Fic - SGA/Numb3rs; Row With Fresh Oars (2/2)
go back
*
2013
Colby doesn't come home until late, but Evan's still up and looking over the case files for anything he might have missed after spending most of the afternoon on the phone with Laura. Their main suspect in the case -- though there's really no doubt that he is their guy -- has done an incredible job of covering up his tracks. Any witness they manage to find are usually too scared to testify, even with the offer of Witness Protection, and those who do agree to testify turn out to have no information that can actually be used against him.
"I heard you ran into some problems planting the bugs," Colby says, grinning. He drops down on the couch next to Evan, a warm and solid weight against his side.
"Nikki?"
"Actually, it was Sarah," Colby laughs, "She's still scared of you and Don, I think. This made you both more human, and she can't help but be excited about it."
Evan chuckles. "It wouldn't be so funny if that closet had actually been used while we were in there."
"They're thugs," Colby says, "Stereotyping says it's okay to laugh."
"Yeah yeah," Evan says, "Make yourself useful and help me sort everything back into the right order. Everything okay with the Sinclairs?"
"Yeah," Colby nods. "I think both David and Rebecca are ready to have David back at work. From the looks of things, he's been driving her crazy around the house with nothing to do. You'd think taking care of the kid would be time consuming enough for him, but apparently he's going a little crazy. Not as bad as Don will be, though."
Evan laughs. "She had a lot to say about it, huh?"
"I don't see how the baby gets a wail in edgewise," Colby grins, "I'm sorry I didn't wait for you, man. The invitation was for the both of us, but I didn't know how long you were going to be stuck in that house for."
"It's fine," Evan says, "I got some work done. I'll just go over this weekend."
"Hey, we could take the kid off their hands for a few hours. Really be the spoiling uncles David asked us to be."
"Sure," Evan smiles, "You planning on asking David or making him work for it?"
Colby shakes his head. "What do you think? I want an actual 'please' before I admit to anything."
"I can't wait to see you try to relinquish control of the team when he gets back," Evan says, "You know he's going to make you pay."
Colby shrugs, "Still worth it. So hey, you heard the news about the repeal?"
"Yeah," Evan says, "When Don and me got out of the house, I had ten missed calls about it. Laura's through the roof."
"Really?" Colby asks, "I thought she left voluntarily under the policy for Jeanette?"
"Jeanette's being contacted by the project we worked on again, though," Evan explains, "They've been negotiating over consultation with the project leaders for a while. If Laura can rejoin under the new rules, and be assigned back to the project, it means they can both go back."
"Right," Colby says, "More above my head classified stuff. It's been a while."
"Actually, Daniel was dangerously close to revealing too much last time he was here," Evan said, "Actually, he probably did let something slip."
"All he did was talk about Ancient Egypt," Colby says, frowning. "At least, that's what he started talking about. My attention kind of started slipping around the middle."
"My point was that it wasn't that long ago," Evan says, "Just correcting your factual information."
"Great," Colby says, "How about providing actual info for my fact files, and not all these enigmatic clues?"
Evan just grins at him, the last of the papers sorted into the file, and starts to back Colby out of the room. "You know I'd tell you if I could," he says, because he'd share every detail he remembers of Atlantis with Colby in a heartbeat if there wasn't a mountain of paperwork somewhere in Cheyenne Mountain with his signature on them specifically prohibiting him from doing exactly that. "Good and bad."
"We'd trade stories," Colby agrees, an amused tilt to his mouth that Evan only gets glimpses off in between kisses. "What it was like to be a spy versus what it was like to work on something so classified that the smallest slip of detail gets a kick in the leg, even at a dinner party."
"You noticed that?"
"Radek didn't really go to any great lengths of hiding his indignation," Colby says, "I'd be more concerned if I hadn't seen it."
They've reached the bedroom and Evan presses Colby against the mattress, moving up to straddle him only once he's assured Colby won't try and move. It pauses their conversation for a while, and Evan's nearly falling asleep when Colby says, "So are you thinking of going back?"
"I don't know," he says honestly, after a pause long enough it's possible Colby assumed he'd fallen asleep. "I don't -- I thought I'd never be able to go back. I didn't even want to hope. But I like my life here, even if I never thought I'd actually be living in LA. I don't even know if they'll want me back on it."
"You're one of the better agents in the office," Colby says quietly, "Hell, in certain situations, you're one of the better agents in the Bureau. If your old command is even half as smart as they were when they tried to get you out of the charges, they'll want you back."
Colby falls asleep not too long after, but Evan remains awake with thoughts that he'd thought he'd successfully managed to pack away years ago. After everything they've gone through, the choice between Atlantis and Colby should be easy, but Sheppard wasn't the only one who felt a connection with the city. The actual discharge from the service he'd put his life into and based his career off had never hurt as much as the loss of Atlantis had.
*
2010
By the time Evan left for the Academy, it had been a little bit of a relief. He'd been growing restless with nothing to do that had a real purpose beyond wasting time. The first couple of weeks of the wait he'd been okay, done what everyone encouraged him to do and looked at it like an extended vacation, but it took six months before everything had been cleared for Evan to fly out to Quantico.
Neither he or Colby were entirely sure about what to make of everything, slowly adjusting to going from barely seeing each other for more than a week every couple of months to every day.
Leaving for five months wasn't exactly ideal when they'd finally managed to fit themselves into each other's life -- although, to be honest, it had been more Evan fitting himself unexpectedly into Colby's life.
The thought of coming back to the apartment in five months with a new purpose though, with something to do except just sit around, made five months on the other side of the country, being the oldest guy in training by three years, worth it.
*
"Hey," Colby says, leaning against the doorway to the room Evan's been living in the past five months. "So I guess I was right about you being the perfect fit for the Bureau. Full honors."
"No 'hey Special Agent Lorne'?" Evan asks, eyebrow raised. "I'm hurt."
"I'm saving that for later," Colby says, smiling. "When we're not in a government training facility, and your roommate isn't likely to return any moment."
Evan gestures slightly with the unopened assignment. "Do you have any guesses about where I'll go?"
"My guess is as good as yours," he says, shrugging. "Though considering your experience from the Air Force and everything, my guess is you'll get a good one."
"Guess I'll just have to open it and see then," Evan says, shedding his jacket before settling down on the bed. "You going to just stand there or take a seat?"
"I just sat through a really long graduation ceremony," Colby says, "I think I'll stand for a little longer."
Evan flashes him a grin, before turning his attention to the envelope in his hands. He breaks the seal carefully, not sure he really wants to know where he'll go, since Don hasn't called to give any indication about whether or not he managed to get Evan a job close to LA.
"You want me to do it, tough guy?" Colby asks, and Evan wasn't aware he'd stopped moving, just staring down at the slip of paper. "Hey," he says, softer, taking a step into the room. "I know you'd rather be back out there -- doing top secret stuff, and that you didn't expect to find yourself here now but --"
"No," Evan says, "It's not that."
He holds the paper out to Colby, who's expression has gone worried, but he reaches out for it without a word, flipping it over to read what it says.
The expression on Colby's face makes him laugh, part amusement, but mostly happy relief. "Don never said a fucking word," he says, walking towards Evan, still clutching the paper that says Violent Crimes Squad, Los Angeles. "How the hell did he swing this?"
"Maybe he wanted it to be a surprise," Evan suggests, grinning. "I asked him to try and swing it, but I wasn't expecting -- this."
"You asked him to throw his weight around?" he says, chuckling. "This was going to be mentioned to me, when?"
"I figured I'd wait until I knew if he could do it or not," Evan says, quietly amused. He watches as Colby places the letter carefully on the desk in one corner, toeing off his shoes as the letter is followed by his jacket. "I thought we were waiting until I didn't have a roommate who could walk in at any moment."
"That was before I knew you were really coming back," Colby shrugs, grinning, "And your roommate's an agent of the Bureau now. The quicker he gets used to unexpected sights and situations, the better it'll be for his career."
"Great advice," Evan laughs against Colby's lips, "You pick that from personal experience or is this just advice that gets passed down agent to agent?"
"A little of both," Colby says, getting to work on Evan's clothes. "I'll give you another one free, newbie."
