John's Point of View:

Atlantis had never gotten back to the Pegasus Galaxy. It had required some major adjustments for Ronon Teyla and Kanaan but we'd helped them out. They had been given a home and had jobs at the SGC with proper paychecks so they could afford to live there. It was a nice place to, near the SGC in Colorado with a front porch and a white picket fence that Teyla adored, even if she wouldn't admit it out loud. We'd all stuck fairly close by if we were honest, no more than an hours drive apart from each other so we could all scramble for the SGC if needs be. My team had been kept together and we were officially designated SG-5, since a lot of their members had recently been killed when they'd encountered a few remaining Ori priors that hadn't been hunted down - they were suprisingly good at hiding and had eluded our teams for years before we caught up with them. It was one of those weekends where we had downtime though, and since it was someones birthday we thought that this was a good weekend to book off together and a good excuse to get the barbecue out...which is currently why I was standing in the garden infront of the grill, casually flipping over the burgers and turning the hot dogs so they cooked evenly. It was fall and the orange, red and yellow leaves from the tree in the corner of our backyard were all neatly bagged down the alleyway beside our house to keep the garden clear. The grass had been cut and bagged up too so it was all neatly trimmed and ready for guests, not that there would be many of course but she was rather house proud. We hadn't really had much time for the garden but we'd had a few plants planted in the flower beds and a concrete bit at the back to put a picnic bench on that she painted every few months to keep it a fresh burnt orange. There were already bowls of nacho chips and dips set out.

There was a rather loud and noisy greeting from the house, a simple enough but well decorated three bedroom house that I knew she took pride in to keep it looking as good as she did, even with her busy schedule as a full time Doctor now in the SGC infirmary.
"Uncle John!" a little voice cried out. Turning I saw Torren (eight years old and looking a lot like his mother) sprinting flat out towards me. I readied myself quickly for the impact and chuckled as I gave him a squeeze,
"Hey kiddo! How are you?" I questioned, closing the lid on the barebecue and ruffling his hair with a smile.
"Great thanks!" he chirped, "Mom and dad are coming out now...George!" Torren bounded off again quite quickly as George came rushing out, a brand new football clutched in his hands. A smile formed on my face as I watched him cheekily grin in my direction and give me a wave before running a little furthur down the garden to play with Torren - he'd gotten his cheekiness from his mother. George was seven and a year younger than Torren but the pair were thick as thieves, going to the same school and going to similar clubs. George definitely had my hair, dark and floppy and a tad all over the place when he first woke up but his grey eyes were perfect replicas of his mothers, a mother who I hadn't seen despite having greeted Teyla and Kanaan in the garden.

Opening up the lid of the barbecue I checked to make sure the food wouldn't burn before deciding to check on her. Wondering through the house until I found her by the stairs, her eyes closed as she exhaled slowly and clutching the bannister tightly. The scars criss crossing her hands were far more pronounced with the intensity of her grip and I gently covered her hand, giving it a light squeeze and softly calling her name. All around us were pictures of a seven year legacy, images of all the good times from the moment George was born to the holiday we'd had at the beginning of the year in London. Tegan slowly squeezed my hand back, opening her eyes and shaking her head slightly,
"Sorry...of all the days for it to happen..." she sighed. Hand trailing up her arm I cupped her cheek, thumb brushing over her cheek bone lightly,
"Don't be sorry." I said quietly, pulling her into my arms and kissing her gently. She'd been my wife for seven years and I knew the signs of her flashbacks by now. "Will you be alright today?" I asked her, letting my forehead rest against hers. She drew in a deep breath and pressed another kiss to my lips,
"Stick close by and I might be." she mumbled, a small smile gracing her face. Chuckling I nodded my head and hummed in agreement,
"Then I need to make sure I don't burn the burgers." I informed her. Tegan pushed me away slightly with a shake of her head,
"I'll follow you out, don't burn my dinner." she warned playfully.

