on her.
Moira softly sighs. Every prognostication is the same. The world is changing inexorably.
John suddenly plops down beside her, startling her. He snatches the laptop and sets it on the table in front of them. "That bad?" he asks.
Moira meets his gaze, shrugs. "There's no good news, I'm afraid. Are they all asleep?"
"Yeah, well, two outta three." He smiles. "Seamus is pretending so we can expect him to creep out here in a few. Silly boy."
"Gee, I wonder where he gets that from?" Moira teases. She snuggles into John as his arm slides around her and draws her close.
"I have no idea," John deadpans, but he smiles. He strokes her arm, softly kisses her brow. "So?"
"So?" she echoes. She is content in his arms, in the house. She enjoys the quiet and just being with him, away from everyone else. She catches his hand in hers, gently strokes his forearm, her nails gently scraping the dark hair.
"They will be offering to decommission me soon, I think. I could go back to being a detective."
"You never left doing that, John, not really." She closes her eyes, secure in his warmth, his solidity. "Is that what you want?"
"Hell if I know, Moy." He frowns, staring at nothing. "You think we should leave Vegas?"
"No."
"No? Okay. I'm just saying if you wanted to leave we could now."
"There's no need, John. Not yet, anyway. Things will stabilize for a few years, but it won't last."
"And then?" He debates if he should tell her the other job offer he has had. It is a turning point and he knows it. It is an opportunity, an adventure, but he worries about the huge disruption it would cause in all of their lives. Hearing a little giggle he smiles. He turns his head to see his younger son standing near the couch, all smiles. "Hey, sport! Whatcha doin', Seamus?"
"Hi daddy! I doin' nuttin!"
Moira opens her eyes, sighs. "I wish you wouldn't teach him to talk like that," she complains.
"Why not? It's our code. Come on, buddy."
Seamus runs to them and climbs onto the couch. He settles comfortably between his parents, holding onto his plush blue elephant. "Daddy, daddy, I wanna see!"
"You wanna see what, buddy? You should be asleep."
"I wanna see the lights in sky!"
"Oh. Yeah. Okay. Moira?"
"Fine, but after that, young man, you need to go to bed." She kisses the little boy, reluctantly moves free of John's arm. "I will go check on the other two. Don't keep him up too late, John."
"We'll just watch the lights and head to bed. Wait up for me, Moy." He smiles, his meaning obvious as his gaze peruses her as she stands. He raises his brows in case she doesn't get the message.
Moira smiles. "Then don't be too late, detective, or you won't be able to serve that warrant." She kisses him, kisses the little boy again. "Not too late now, gentlemen."
John stands, lifting his son to his arms. He carries the child outside. He stands on the front porch then walks down the sidewalk. It is a still, quiet night. There are only a few others living in the neighborhood, and the streetlights are dimmed to an amber glow. A soft breeze ruffles John's hair and ruffles the little boy's hair but there is a chill in it as the temperature begins to drop.
The sky is full-on dark now. The lights from Vegas a mere glimmer. They are not as bright or as brazen as they once were, and never would be again. Stars glitter in the blackness, creating a canopy of sparkle that curves with the horizon.
"Daddy, daddy, when?" Seamus asks, staring up at the sky. He feels cold in his blue and red pajamas but his father is warm and he holds onto his favorite toy, content.
"In a few, sport. You gotta wait for it. See? Look!"
An aurora flashes. It is a pale wash of light against the dark. A trembling wave that is gone mere seconds after its appearance. But it is quickly followed by more. Waves of red and green light that dance and spiral in the sky. Auroras are a common occurrence now, even this far south from the Pole, and while the scientists can explain all about them and the altered Van Allen belt and the magnetic field of the Earth being changed Seamus only knows that the lights are pretty and he likes to look at them dancing in the sky.
John watches the auroras with his son. Both are silent, as the breeze whistles around them and the lights come and go. Seamus holds onto his father with one little hand, making sounds as he smiles. John holds him close, gaze darting from the lights to scan the dark neighborhood. There is no movement. There are no sounds. All is secure and safe.
It is just another quiet night on planet Earth.
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Rodney runs a hand through his thinning hair. He stands at the computer console, staring at the blank screen. He has turned it off at last but still stands there, as if at a loss as to what to do. He is relieved that communications have been restored, that most of the network is up and running. Satellites are working again. The internet is alive and functioning. Even television programs are running again.
There are just less people now to watch them.
He lifts a clipboard and peruses the long list of requisitions and demands he must approve or reject. Even after the defeat of the Wraith he must be on alert for any new threats to the planet. But he thrives under duress and excels at his job, even under pressure.
"Rodney?"
He turns and smiles as Katie McKay enters the room. The botanist makes her way to her husband, navigating past chairs and tables. It is an awkward journey as she is heavily pregnant and expecting their first child any day now. "Katie. I'm just about done here."
"Good. I don't want to have the baby here. As much as I trust Carson I would prefer to have the baby in a proper hospital."
"If you insist," Rodney jokes, and sets down the clipboard. "We can go to the city tonight and stay for a few days. John's already taken his brood home for a bit."
"In that case we can take a few days too, Rodney. Let someone else save the planet, okay? I'm sure that Weir will handle everything in your absence."
"Yes, I'm sure she will," he agrees, but he shrugs. "Or Lorne. It's just…"
Katie takes his arm, shaking her head. "I know…you have to be in charge, don't you? Ever since Woolsey…well…you feel responsible. You shouldn't, Rodney. Now let's go home, all right? I'm sure the universe can get by for a few days without you."
"Well, if you're sure…" He lets her lead him out of the office, but he glances back at the computers and equipment, as if loath to leave them. As if his absence will somehow precipitate another disaster, when in fact he has caused a few by opening the rift.
It's not every man who can say he has altered his own planet's evolution.