"Oh yeah?" Evan arches up, gripping Colby's shoulders with one hand while the other strokes downwards. It's a movement meant mostly to help what Colby's trying to accomplish, but the effect is pretty much the opposite. "What's that?"
"Sometimes -- sometimes it's better to just -- take action instead of, ah, instead of talking."
"In the Academy, we got demonstrations," Evan says, "To make sure we understood."
"Then, Special Agent Lorne, allow me to demonstrate," Colby says, and there's a moment where they both freeze, staring silently at each other before Evan's body starts shaking, silently laughing until Colby loses it too, laughter spilling from both of them.
The moment of need is temporarily forgotten, replaced with this giddy relief that it won't be another two to four years of occasional visits and e-mails. Evan feels this huge weight lifted, the worries about being the asshole guy who can't stick around gone, and they're still laughing when Evan's soon-to-be former roommate walks in, which means it's a lot less embarrassing for all of them than it could have been.
*
"Here's the deal," Don says, standing at the front of the room, grinning. "The department's been planning to expand for a while, and I know David's been wanting to spread his wings and fly --"
"Fuck off," David laughs.
"-- so the solution seemed pretty obvious," Don continues, "David's received a promotion which means he gets his own team, and we were in need of a few extra people to fill the teams. Team divide! Team Two led by David Sinclair consists of Colby Granger, Natalie Amaretto and Sarah Valdez. Team One, led by me, consists of Nikki Betancourt, Evan Lorne and Randy Glover. These are mostly just theoretical teams, especially the first couple of weeks, but these are the people you'll be working with for the foreseeable future. If you don't like one, then you suck it up and deal. We're grown ups and agents of the law."
"In theory, anyway," Nikki mutters, while Don goes on to explain how things work around the department. "He's having way too much fun with this big reveal."
"He did manage to keep this secret from everyone," Colby points out, "I say he has at least some cause to be smug about it. Except for the part where you got promoted to team leader, that was clearly a mistake."
"I'm your boss now," David says, "I ain't hearing the respect I deserve."
"A record," Colby marvels, nudging Evan's hip with his shoe. "Only a minute and the power has gone to his head already."
"You can blast your music of rebellion later," Evan answers, "Right now you're being very rude while Daddy's talking."
Nikki laughs, "I'm glad you're on my team."
"Only at work," Colby's smirk is smug and suggestive as he leans back on his chair, and gives reasonable cause for Evan to aim a kick to his knee.
"Is my briefing disturbing your conversation?" Don asks, arms crossed although it's not hard to tell that he's amused.
"Nah," David says, "We're listening."
"Totally," Colby agrees, rubbing his knee.
"Wait," the guy introduced as Randy suddenly says, pointing at David. "If Eppes' is the dad, then that means you're the mom."
"You know what?" Nikki says, "I like you too, Randy. Why didn't we get you two replaced earlier?"
"You say that like you had a say in the matter," David says, "And I am not the mom. I have a girlfriend."
"Cool, so do I." Natalie says, holding out her curled up fist. David bumps it, eyebrows raised just a little, and Natalie grins as she says, "Which just goes to prove you can still be the mom."
"She's right," Colby says, waving his pen in Natalie's direction. "That remark was stupid, not to mention kind of homophobic. Since you're my boss and everything now, I'll let you go with just a warning."
"You know what?" Don says, "This stuff isn't that important, and the things that are can get picked up along the way. Why don't we just split up now and get to work?"
"He hasn't been reading leadership literature lately, has he?" Colby says in an undertone.
"Nah," David shakes his head, "This sounds more like Alan's been talking to him."
"Why don't you head to the other conference room, David?" Don says pointedly, "This is Team One territory."
Colby and David both roll their eyes, but they get up and head out of the room with Natalie and Sarah trailing after them. "What do you think?" Don asks, dropping into the seat vacated by Colby.
"Your leadership sets an example for us all, sir," Evan says, and Don narrows his eyes at him.
"You haven't even worked here a day," he says, "I should be thanked for pulling all of this off, and what do I get instead? Abuse."
"Life of the boss," Evan says. "Never appreciated."
"Your life is real hard," Nikki agrees, "I don't know how you stand it."
"Welcome to the team, ignore most of what they say," Don says, clapping Randy on the back. "Let's actually get some work done."
*
"You don't look too happy," Evan says, coming to a stop next to Nikki. She's frowning out at the desks, leaned against the doorway to one of the conference rooms. "Something happen?"
"Nah," she shrugs, "I'm just -- I'm trying to figure out what makes them so different."
Evan follows her gaze over to where Randy and Sarah are staring wide eyed as Don, David and Colby discuss something or tell them something, it's hard to tell from just hand movements alone and they're too far away to listen in. Natalie just looks slightly amused. "What do you mean?"
"I join up and it took them forever to warm up to me," Nikki says, body language signaling loud and clear that one wrong move by Evan and she'll shut right back up. "Now there are four of you new to the team, and they're all just great friends."
"That's got nothing to do with you," Evan says, a little surprised she hasn't realized. "The situations are different. We're not replacing anyone, we're here as part of an expansion of the team. They didn't have to lose someone. You came in to replace Megan, which means that no matter how much they liked you, they'd keep thinking that you were in a space you shouldn't be. Doesn't matter if the person being replaced died or left voluntarily or retired, the rest of the team will still have to cope with losing them and adjusting to someone new."
"So you're saying they would've treated anybody the same way?"
"Yeah," Evan says, "Team adjustments aren't easy for anyone. You never lost a partner or a team member?"
She shakes her head. "There have been a couple of close calls, but they've always come back to work eventually," she says.
"Then you'll just have to trust me on this," he says, glancing back over to where the others are sitting. Colby's looking in their direction, eyebrow quirked in a silent question. Evan smiles at him, quick, before turning his attention back over to Nikki. "There'll be clashing between us sooner or later. Right now, they're coasting on relief that they didn't have to lose anybody and us newbies are just trying to find our feet around here. Don't worry about it."
"Thanks, Lorne."
"Anytime," he says, smiling as he watches her join the others. After a quick stop inside the break room for more coffee, he follows.
*
"You okay?" Colby asks, walking up to the ambulance Evan was quite firmly ordered to not leave by a frazzled paramedic. He reaches out, taking the ice pack from Evan's hands, and Evan tilts his head to the side for him as he peels off the bandage. "Doesn't look that deep."
"I'm fine. I just got momentarily dazed," Evan says, "It's been a while since I've had anything swung at my head, let alone an iron hat stand."
Colby's lips quirk up slightly, gently smoothing back down the bandage before placing the ice pack back down over the cut and surrounding bruise. "So you decided it was best to just get it over and done with on the first raid you went on?"
"No. It just looked a lot worse than it is," Evan says, reaching up to take the ice pack back off Colby's hands, except Colby doesn't move his, thumb stroking over Evan's brow. Before they'd always had to be careful in public, play the role of two old Army buddies nearly everywhere. The ability to touch without fear of ramifications has been equally addicting for both of them.
"I don't know if I like it better or worse actually knowing where your injuries come from," Colby says softly. "Before it was mostly theoretical, except when your leave was scheduled too close for you to really heal before you got here."
"It's nothing," Evan says, voice low. He wants to say that he's survived everything a different galaxy could throw at him without problem, he's not letting some idiot with a hat stand take him down. Except if there's one thing Pegasus taught him, it's that spears can be a lot more dangerous than advanced modern weaponry. "I'm fine."
"Yeah," Colby says, stepping back as the paramedic walks up.
"How are you doing?" She asks, "Headache? Dizziness? Fatigue?"
"I've got a headache," Evan admits, "But I just got hit in the head with a hat stand."
Behind the paramedic, Colby's grin is a flash of white in the dark.
"Okay, smart guy," she answers, shining a pen light without warning into his eyes. "Track it, please. Okay. Your pupils look fine, and there's no sign of a concussion, but I want someone to check your memory every couple of hours just in case. Other than that, you're free to go."
"Thanks," Evan says, hopping off the back of the ambulance. He takes off the ice pack and holds it out, but the paramedic waves it off.