Laughing slightly I feigned an insulted look before leading her back out to the garden, watching her sit herself by Teyla and engross herself in conversation to keep her mind off of the events that had scarred her so thoroughly seven years ago. Piling up the well cooked burgers and sausages onto their plates I placed them on the hotplates so they wouldn't go cold and moved onto cooking the chicken drumsticks. Our garden was alive with sound, whether it was the boisterous entrance of the Mckay's (since Rodney and Keller were married last year and were now both Doctor Mckay, more confusing than it needed to be in times of crisis) or the sound of Tegan's laughter as she spoke to our friends over the cries of delight George and Torren let loose as they played catch. Ronon came strolling down the side entrance (no doubt having hopped the gate) about five minutes after them and joined the boys in their game. We'd all grown older, wiser, and we'd all suffered enough that we'd earned the right to enjoy this moment of serenity in our busy lives. Kids kept you on your toes but both Tegan and me were adamant that George was the best little accident that ever could have happened. We laughed and joked, cried and bickered, but even years on I still loved Tegan with every ounce of my being. This was was what love was supposed to feel like, this was what family was. George had come to a panting stop beside me and I could hear Torren politely asking for some OJ behind me. Looking down at him I smiled, moving to pick him up and rest him on my hip. He was getting a bit big for it now but I could still just about manage to hold him.

George smiled down at me and held onto my shoulder for balance, letting me kiss his cheek affectionately. My son was my world, there was nothing I wouldn't do for him and I understood now why Teyla had insisted I'd understand why she did some of the things she did when I was a parent myself. George closely resembled me but if you looked closely you could still pick out Tegan in a few of his features, his eyes for one and the shape of his nose was all her and I often wondered how we'd managed to create such perfection. He balled his fist into my shirt, clenching and unclenching his hand as he toyed with the fabric, grey eyes shining with curiousity,
"Daddy? I saw mommy holding the stairs again, why does she do that?" he asked, the innocence radiating off of him in waves. Tegan knew he'd spot it one day, knew he'd notice and ask questions like any kid would and so we had the story prepared. Humming under my breath I turned the chicken over, trying to hide the fact that my stomach had swooped nauseously and the topic still made my palms sweat with anxiety,
"Mommy...met a very bad man when she was little, and he did bad things to her because he thought hurting people was good. But mommy was stronger than he was, and with daddy's help she made the bad man go away. But sometimes mommy remembers the bad things he did and it upsets her. That's why mommy holds the stairs sometimes...but she doesn't want you seeing her sad, so puts all of the bad memories under the stairs where she can't see them so she can be happy for you." I told him, my voice slightly thick with unshed emotion.

George's brow furrowed and he glanced at his mother over my shoulder, making me look over aswell to see Tegan watching us lovingly,
"Mommy looks happy now." he reasoned, "Did the bad man go to prison?" he wondered. Smiling slightly I tried not to remember how good I had felt while putting a bullet through Murdale's brain, not something I wanted to expose my son.
"Yes." I answered finally, "The bad man went to prison." George nodded firmly, a serious look crossing his little face,
"Good, because we're a team and nobody hurts us, right?" a smile lit up my face and I laughed,
"Too right buddy, nobody hurts us." I agreed, putting him down as he got heavy. Ruffling his hair I gave his shoulder a squeeze, "Now go tell mommy that I'm bringing the food over." I requested, seeing his little face light up. He was no doubt eager to get some food as he scurried towards the table towards Tegan. She sat him on the bench beside her and kissed the top of his head, sending me a smile as I used the tea towel to pick up the hot plates of food. It may have taken me two galaxies and a divorce to do it, but I had finally found the reason I had been fighting so hard all of these years. She was sitting to my left as I grabbed myself a burger and loaded it up with some sauce and salads.

