Road Trip: First Stop - Wine Country
Title: Road Trip
Author: stella_pegasi
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Rating: PG-13
Character/Pairing: John Sheppard, Rodney McKay, Ronon Dex, Carson Beckett
Spoilers:Post-Season Five
Genre(s): Slice of Life, Action/Adventure, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Humor, and I promise, WHUMP!
Warnings: Language
Het/Slash/Gen: Gen
Word count: Total: 14,810 (Two parts, Wine Country and Bakersfield Bound)
Disclaimer: I do not own them, I would have treated them better.
Summary:The boys take thiry days leave and set out on the road. What could possibly go wrong on vacation?
Written for the Let's Blow Something Up (BigBang) Challenge on stargateland.
My deepest thanks to the wonderful and lovely sherry57 for her very quick beta. I have attempted to make corrections, but was in a hurry to get this posted for the challenge...any errors left standing are all mine.
ROAD TRIP
by stella_pegasi
“Carson, what are you wearing that for?”
“Rodney, we’re going on vacation. I plan on fishing; besides, I feel like I’m on vacation when I wear my fishing vest.”
“Well, you look silly.”
“Oh, and you don’t, in that shirt from the seventies. Right,” Beckett retorted as he stuffed his suitcase in the back of the SUV, next to Rodney’s, then gently placed his rod and reel and tackle box inside.
Rodney and Carson were still bickering as John Sheppard walked out of the warehouse, Ronon in tow. The warehouse was used as the beam point to and from the Apollo, which was in stationary orbit above Atlantis, as she sat cloaked on the surface of the Pacific Ocean. The workers standing nearby, dressed in maintenance uniforms, were actually Air Force SO’s.
“Sheppard, I don’t understand why I can’t bring my blaster.”
“Chewie, I have told you three times now; we are on vacation. We're going to be driving through a lot of small towns. I don’t want to have to explain your blaster to a bunch of backwater sheriffs, in case we run into any trouble. And knowing our luck, we’ll run into trouble. You can carry a 9-mil; just like the rest of us. You have all the proper documentation, and because we're all attached to the Air Force, we have permits to carry concealed weapons.”
“You don’t carry a 9-mil; your gun’s is more powerful.”
Sheppard dropped his head, sighing, “No; I don’t. If you’re nice, I’ll let you carry my P-14…maybe.” He tossed his bag in the back, slipped on his sunglasses, and walked toward the front of the SUV.
“I don’t like this.” Ronon walked up to the vehicle, and threw his duffle bag in the back, not noticing Carson’s cringe when the bag missed his fishing rod by a couple of inches.
Sheppard got in the drivers seat of the rental Range Rover, which had been delivered that morning. He adjusted the seat, then began to adjust the mirrors, as Rodney hopped in the passenger seat beside him.
“What’s eating Ronon; he doesn’t look happy?”
Scoffing, Sheppard glanced back at Carson, who was still fiddling with the placement of his fishing rod. “Ronon is having separation anxiety…I’ve separated him from his blaster for this trip.”
Rodney rolled his eyes, “Well, that can’t be good; he’s going to be in a foul mood the entire trip.”
“So, you’re not going to be in a foul mood then? All that gripping about not wanting to take a vacation because you didn’t want to leave Atlantis to the geeks from Area 51, is over?”
“Bite me, Sheppard; those idiots are heavy-handed, and don’t have the first idea about how delicate the instruments are on Atlantis. No, I don’t like them being there.”
Sheppard started to reply, but he heard the back hatch slam closed. He winced as the hatch glass rattled…Ronon no doubt. Carson piled in the seat behind him, and Ronon on the other side behind Rodney.
“Buckle up, everyone. Then we’ll start our adventure.” Sheppard was grinning, a tad artificially.
Rodney and Carson quickly buckled their seatbelts, but Ronon just sat there. Sheppard was watching him through the rearview mirror, “Ronon…now.”
“Why? We don’t have seatbelts on the jumpers…I don’t see the need.”
“We have inertia dampeners on the jumpers; here we don’t. I would prefer not to have shredded dreadlocks everywhere if we have a wreck.”
“Then don’t wreck.”
“Now, Chewie; it’s the law, and it is an order.” Sheppard glanced around at him, a determined look on his face. Ronon stared at him for a second and then fastened his belt.
As Sheppard turned the ignition, he muttered, “Who thought this trip was a good idea?”
McKay chuckled, “You did.”
Sheppard sighed and with a final look behind him, he drove through the warehouse gate, and onto Doyle Avenue, better known as US 101. The warehouse was located in the Presidio, which was once a military installation. Now run by the National Parks Service, the former Army base still held a few secrets. Some buildings were still under American military control, although the pubic perceived them as storage areas for park maintenance. They passed through the toll area, and began to cross the Golden Gate Bridge.
Sheppard opened the large sun-roof and lowered the windows a bit. The warm late morning air and the salty ocean smell wafted through the SUV.
“Sheppard, that wind is nasty, roll the windows up.” Rodney whined.
“Wimp,” he raised Rodney’s window, then asked, “Anyone else?” With two no’s from the back seat, Sheppard glanced at Rodney, grinning, “Wimp.” McKay ignored him.
They rode in silence across the bridge, taking in the beauty of the bay and the ocean and the peninsula in front of them. As they came off the bridge, even Ronon seemed mesmerized by the view.
“That’s a lot of boats down there.”
“Yeah, that’s Horseshoe Bay and the marina.”
“That’s nice.”
“That it is.”
“So where are we going, colonel?” Beckett asked.
“First, we’re on vacation, call me John. We’re heading first to Sonoma, in the California wine country. An old academy buddy of mine, retired about three years ago, and took over his family’s winery. Thought we would look him up and take a tour; have a taste of good wine.”