"That's for you to keep," she says, "Have a nice night."
"Thank you," Evan says, turning around and walking back to Colby's car.
"You alright, man?" David asks.
"Everywhere but my pride," Evan answers, "Any luck with the house?"
"We found a nice little stash of cocaine in the back, along with the murder weapon," Nikki says, "Not to mention the armed guys who were chilling in the living room and shot two local officers trying to run. Seems our honorable defense lawyer wasn't as honorable as everyone thought."
"Plus, there's the fact where he hit Evan with a hat stand," Don says, walking up to them. "You okay?"
"I'm not living this down," he says sadly to Colby, who just laughs.
"Don't worry," Natalie says, "If Feds get struck with the occasional case of the dumb as much as normal cops do, and I've been led to believe they get it even worse, there's going to be a new idiot next week."
"You're a fed too," Randy says, looking confused.
"I never said I didn't get the case of the dumb occasionally as well," Natalie says, shrugging.
"Save that kind of talk for when I'm not standing right here," Don says, "I've got a thing against having my agents badmouthing the institution they work for. Call it a quirk."
"Got it, boss," Natalie agrees.
"We done for the night?"
"Yeah," Don nods, "It's late. We've pretty much got all the evidence needed to make this stick, there's no hurry in interrogating him tonight. Go home, get some rest. With any luck, we'll have this wrapped by tomorrow."
"Night guys," Colby says, a statement echoed by all of them before they disperse.
"Nobody needs a ride back to the office?" Evan asks, a little confused since they showed up at the house four in one car.
"I squared it with them," Colby says, "It's fine."
They climb into the car, and Evan sinks gratefully into the seat. "I'm never going to live this down."
"I don't know," Colby says, "We'll probably replace it with something else eventually. Laura, though, she'll have a field day with this."
"Then don't tell her," Evan says, though he knows it's hopeless. Doesn't matter if they tell Laura or not, she's going to find out one way or another.
"Never said I was going to," Colby says, "You want to stop some place for food?"
"Nah," Evan says, letting the ice pack drop into his lap. His head is throbbing dully, but it's not as bad as it could be. "We've got leftovers in the fridge."
*
"You see anything?" Don asks through the earpiece.
"Nope," Nikki says, "It's completely quiet. Not even a breeze."
"Maybe Charlie's math is wrong," Randy suggests quietly. "I mean, they hit all those other places before midnight and it's two AM now."
"No," Don says, "If Charlie's math says they'll be here, they'll be here."
"So hey," Nikki says, "If you don't mind me asking, how'd you and Colby happen anyway?"
Evan glances over at her, eyebrow raised. "Why are you asking?"
"I don't know," Nikki says, "I'm bored, Colby never really said anything beyond the fact that you met in Afghanistan, I'm curious 'cause I'd never really have pegged you two as a couple. Take your pick of the options."
Evan snorts, returning his gaze to the darkness outside. "Not sure what there is to say," he says, "We met in Afghanistan. He was trying to teach my friend how to play poker, and after that we kept running into each other on base. We left Afghanistan around the same time, and when he was discharged, he'd coincidentally moved not too far from where I was stationed, so we started to hang out."
"Yeah, but like, you were both military," Nikki says, "Those rules they have -- what made you think it was worth the risk? I mean, you got punished just for loving him." Evan glances at her, isn't sure what expression he's wearing, but it makes Nikki wince. "Never mind, that was really out of line of me. Sorry."
Evan gives her a small smile, just to reassure her that it's not personal, and it's quiet in the car for several minutes as they resume their vigil. "At the end of the day," he says eventually, voice so quiet he's not sure she can hear him, even in the dead silence of the night. "I keep coming back to the fact that the Air Force was just a career. I'd dedicated most of my life to it, but it didn't change the fact that it was still just a career. I've been accused of being a workaholic, but there's still certain things I'll put above it."
"Hey! Hey!" Don's voice suddenly erupts from the earpiece. "We've got movement on the back wall! Move in!"
After they've chased after the suspect and then proceeded to lose him in an alley five blocks down, met up with Don and Randy to see if any of them got any helpful information or descriptions of the guy, Evan keeps expecting Nikki to mention it. Bring it up again, or ask another question.
She doesn't say or ask anything else as they walk away from Don and Randy, acting like the moment never happened. Instead she claps him on the shoulder and offers to drive him back home.
*
"Federal agents in the house!" Laura hollers, stepping aside to let them through the door. "Jeanette, hide all the illegal stuff."
"Why should I?" Jeanette says, "It all belongs to you. I'm in the clear. Hello Colby, Evan. I'm glad you could make it."
"Free food," Colby says, shrugging off his jacket. "We're working men. Of course we're going to show."
"Especially when we know Laura's not cooking," Evan adds, staggers dramatically at the punch when it connects with his arm.
"Barely through the front door and already it's like they're back in the playground," Jeanette shakes her head, heading back towards the kitchen.
"I know, right?" Colby says, following. "You think we should schedule them some nap time after dinner?"
Laura raises an eyebrow at him as their voices grow fainter. "Same humor as ever, I see," she says, lips quirking up.
Evan shrugs, grinning. "You should be used to it by now."
They head out to the balcony, the table already decked and ready. "How're you doing?" she asks, once they've settled in. "You look better."
"I looked bad before?" Evan asks, raising an eyebrow at her.
"Not always," Laura says frankly, "But everything would catch you sometimes and it'd make you sulky and irritable. Now you're smiling and kind of worryingly relaxed for a newbie agent."
"You'd rather I'd be reaching for my gun at every loud noise?"
"I said 'newbie agent' not 'PTSD'," Laura sighs dramatically. "I'm trying to be adult and have a serious conversation here."
Evan flashes an apologetic grin. "I know," he says, "I just -- I feel like I've been talking too much about it with everyone. I want to put it behind me. That was the whole point."
Laura watches him quietly for a moment, the silence shattered by laughter from inside.
From where Evan's sitting, he can see Colby laughing in the kitchen at something Jeanette's said, helping with the vegetables. It strikes him that they've never really hung out, the four of them, all that much in the past. Whenever Evan came to LA on leave, their schedules would never line up right, and when they did, Colby or Laura would usually end up with a call from work. He'd kind of subconsciously expected Colby to be a little out of the loop for the night, but now Colby's as relaxed and friendly with Jeanette as he is around David and Nikki.
"Okay," Laura says, "I mean, I still stand by what I said that you can't run for it, but I'd be fucking tired of questions by now too. So, tell me about your team. Who are they, what did they do before, what do you think, all that kind of stuff."
Evan takes the subject change gratefully; telling her about Natalie's stories about her days in the NYPD and Randy's weird collection of rubber ducks. He tries to just briefly mention the scene with Sarah, except Colby walks through the door with food before Evan can move on and says, "Hang on, there's way more to the story than that, dude."
"Oh really?" Laura says, perking up like a bloodhound finding a scent. She grins at Evan for a moment, before turning a much more innocent version of the smile on Colby. "What happened?"
Colby's expression conveys the fact that he knows exactly what she's doing, and Evan knows he would've told her even without prompting. "Don and Evan scared the shit out of her," he says, "Like, she nearly cried, it was that bad."
"Evan, what did you do?" Jeanette asks, pausing on her way back into the kitchen to get the rest of the food.
"Dude, wait, I'll talk while we eat," Colby says, disappears into the apartment for a moment before he returns with the rest of the food. "Okay," he says, once they're all settled down. "So, apparently Don and Evan started this die hard game of slug bug with a hint of Fight Club, which means they don't actually talk about it or mention it. They decide to bring Sarah along to interview a witness, because Sarah's still kind of fresh when it comes to everything, and on the way, they pass by this line of Volkswagen Beetles parked outside some kind of center. They start punching without saying a word, but they're both laughing, and Sarah's in the back thinking they've lost it and asks them to stop, and Don -- fuck," Colby has to stop to laugh, and Evan can feel a smile of amusement breaking out on his own face, despite the fact that he's still embarrassed over this story, "Don tells her not to worry, because it'll be even worse when they drive past again on the way back."