Tegan's Point of View:

It came back in flashes, like a punch to the gut that stole my air suddenly and left me winded. Sometimes it was over in seconds - sometimes it was painfully long minutes. The bad days were getting fewer and fewer though, especially as George grew up and created more happy memories for me to recall when I felt low. My favourite thing to remember in those times was how I had felt when we had brought George home for the first time. He had slept peacefully for the car ride, slept just as peacefully as we carried him inside and set him down in his moses basket, and we had just stood and stared at him for what felt like hours, John's warm arm around my waist and his cheek pressed against my hair. As exhausted as I was I had never been happier, and George was a gift that kept on giving. Going back into the field wasn't for me, and I had made the right choice when I chose to go into nursing. Seven years of training with Jennifer (formerly Keller now Mckay) and medical school and I was now a fully qualified Doctor working in the SGC infirmary to help the programme I loved. George was a big boy now at seven years old and currently staying with Teyla as I worked the afternoon shift. She picked him up from school with Torren and he stayed with her and Kanaan for about three hours before I came to pick him up for dinner. Speaking of work...the alarms were blaring - offworld activation. My eyebrows rose a bit and I waited patiently for the returning team to come down for their post mission check ups. A small smile crossed my lips when I saw SG-5 come wandering in, and Doctor Lam rolled her eyes at me.

The team had been SG-5 now for seven years and they were highly decorated, with John being promoted to a full bird colonel almost a year ago now. They each took up a bed as the nurses got to work, leaving me to tend to John. Pulling up his sleeve he grinned down at me, opening his legs so I could stand between them as I drew a blood sample,
"So how's the day been Doctor?" he still got a kick out of my new title even though I'd been a fully qualified Doctor for about four months now, I could still remember how proud he'd been when my certificate came through the post. Rolling my eyes at him I pulled out the needle and handed it to Sarah, another nurse who was going to run the samples for infection and virus checks for us. In the meantime, I took his wrist in my hand and I began to check his pulse and other vitals, writing down the notes to stow away in his folder for later.
"Definitely slower than usual, but that's usually a good thing down here." I reminded him. John just smirked, that sexy smirk where the corner of his lips twisted up and his hazel eyes glitter, one that I had fallen in love with and to this day still made my knees weak.
"Maybe I can make it a little more interesting by telling you that...I need a plaster." he chuckled, waggling his pinky finger at me so I could see the cut that was dribbling the tiniest drop of blood down his hand.

Sighing, I grabbed some antiseptic wipes and the requested plaster. He was such a child sometimes but it could be endearing. Wiping his hand over I continued to check his vitals in silence, communicating with him through smiles and facial expressions; he didn't need to tell me he was bored because I read it in his eyes. Half an hour later and the bloodwork came back clear, they were all ready to go and so was I. My shift was at an end and I knew John would file his paperwork in at the last possible minute on Friday to avoid it, so we were up and out on the surface in under ten minutes to collect George from Teyla's to go home and have dinner. John opened my door for me like a gentleman, leaning in to give me a kiss. It was slow, warm and gentle, holding so much love and tenderness I melted - just like I always did. My life had been one screw up after another and sometimes it felt impossible to deal with, sometimes I just wanted to crack under the pressure, but slowly things had gotten better. John had played an influential part in that and although it had taken years to find him, every moment was worth the wait. Watching him scoop up George in his arms as he ran towards us put everything into perspective for me, made my heart swell and a smile break out on my face. Suffering was necessarry for us to appreciate the good in life, and though I'd had my fair share of it I was finally allowed to bask in the rewards it had yielded. Who would have thought that to find the answers to my troubles all I had to do was open a gate?

Dear Reader/s,

It's over, this is the last chapter of Run and if you made it this far I can't thank you enough for your continued support. As much as I love Tegan (and the whole team of course) I felt like perhaps it was time to wrap it all up and get it sorted so I could move onto other ideas...honestly I have far too many floating around and I'm not sure how many more documents wordpad can take on my laptop XD. So, this is the end of Tegan's story. Thank you again for all your words of encouragement, constructive criticism and well wishes when I broke off for my exams. You've all been wonderful!
Goodbye everyone,
Jess :)