"She came back to the office and asked about work abuse," Evan says. "We told her why it'd had happened, came clean, and --"
"-- and then Natalie fucked it all up again," Colby grins, "She told Sarah that if they stopped their game, their hidden and unstable aggression might make them lash out towards others instead."
"She believed it?" Jeanette asks, laughing.
"She still does," Evan sighs, "Nothing we do can convince her otherwise."
"Poor Sarah," Colby shakes his head, grinning. "I mean, she's really sharp when it comes to crime scenes and evidence, but concerning everything else, she's the most naive person I've met."
"You're keeping her, right?" Laura asks, "Please tell me you're keeping her. She sounds precious."
"We kind of have to, if we don't want rumors about Don and Evan getting around," Colby laughs, nudging Evan's knee with his own.
Jeanette distracts Colby with questions about working with Charlie after they finish dinner, something Evan hasn't done that much yet, so he is content to just sits back and listen.
Laura eventually leans over, fingers curling around his wrist and whispers, "So you're doing fine?"
He looks at her and Jeanette, both of them relaxed and flushed with laughter, and Colby who is currently tipping his chair back with his hair going in every which direction after running his hand through it, and he smiles back at her. "Yeah," he says, no doubt in his voice at all, even with hurt of the loss of Atlantis and his career spiking up at unpredictable moments. "Yeah, I am."
*
2013
They're woken up on their day off two months later by the phone. Evan's been having a generally rough time sleeping lately, and he doesn't know when he fell asleep, just that it hadn't been deep. He tells Colby to just relax and ignore it, he'll deal with it and wake him if it turns out to be anything important. Colby mumbles an assent, not really awake, and Evan steps silently out into the kitchen to get the phone.
"Hello?"
"Evan Lorne?"
"Yeah?" Evan says, though a gut feeling has him fairly certain he already knows what this phone call is.
"This is Captain Hill with Stargate Command. We'd like to offer you a chance to rejoin the Atlantis expedition."
"You're doing this over the phone?" Evan asks, surprised. "Shouldn't I be talking to General Landry in a meeting room somewhere if that's the case?"
"This is just a call to schedule such a meeting, sir," the Captain says, "General Landry is overseeing these possible reinstatements personally, and if you're available to come out to Cheyenne sometime this week, he'll be the one to brief you properly on everything." There's a long moment of silence where the Captain doesn't continue speaking and Evan doesn't answer, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Should I schedule a time for you, sir?"
"Sure," he says, even as something knots itself in his stomach. "Pencil me in. I've got two days off, I'll see if I can't get on a flight soon."
"Ah," the Captain hesitates, "If you want, sir, we have a ship in orbit. If you'd give us your coordinates, we could beam you aboard directly."
"Give me half an hour," Evan says before giving the Captain his coordinates and cell phone number. He hangs up and stares at the phone for a moment, before he wanders back into the bedroom.
"Who was it?" Colby asks, lifting his head up off the pillow to watch Evan's approach of the bed.
"My old job," Evan says, "They want me to come back."
Colby's head drops back down onto the pillow. "Told you they would," he says quietly, "You going to accept it?"
"I don't know," Evan says eventually, after he's changed into some clothes he usually wears to work. "I'm going to head out for a meeting with them now. Talk things over. I just -- I can't let it lie."
"I know," Colby says, voice shaking, "I get that. I just... if you leave again, now, if we go back to where we were four years ago, I'm -- I'm not sure I can do that. Adjust all over again."
Evan swallows the lump in his throat, digs the palms of his hands into his eyes for a moment, before he crosses over to the bed and kneels down next to Colby, running a hand through his hair. "Hey," he says, waits until Colby looks at him. "I won't just leave."
"I know you won't," Colby says, and Evan leans in to give him a quick kiss, before he straightens and walks out of the bedroom, down the hall and outside.
His cell phone rings almost as soon as he steps foot outside the door, and before the person on the other end can say anything, he's beaten them to the punch. "I'm ready."
*
Cheyenne Mountain hasn't changed. Everything looks exactly as it had four years ago, but Evan still walks through the halls taking in every detail. He'd never expected to be back here.
His escort leads him directly to Landry's office, steps away at the door and motions Evan to step inside. "Lorne," Sheppard says, rising up from one of the guest chairs. He's grinning wide as he pulls him into a quick hug. "How you've been?"
"Same old," Evan says, eyebrow quirked. The office is otherwise empty. "What are you doing here?"
"Colonel Sheppard is still the military leader of Atlantis," General Landry says, "I thought it only fitting he sit in on this meeting. Please, gentlemen, take a seat."
They sink into their chairs, Sheppard immediately slouching down into a sprawl so familiar it almost makes him ache with the memory, and Landry's quiet for a moment before he says, "I deeply regret what happened concerning your discharge, Mr. Lorne. If there had been any way around it, we would have done what we could to keep you on."
"You already did, sir," Evan says, "More than most bases would under similar circumstances."
"Maybe," Landry allows, "But it's regrettable all the same. This repeal has given us a chance to right old wrongs, however, and we'd like to start with you."
"Why?" If it wasn't for the fact that Evan's a civilian now, he'd never have questioned the statement quite so bluntly.
"Someone with your talents are indispensable to the program," Landry says, "General Hammond said it was a hard decision to let you go on the Atlantis expedition, but I imagine it did not compare the decision that had to be made four years ago. Your old job on Atlantis is still there, and now we are in a position to fix things."
"You don't have an XO?" Evan asks Sheppard, who grins a little as he shrugs.
"Turns out I'm a terrible boss," he says, "They all liked to complain about it a lot, and I get enough of that from McKay."
Landry coughs, leveling Sheppard with an amused, but disapproving stare. "Naturally, it would take some time to draw up the necessary paperwork to reinstate you directly into your former rank, although I believe a demotion to Major would be required. You might also want to have your lawyer look over everything with you, should you --"
"No," Evan says, suddenly clearer in his answer than he's ever been in all the theoretical situations he's put himself in. "I'm grateful for the offer, and I appreciate it, but I can't go back. I had a life on Atlantis before. Now, it's in LA."
"Very well," Landry says, after a long moment of silence. "If you change your mind, the offer will still stand."
It's still a while before Evan and Sheppard leave the office -- complete details still need to be gone over and assurances that yes, he's sure of his choice.
"I did actually meant that part about my XOs," Sheppard says, walking with him up within reach of the transportation system. "They all hate me. I was hoping you'd come back and save me from their sad and hateful stares."
Evan laughs. "Sorry to let you down."
Sheppard shrugs, "I'll find someone."
"You should try Cadman," Evan says, "She wants to come back, her and Jeanette."
"McKay would hate me," Sheppard says, but sounds the opposite of upset by the idea. "I'll look into it."
"Just don't mention I recommended her," Evan says, "She really doesn't like paperwork."
"Who does?" Sheppard scoffs, then his voice grows serious as he says, "There's a couple of people back there'd who'll be surprised you didn't say yes."
"Yeah, I know," Evan says, "To be honest, I am too. For the past four years, I kept thinking of what it'd be like to go back there. I never knew if I'd be able to say no, should the offer ever come my way, but when it finally did, I realized that..." he trails off, unsure of how to end it.
Sheppard's lips twist upwards, voice completely dry as he suggests: "That there's something better than Atlantis right here on Earth?"
Evan laughs. "Not always," he says, "But enough of the time, yeah."
*
"You're back quick," Colby says, surprised, when Evan steps through the door shortly before two. His voice is carefully guarded as he follows it up with, "How'd it go?"
"Fine," Evan says, "They offered me my old position back. I declined their offer."
"Yeah?" Colby says, so much emotion laced into a single word. He laughs, brittle. "If you're joking, I swear to God, I'll punch you."
"I'm not joking," Evan says, walking slowly towards him. His arms are up in a placating gesture and he has a small soft smile on his face. "I'm staying."
"Shit," Colby says, pained. The amazing thing is, Evan thinks, that the pain in that word is not for them, but for Evan, because Colby knows enough to understand what it had taken to decline that offer. "I don't care how selfish I sound right now, but I'm so fucking glad you are."
"Yeah," Evan says, pressing his lips against Colby's softly, but unable to deny the hint of desperation in it. "So am I."
*
2013
Colby doesn't come home until late, but Evan's still up and looking over the case files for anything he might have missed after spending most of the afternoon on the phone with Laura. Their main suspect in the case -- though there's really no doubt that he is their guy -- has done an incredible job of covering up his tracks. Any witness they manage to find are usually too scared to testify, even with the offer of Witness Protection, and those who do agree to testify turn out to have no information that can actually be used against him.
"I heard you ran into some problems planting the bugs," Colby says, grinning. He drops down on the couch next to Evan, a warm and solid weight against his side.
"Nikki?"
"Actually, it was Sarah," Colby laughs, "She's still scared of you and Don, I think. This made you both more human, and she can't help but be excited about it."
Evan chuckles. "It wouldn't be so funny if that closet had actually been used while we were in there."
"They're thugs," Colby says, "Stereotyping says it's okay to laugh."
"Yeah yeah," Evan says, "Make yourself useful and help me sort everything back into the right order. Everything okay with the Sinclairs?"
"Yeah," Colby nods. "I think both David and Rebecca are ready to have David back at work. From the looks of things, he's been driving her crazy around the house with nothing to do. You'd think taking care of the kid would be time consuming enough for him, but apparently he's going a little crazy. Not as bad as Don will be, though."
Evan laughs. "She had a lot to say about it, huh?"
"I don't see how the baby gets a wail in edgewise," Colby grins, "I'm sorry I didn't wait for you, man. The invitation was for the both of us, but I didn't know how long you were going to be stuck in that house for."
"It's fine," Evan says, "I got some work done. I'll just go over this weekend."
"Hey, we could take the kid off their hands for a few hours. Really be the spoiling uncles David asked us to be."
"Sure," Evan smiles, "You planning on asking David or making him work for it?"
Colby shakes his head. "What do you think? I want an actual 'please' before I admit to anything."
"I can't wait to see you try to relinquish control of the team when he gets back," Evan says, "You know he's going to make you pay."
Colby shrugs, "Still worth it. So hey, you heard the news about the repeal?"
"Yeah," Evan says, "When Don and me got out of the house, I had ten missed calls about it. Laura's through the roof."
"Really?" Colby asks, "I thought she left voluntarily under the policy for Jeanette?"
"Jeanette's being contacted by the project we worked on again, though," Evan explains, "They've been negotiating over consultation with the project leaders for a while. If Laura can rejoin under the new rules, and be assigned back to the project, it means they can both go back."
"Right," Colby says, "More above my head classified stuff. It's been a while."
"Actually, Daniel was dangerously close to revealing too much last time he was here," Evan said, "Actually, he probably did let something slip."
"All he did was talk about Ancient Egypt," Colby says, frowning. "At least, that's what he started talking about. My attention kind of started slipping around the middle."
"My point was that it wasn't that long ago," Evan says, "Just correcting your factual information."
"Great," Colby says, "How about providing actual info for my fact files, and not all these enigmatic clues?"
Evan just grins at him, the last of the papers sorted into the file, and starts to back Colby out of the room. "You know I'd tell you if I could," he says, because he'd share every detail he remembers of Atlantis with Colby in a heartbeat if there wasn't a mountain of paperwork somewhere in Cheyenne Mountain with his signature on them specifically prohibiting him from doing exactly that. "Good and bad."
"We'd trade stories," Colby agrees, an amused tilt to his mouth that Evan only gets glimpses off in between kisses. "What it was like to be a spy versus what it was like to work on something so classified that the smallest slip of detail gets a kick in the leg, even at a dinner party."
"You noticed that?"
"Radek didn't really go to any great lengths of hiding his indignation," Colby says, "I'd be more concerned if I hadn't seen it."
They've reached the bedroom and Evan presses Colby against the mattress, moving up to straddle him only once he's assured Colby won't try and move. It pauses their conversation for a while, and Evan's nearly falling asleep when Colby says, "So are you thinking of going back?"
"I don't know," he says honestly, after a pause long enough it's possible Colby assumed he'd fallen asleep. "I don't -- I thought I'd never be able to go back. I didn't even want to hope. But I like my life here, even if I never thought I'd actually be living in LA. I don't even know if they'll want me back on it."
"You're one of the better agents in the office," Colby says quietly, "Hell, in certain situations, you're one of the better agents in the Bureau. If your old command is even half as smart as they were when they tried to get you out of the charges, they'll want you back."
Colby falls asleep not too long after, but Evan remains awake with thoughts that he'd thought he'd successfully managed to pack away years ago. After everything they've gone through, the choice between Atlantis and Colby should be easy, but Sheppard wasn't the only one who felt a connection with the city. The actual discharge from the service he'd put his life into and based his career off had never hurt as much as the loss of Atlantis had.
*
2010
By the time Evan left for the Academy, it had been a little bit of a relief. He'd been growing restless with nothing to do that had a real purpose beyond wasting time. The first couple of weeks of the wait he'd been okay, done what everyone encouraged him to do and looked at it like an extended vacation, but it took six months before everything had been cleared for Evan to fly out to Quantico.
Neither he or Colby were entirely sure about what to make of everything, slowly adjusting to going from barely seeing each other for more than a week every couple of months to every day.
Leaving for five months wasn't exactly ideal when they'd finally managed to fit themselves into each other's life -- although, to be honest, it had been more Evan fitting himself unexpectedly into Colby's life.
The thought of coming back to the apartment in five months with a new purpose though, with something to do except just sit around, made five months on the other side of the country, being the oldest guy in training by three years, worth it.
*
"Hey," Colby says, leaning against the doorway to the room Evan's been living in the past five months. "So I guess I was right about you being the perfect fit for the Bureau. Full honors."
"No 'hey Special Agent Lorne'?" Evan asks, eyebrow raised. "I'm hurt."
"I'm saving that for later," Colby says, smiling. "When we're not in a government training facility, and your roommate isn't likely to return any moment."
Evan gestures slightly with the unopened assignment. "Do you have any guesses about where I'll go?"
"My guess is as good as yours," he says, shrugging. "Though considering your experience from the Air Force and everything, my guess is you'll get a good one."
"Guess I'll just have to open it and see then," Evan says, shedding his jacket before settling down on the bed. "You going to just stand there or take a seat?"
"I just sat through a really long graduation ceremony," Colby says, "I think I'll stand for a little longer."
Evan flashes him a grin, before turning his attention to the envelope in his hands. He breaks the seal carefully, not sure he really wants to know where he'll go, since Don hasn't called to give any indication about whether or not he managed to get Evan a job close to LA.
"You want me to do it, tough guy?" Colby asks, and Evan wasn't aware he'd stopped moving, just staring down at the slip of paper. "Hey," he says, softer, taking a step into the room. "I know you'd rather be back out there -- doing top secret stuff, and that you didn't expect to find yourself here now but --"
"No," Evan says, "It's not that."
He holds the paper out to Colby, who's expression has gone worried, but he reaches out for it without a word, flipping it over to read what it says.
The expression on Colby's face makes him laugh, part amusement, but mostly happy relief. "Don never said a fucking word," he says, walking towards Evan, still clutching the paper that says Violent Crimes Squad, Los Angeles. "How the hell did he swing this?"
"Maybe he wanted it to be a surprise," Evan suggests, grinning. "I asked him to try and swing it, but I wasn't expecting -- this."
"You asked him to throw his weight around?" he says, chuckling. "This was going to be mentioned to me, when?"
"I figured I'd wait until I knew if he could do it or not," Evan says, quietly amused. He watches as Colby places the letter carefully on the desk in one corner, toeing off his shoes as the letter is followed by his jacket. "I thought we were waiting until I didn't have a roommate who could walk in at any moment."
"That was before I knew you were really coming back," Colby shrugs, grinning, "And your roommate's an agent of the Bureau now. The quicker he gets used to unexpected sights and situations, the better it'll be for his career."
"Great advice," Evan laughs against Colby's lips, "You pick that from personal experience or is this just advice that gets passed down agent to agent?"
"A little of both," Colby says, getting to work on Evan's clothes. "I'll give you another one free, newbie."
"Oh yeah?" Evan arches up, gripping Colby's shoulders with one hand while the other strokes downwards. It's a movement meant mostly to help what Colby's trying to accomplish, but the effect is pretty much the opposite. "What's that?"
"Sometimes -- sometimes it's better to just -- take action instead of, ah, instead of talking."
"In the Academy, we got demonstrations," Evan says, "To make sure we understood."
"Then, Special Agent Lorne, allow me to demonstrate," Colby says, and there's a moment where they both freeze, staring silently at each other before Evan's body starts shaking, silently laughing until Colby loses it too, laughter spilling from both of them.
The moment of need is temporarily forgotten, replaced with this giddy relief that it won't be another two to four years of occasional visits and e-mails. Evan feels this huge weight lifted, the worries about being the asshole guy who can't stick around gone, and they're still laughing when Evan's soon-to-be former roommate walks in, which means it's a lot less embarrassing for all of them than it could have been.
*
"Here's the deal," Don says, standing at the front of the room, grinning. "The department's been planning to expand for a while, and I know David's been wanting to spread his wings and fly --"
"Fuck off," David laughs.
"-- so the solution seemed pretty obvious," Don continues, "David's received a promotion which means he gets his own team, and we were in need of a few extra people to fill the teams. Team divide! Team Two led by David Sinclair consists of Colby Granger, Natalie Amaretto and Sarah Valdez. Team One, led by me, consists of Nikki Betancourt, Evan Lorne and Randy Glover. These are mostly just theoretical teams, especially the first couple of weeks, but these are the people you'll be working with for the foreseeable future. If you don't like one, then you suck it up and deal. We're grown ups and agents of the law."
"In theory, anyway," Nikki mutters, while Don goes on to explain how things work around the department. "He's having way too much fun with this big reveal."
"He did manage to keep this secret from everyone," Colby points out, "I say he has at least some cause to be smug about it. Except for the part where you got promoted to team leader, that was clearly a mistake."
"I'm your boss now," David says, "I ain't hearing the respect I deserve."
"A record," Colby marvels, nudging Evan's hip with his shoe. "Only a minute and the power has gone to his head already."
"You can blast your music of rebellion later," Evan answers, "Right now you're being very rude while Daddy's talking."
Nikki laughs, "I'm glad you're on my team."
"Only at work," Colby's smirk is smug and suggestive as he leans back on his chair, and gives reasonable cause for Evan to aim a kick to his knee.
"Is my briefing disturbing your conversation?" Don asks, arms crossed although it's not hard to tell that he's amused.
"Nah," David says, "We're listening."
"Totally," Colby agrees, rubbing his knee.
"Wait," the guy introduced as Randy suddenly says, pointing at David. "If Eppes' is the dad, then that means you're the mom."
"You know what?" Nikki says, "I like you too, Randy. Why didn't we get you two replaced earlier?"
"You say that like you had a say in the matter," David says, "And I am not the mom. I have a girlfriend."
"Cool, so do I." Natalie says, holding out her curled up fist. David bumps it, eyebrows raised just a little, and Natalie grins as she says, "Which just goes to prove you can still be the mom."
"She's right," Colby says, waving his pen in Natalie's direction. "That remark was stupid, not to mention kind of homophobic. Since you're my boss and everything now, I'll let you go with just a warning."
"You know what?" Don says, "This stuff isn't that important, and the things that are can get picked up along the way. Why don't we just split up now and get to work?"
"He hasn't been reading leadership literature lately, has he?" Colby says in an undertone.
"Nah," David shakes his head, "This sounds more like Alan's been talking to him."
"Why don't you head to the other conference room, David?" Don says pointedly, "This is Team One territory."
Colby and David both roll their eyes, but they get up and head out of the room with Natalie and Sarah trailing after them. "What do you think?" Don asks, dropping into the seat vacated by Colby.
"Your leadership sets an example for us all, sir," Evan says, and Don narrows his eyes at him.
"You haven't even worked here a day," he says, "I should be thanked for pulling all of this off, and what do I get instead? Abuse."
"Life of the boss," Evan says. "Never appreciated."
"Your life is real hard," Nikki agrees, "I don't know how you stand it."
"Welcome to the team, ignore most of what they say," Don says, clapping Randy on the back. "Let's actually get some work done."
*
"You don't look too happy," Evan says, coming to a stop next to Nikki. She's frowning out at the desks, leaned against the doorway to one of the conference rooms. "Something happen?"
"Nah," she shrugs, "I'm just -- I'm trying to figure out what makes them so different."
Evan follows her gaze over to where Randy and Sarah are staring wide eyed as Don, David and Colby discuss something or tell them something, it's hard to tell from just hand movements alone and they're too far away to listen in. Natalie just looks slightly amused. "What do you mean?"
"I join up and it took them forever to warm up to me," Nikki says, body language signaling loud and clear that one wrong move by Evan and she'll shut right back up. "Now there are four of you new to the team, and they're all just great friends."
"That's got nothing to do with you," Evan says, a little surprised she hasn't realized. "The situations are different. We're not replacing anyone, we're here as part of an expansion of the team. They didn't have to lose someone. You came in to replace Megan, which means that no matter how much they liked you, they'd keep thinking that you were in a space you shouldn't be. Doesn't matter if the person being replaced died or left voluntarily or retired, the rest of the team will still have to cope with losing them and adjusting to someone new."
"So you're saying they would've treated anybody the same way?"
"Yeah," Evan says, "Team adjustments aren't easy for anyone. You never lost a partner or a team member?"
She shakes her head. "There have been a couple of close calls, but they've always come back to work eventually," she says.
"Then you'll just have to trust me on this," he says, glancing back over to where the others are sitting. Colby's looking in their direction, eyebrow quirked in a silent question. Evan smiles at him, quick, before turning his attention back over to Nikki. "There'll be clashing between us sooner or later. Right now, they're coasting on relief that they didn't have to lose anybody and us newbies are just trying to find our feet around here. Don't worry about it."
"Thanks, Lorne."
"Anytime," he says, smiling as he watches her join the others. After a quick stop inside the break room for more coffee, he follows.
*
"You okay?" Colby asks, walking up to the ambulance Evan was quite firmly ordered to not leave by a frazzled paramedic. He reaches out, taking the ice pack from Evan's hands, and Evan tilts his head to the side for him as he peels off the bandage. "Doesn't look that deep."
"I'm fine. I just got momentarily dazed," Evan says, "It's been a while since I've had anything swung at my head, let alone an iron hat stand."
Colby's lips quirk up slightly, gently smoothing back down the bandage before placing the ice pack back down over the cut and surrounding bruise. "So you decided it was best to just get it over and done with on the first raid you went on?"
"No. It just looked a lot worse than it is," Evan says, reaching up to take the ice pack back off Colby's hands, except Colby doesn't move his, thumb stroking over Evan's brow. Before they'd always had to be careful in public, play the role of two old Army buddies nearly everywhere. The ability to touch without fear of ramifications has been equally addicting for both of them.
"I don't know if I like it better or worse actually knowing where your injuries come from," Colby says softly. "Before it was mostly theoretical, except when your leave was scheduled too close for you to really heal before you got here."
"It's nothing," Evan says, voice low. He wants to say that he's survived everything a different galaxy could throw at him without problem, he's not letting some idiot with a hat stand take him down. Except if there's one thing Pegasus taught him, it's that spears can be a lot more dangerous than advanced modern weaponry. "I'm fine."
"Yeah," Colby says, stepping back as the paramedic walks up.
"How are you doing?" She asks, "Headache? Dizziness? Fatigue?"
"I've got a headache," Evan admits, "But I just got hit in the head with a hat stand."
Behind the paramedic, Colby's grin is a flash of white in the dark.
"Okay, smart guy," she answers, shining a pen light without warning into his eyes. "Track it, please. Okay. Your pupils look fine, and there's no sign of a concussion, but I want someone to check your memory every couple of hours just in case. Other than that, you're free to go."
"Thanks," Evan says, hopping off the back of the ambulance. He takes off the ice pack and holds it out, but the paramedic waves it off.
"That's for you to keep," she says, "Have a nice night."
"Thank you," Evan says, turning around and walking back to Colby's car.
"You alright, man?" David asks.
"Everywhere but my pride," Evan answers, "Any luck with the house?"
"We found a nice little stash of cocaine in the back, along with the murder weapon," Nikki says, "Not to mention the armed guys who were chilling in the living room and shot two local officers trying to run. Seems our honorable defense lawyer wasn't as honorable as everyone thought."
"Plus, there's the fact where he hit Evan with a hat stand," Don says, walking up to them. "You okay?"
"I'm not living this down," he says sadly to Colby, who just laughs.
"Don't worry," Natalie says, "If Feds get struck with the occasional case of the dumb as much as normal cops do, and I've been led to believe they get it even worse, there's going to be a new idiot next week."
"You're a fed too," Randy says, looking confused.
"I never said I didn't get the case of the dumb occasionally as well," Natalie says, shrugging.
"Save that kind of talk for when I'm not standing right here," Don says, "I've got a thing against having my agents badmouthing the institution they work for. Call it a quirk."
"Got it, boss," Natalie agrees.
"We done for the night?"
"Yeah," Don nods, "It's late. We've pretty much got all the evidence needed to make this stick, there's no hurry in interrogating him tonight. Go home, get some rest. With any luck, we'll have this wrapped by tomorrow."
"Night guys," Colby says, a statement echoed by all of them before they disperse.
"Nobody needs a ride back to the office?" Evan asks, a little confused since they showed up at the house four in one car.
"I squared it with them," Colby says, "It's fine."
They climb into the car, and Evan sinks gratefully into the seat. "I'm never going to live this down."
"I don't know," Colby says, "We'll probably replace it with something else eventually. Laura, though, she'll have a field day with this."
"Then don't tell her," Evan says, though he knows it's hopeless. Doesn't matter if they tell Laura or not, she's going to find out one way or another.
"Never said I was going to," Colby says, "You want to stop some place for food?"
"Nah," Evan says, letting the ice pack drop into his lap. His head is throbbing dully, but it's not as bad as it could be. "We've got leftovers in the fridge."
*
"You see anything?" Don asks through the earpiece.
"Nope," Nikki says, "It's completely quiet. Not even a breeze."
"Maybe Charlie's math is wrong," Randy suggests quietly. "I mean, they hit all those other places before midnight and it's two AM now."
"No," Don says, "If Charlie's math says they'll be here, they'll be here."
"So hey," Nikki says, "If you don't mind me asking, how'd you and Colby happen anyway?"
Evan glances over at her, eyebrow raised. "Why are you asking?"
"I don't know," Nikki says, "I'm bored, Colby never really said anything beyond the fact that you met in Afghanistan, I'm curious 'cause I'd never really have pegged you two as a couple. Take your pick of the options."
Evan snorts, returning his gaze to the darkness outside. "Not sure what there is to say," he says, "We met in Afghanistan. He was trying to teach my friend how to play poker, and after that we kept running into each other on base. We left Afghanistan around the same time, and when he was discharged, he'd coincidentally moved not too far from where I was stationed, so we started to hang out."
"Yeah, but like, you were both military," Nikki says, "Those rules they have -- what made you think it was worth the risk? I mean, you got punished just for loving him." Evan glances at her, isn't sure what expression he's wearing, but it makes Nikki wince. "Never mind, that was really out of line of me. Sorry."
Evan gives her a small smile, just to reassure her that it's not personal, and it's quiet in the car for several minutes as they resume their vigil. "At the end of the day," he says eventually, voice so quiet he's not sure she can hear him, even in the dead silence of the night. "I keep coming back to the fact that the Air Force was just a career. I'd dedicated most of my life to it, but it didn't change the fact that it was still just a career. I've been accused of being a workaholic, but there's still certain things I'll put above it."
"Hey! Hey!" Don's voice suddenly erupts from the earpiece. "We've got movement on the back wall! Move in!"
After they've chased after the suspect and then proceeded to lose him in an alley five blocks down, met up with Don and Randy to see if any of them got any helpful information or descriptions of the guy, Evan keeps expecting Nikki to mention it. Bring it up again, or ask another question.
She doesn't say or ask anything else as they walk away from Don and Randy, acting like the moment never happened. Instead she claps him on the shoulder and offers to drive him back home.
*
"Federal agents in the house!" Laura hollers, stepping aside to let them through the door. "Jeanette, hide all the illegal stuff."
"Why should I?" Jeanette says, "It all belongs to you. I'm in the clear. Hello Colby, Evan. I'm glad you could make it."
"Free food," Colby says, shrugging off his jacket. "We're working men. Of course we're going to show."
"Especially when we know Laura's not cooking," Evan adds, staggers dramatically at the punch when it connects with his arm.
"Barely through the front door and already it's like they're back in the playground," Jeanette shakes her head, heading back towards the kitchen.
"I know, right?" Colby says, following. "You think we should schedule them some nap time after dinner?"
Laura raises an eyebrow at him as their voices grow fainter. "Same humor as ever, I see," she says, lips quirking up.
Evan shrugs, grinning. "You should be used to it by now."
They head out to the balcony, the table already decked and ready. "How're you doing?" she asks, once they've settled in. "You look better."
"I looked bad before?" Evan asks, raising an eyebrow at her.
"Not always," Laura says frankly, "But everything would catch you sometimes and it'd make you sulky and irritable. Now you're smiling and kind of worryingly relaxed for a newbie agent."
"You'd rather I'd be reaching for my gun at every loud noise?"
"I said 'newbie agent' not 'PTSD'," Laura sighs dramatically. "I'm trying to be adult and have a serious conversation here."
Evan flashes an apologetic grin. "I know," he says, "I just -- I feel like I've been talking too much about it with everyone. I want to put it behind me. That was the whole point."
Laura watches him quietly for a moment, the silence shattered by laughter from inside.
From where Evan's sitting, he can see Colby laughing in the kitchen at something Jeanette's said, helping with the vegetables. It strikes him that they've never really hung out, the four of them, all that much in the past. Whenever Evan came to LA on leave, their schedules would never line up right, and when they did, Colby or Laura would usually end up with a call from work. He'd kind of subconsciously expected Colby to be a little out of the loop for the night, but now Colby's as relaxed and friendly with Jeanette as he is around David and Nikki.
"Okay," Laura says, "I mean, I still stand by what I said that you can't run for it, but I'd be fucking tired of questions by now too. So, tell me about your team. Who are they, what did they do before, what do you think, all that kind of stuff."
Evan takes the subject change gratefully; telling her about Natalie's stories about her days in the NYPD and Randy's weird collection of rubber ducks. He tries to just briefly mention the scene with Sarah, except Colby walks through the door with food before Evan can move on and says, "Hang on, there's way more to the story than that, dude."
"Oh really?" Laura says, perking up like a bloodhound finding a scent. She grins at Evan for a moment, before turning a much more innocent version of the smile on Colby. "What happened?"
Colby's expression conveys the fact that he knows exactly what she's doing, and Evan knows he would've told her even without prompting. "Don and Evan scared the shit out of her," he says, "Like, she nearly cried, it was that bad."
"Evan, what did you do?" Jeanette asks, pausing on her way back into the kitchen to get the rest of the food.
"Dude, wait, I'll talk while we eat," Colby says, disappears into the apartment for a moment before he returns with the rest of the food. "Okay," he says, once they're all settled down. "So, apparently Don and Evan started this die hard game of slug bug with a hint of Fight Club, which means they don't actually talk about it or mention it. They decide to bring Sarah along to interview a witness, because Sarah's still kind of fresh when it comes to everything, and on the way, they pass by this line of Volkswagen Beetles parked outside some kind of center. They start punching without saying a word, but they're both laughing, and Sarah's in the back thinking they've lost it and asks them to stop, and Don -- fuck," Colby has to stop to laugh, and Evan can feel a smile of amusement breaking out on his own face, despite the fact that he's still embarrassed over this story, "Don tells her not to worry, because it'll be even worse when they drive past again on the way back."
"She came back to the office and asked about work abuse," Evan says. "We told her why it'd had happened, came clean, and --"
"-- and then Natalie fucked it all up again," Colby grins, "She told Sarah that if they stopped their game, their hidden and unstable aggression might make them lash out towards others instead."
"She believed it?" Jeanette asks, laughing.
"She still does," Evan sighs, "Nothing we do can convince her otherwise."
"Poor Sarah," Colby shakes his head, grinning. "I mean, she's really sharp when it comes to crime scenes and evidence, but concerning everything else, she's the most naive person I've met."
"You're keeping her, right?" Laura asks, "Please tell me you're keeping her. She sounds precious."
"We kind of have to, if we don't want rumors about Don and Evan getting around," Colby laughs, nudging Evan's knee with his own.
Jeanette distracts Colby with questions about working with Charlie after they finish dinner, something Evan hasn't done that much yet, so he is content to just sits back and listen.
Laura eventually leans over, fingers curling around his wrist and whispers, "So you're doing fine?"
He looks at her and Jeanette, both of them relaxed and flushed with laughter, and Colby who is currently tipping his chair back with his hair going in every which direction after running his hand through it, and he smiles back at her. "Yeah," he says, no doubt in his voice at all, even with hurt of the loss of Atlantis and his career spiking up at unpredictable moments. "Yeah, I am."
*
2013
They're woken up on their day off two months later by the phone. Evan's been having a generally rough time sleeping lately, and he doesn't know when he fell asleep, just that it hadn't been deep. He tells Colby to just relax and ignore it, he'll deal with it and wake him if it turns out to be anything important. Colby mumbles an assent, not really awake, and Evan steps silently out into the kitchen to get the phone.
"Hello?"
"Evan Lorne?"
"Yeah?" Evan says, though a gut feeling has him fairly certain he already knows what this phone call is.
"This is Captain Hill with Stargate Command. We'd like to offer you a chance to rejoin the Atlantis expedition."
"You're doing this over the phone?" Evan asks, surprised. "Shouldn't I be talking to General Landry in a meeting room somewhere if that's the case?"
"This is just a call to schedule such a meeting, sir," the Captain says, "General Landry is overseeing these possible reinstatements personally, and if you're available to come out to Cheyenne sometime this week, he'll be the one to brief you properly on everything." There's a long moment of silence where the Captain doesn't continue speaking and Evan doesn't answer, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Should I schedule a time for you, sir?"
"Sure," he says, even as something knots itself in his stomach. "Pencil me in. I've got two days off, I'll see if I can't get on a flight soon."
"Ah," the Captain hesitates, "If you want, sir, we have a ship in orbit. If you'd give us your coordinates, we could beam you aboard directly."
"Give me half an hour," Evan says before giving the Captain his coordinates and cell phone number. He hangs up and stares at the phone for a moment, before he wanders back into the bedroom.
"Who was it?" Colby asks, lifting his head up off the pillow to watch Evan's approach of the bed.
"My old job," Evan says, "They want me to come back."
Colby's head drops back down onto the pillow. "Told you they would," he says quietly, "You going to accept it?"
"I don't know," Evan says eventually, after he's changed into some clothes he usually wears to work. "I'm going to head out for a meeting with them now. Talk things over. I just -- I can't let it lie."
"I know," Colby says, voice shaking, "I get that. I just... if you leave again, now, if we go back to where we were four years ago, I'm -- I'm not sure I can do that. Adjust all over again."
Evan swallows the lump in his throat, digs the palms of his hands into his eyes for a moment, before he crosses over to the bed and kneels down next to Colby, running a hand through his hair. "Hey," he says, waits until Colby looks at him. "I won't just leave."
"I know you won't," Colby says, and Evan leans in to give him a quick kiss, before he straightens and walks out of the bedroom, down the hall and outside.
His cell phone rings almost as soon as he steps foot outside the door, and before the person on the other end can say anything, he's beaten them to the punch. "I'm ready."
*
Cheyenne Mountain hasn't changed. Everything looks exactly as it had four years ago, but Evan still walks through the halls taking in every detail. He'd never expected to be back here.
His escort leads him directly to Landry's office, steps away at the door and motions Evan to step inside. "Lorne," Sheppard says, rising up from one of the guest chairs. He's grinning wide as he pulls him into a quick hug. "How you've been?"
"Same old," Evan says, eyebrow quirked. The office is otherwise empty. "What are you doing here?"
"Colonel Sheppard is still the military leader of Atlantis," General Landry says, "I thought it only fitting he sit in on this meeting. Please, gentlemen, take a seat."
They sink into their chairs, Sheppard immediately slouching down into a sprawl so familiar it almost makes him ache with the memory, and Landry's quiet for a moment before he says, "I deeply regret what happened concerning your discharge, Mr. Lorne. If there had been any way around it, we would have done what we could to keep you on."
"You already did, sir," Evan says, "More than most bases would under similar circumstances."
"Maybe," Landry allows, "But it's regrettable all the same. This repeal has given us a chance to right old wrongs, however, and we'd like to start with you."
"Why?" If it wasn't for the fact that Evan's a civilian now, he'd never have questioned the statement quite so bluntly.
"Someone with your talents are indispensable to the program," Landry says, "General Hammond said it was a hard decision to let you go on the Atlantis expedition, but I imagine it did not compare the decision that had to be made four years ago. Your old job on Atlantis is still there, and now we are in a position to fix things."
"You don't have an XO?" Evan asks Sheppard, who grins a little as he shrugs.
"Turns out I'm a terrible boss," he says, "They all liked to complain about it a lot, and I get enough of that from McKay."
Landry coughs, leveling Sheppard with an amused, but disapproving stare. "Naturally, it would take some time to draw up the necessary paperwork to reinstate you directly into your former rank, although I believe a demotion to Major would be required. You might also want to have your lawyer look over everything with you, should you --"
"No," Evan says, suddenly clearer in his answer than he's ever been in all the theoretical situations he's put himself in. "I'm grateful for the offer, and I appreciate it, but I can't go back. I had a life on Atlantis before. Now, it's in LA."
"Very well," Landry says, after a long moment of silence. "If you change your mind, the offer will still stand."
It's still a while before Evan and Sheppard leave the office -- complete details still need to be gone over and assurances that yes, he's sure of his choice.
"I did actually meant that part about my XOs," Sheppard says, walking with him up within reach of the transportation system. "They all hate me. I was hoping you'd come back and save me from their sad and hateful stares."
Evan laughs. "Sorry to let you down."
Sheppard shrugs, "I'll find someone."
"You should try Cadman," Evan says, "She wants to come back, her and Jeanette."
"McKay would hate me," Sheppard says, but sounds the opposite of upset by the idea. "I'll look into it."
"Just don't mention I recommended her," Evan says, "She really doesn't like paperwork."
"Who does?" Sheppard scoffs, then his voice grows serious as he says, "There's a couple of people back there'd who'll be surprised you didn't say yes."
"Yeah, I know," Evan says, "To be honest, I am too. For the past four years, I kept thinking of what it'd be like to go back there. I never knew if I'd be able to say no, should the offer ever come my way, but when it finally did, I realized that..." he trails off, unsure of how to end it.
Sheppard's lips twist upwards, voice completely dry as he suggests: "That there's something better than Atlantis right here on Earth?"
Evan laughs. "Not always," he says, "But enough of the time, yeah."
*
"You're back quick," Colby says, surprised, when Evan steps through the door shortly before two. His voice is carefully guarded as he follows it up with, "How'd it go?"
"Fine," Evan says, "They offered me my old position back. I declined their offer."
"Yeah?" Colby says, so much emotion laced into a single word. He laughs, brittle. "If you're joking, I swear to God, I'll punch you."
"I'm not joking," Evan says, walking slowly towards him. His arms are up in a placating gesture and he has a small soft smile on his face. "I'm staying."
"Shit," Colby says, pained. The amazing thing is, Evan thinks, that the pain in that word is not for them, but for Evan, because Colby knows enough to understand what it had taken to decline that offer. "I don't care how selfish I sound right now, but I'm so fucking glad you are."
"Yeah," Evan says, pressing his lips against Colby's softly, but unable to deny the hint of desperation in it. "So am I."