“Oh, that sound’s exciting.” Rodney deadpanned. He wasn’t sightseeing. He was pouring over data on his pad.
“I thought you were navigating, not working, McKay.”
“You lost already, Sheppard?” He snarked, “ I mean I know you are directionally challenged, but really, this is a main highway and you’re lost. Why don’t you turn on the GPS, or is our resident flyboy too proud to ask for help?”
“I use nav systems all the time, and you know it. I just haven’t needed the GPS, and no, I am not lost. Now stop working,”
Rodney ignored him. Sheppard glanced over at him, and laughed out loud when Ronon’s arm snaked over the seat. The Satedan snatched the pad out of McKay’s hands.
“What the fuck…give that back,” Rodney whined.
“When Sheppard says you can have it, I’ll give it back.”
“Damn it,” McKay twisted to reach behind him, but the seat belt kept him from turning enough.
Sheppard grinned, “See, Ronon, I told you seat belts were important.”
Ronon was grinning broadly, for the first time since they left, “Yeah, I get it now.”
Rodney turned around. He was frowning; his lips tightly pressed together. “I need that pad.”
“You need to relax. You’ll get the pad back, later.” A harrumph from Rodney was his only reply.
Sheppard turned on the satellite radio, finding an oldies station playing songs from the seventies, eighties, and nineties. They drove on for about fifteen minutes enjoying the tunes, until Rodney spoke.
“I need to stop.”
Sheppard turned down the radio, “What do you mean you need to stop?”
“I need to stop at a service station.”
“Rodney, we will be in Sonoma in about thirty minutes, if you’re hungry, we’ll get lunch there.”
“I’m not hungry; I need to stop.”
Sheppard looked at Rodney, beginning to comprehend, “You need to go, is that what you’re saying?” Rodney nodded and Sheppard snickered.
“Really, you didn’t go before you left Atlantis, like a good boy?”
“Bite me; I was busy making certain I had secured everything so those morons couldn’t destroy anything. I forgot.”
“OK, guys; pit stop, Rodney has to go.” Rodney glared at him.
Sheppard pulled into a food mart, and Rodney vaulted out of the Rover. When he realized the others were following him, the scientist spun around.
“You don’t need to come in with me.”
“Shut up, Rodney; we’re getting something to drink, want to fill ‘er up again?” Sheppard taunted, Beckett slapping him on the back, laughing. Rodney turned around and marched into the store.
They picked out snacks and drinks and were waiting at the counter when Rodney returned. Sheppard tapped his foot, “Come on, Rodney; we haven’t got all day…oh yeah, maybe we do. Get what you want and let’s go. I’m buying.”
About ten minutes later they were back on the road, drinks and snacks in hand. Ronon had become obsessed with Mountain Dew since Atlantis had returned to Earth. The Marines had laid in a supply, and Ronon was hooked. He had a 2-liter bottle of Dew and three packages of chocolate cupcakes. Sheppard tore into his Zingers and water; Beckett had Twinkies and a diet coke. Rodney drank from his diet coke before he began to devour his chocolate cupcakes.
Ronon muttered, his mouth full, chocolate staining his teeth, “Your planet has some great food.”
“First, try to refrain from saying ‘your planet’, might raise some eyebrows. As for the food, well, I don’t think what we are eating is really food.”
“The col…John…is correct; as a physician I can tell you, this is not nutritious,” Beckett sputtered, as he shoved half of a Twinkie into his mouth. Mumbling through the sponge cake, he said, “It is, however, tasty.”
Sheppard turned the radio volume up, and they spent the next fifteen chatting about nothing in particular. Ronon became engrossed in the billboards that lined the highway. He kept them occupied answering his questions about the products or places they were advertising. As they approached Sonoma, Sheppard turned off the main highway and headed through town. Spotting the Valley of the Moon welcome center, he pulled into a parking place.
Beckett asked, “What is the Valley of the Moon?”
“It refers to the valley where a lot of the vineyards in Sonoma are located. Rodney, hop out, go in and get a map of the wineries.”
“What the hell, Sheppard…why do I have to go in there?”
“Because you are closest, Rodney, now go get the map.”
“Let Ronon go.”
“Rodney, you could have been inside and back in the car by now. Go.”
Rodney was muttering as he got out of the car. Beckett laughed softly, remarking, “John; you’re not gonna get him to relax while Atlantis is in the hands of Area 51. He’s most unhappy about them being there.”
“I know, but the IOA forced General Landry to allow the geeks from 51 to inspect Atlantis. I spoke to General O’Neill, and Woolsey; they agreed with me that it would be a good idea to get Rodney away from them. Ronon’s old buddy, James Coolidge, the IOA liaison to the SGC, was going to be there for three weeks, overseeing the inspection or whatever, they are calling it. I doubt we would have had a pleasant experience.”
Ronon looked Sheppard in the eye, “Sheppard, we going home someday?”
“Yeah, big guy, we are. I promise.”
Rodney came out of the visitors’ center and hopped back in the car.” Your map,” he snarked as he handed Sheppard a brochure.
Sheppard opened the brochure to the map and after a second said, “There it is, Appell Lane Vineyard; looks like they serve lunch there as well.” He started the SUV and waited for traffic to clear before he pulled out of the parking place.
“Your friend know we’re coming?” Rodney asked.
“No; I haven’t seen him since right before O’Neill showed up in Antarctica. He was nearing retirement then, always said he would stay in twenty-five years and then come back to the vineyard. He flew a group of VIP’s down to McMurdo for a base inspection, and we spent a few days together.”
“So he doesn’t know about you being a colonel and all now?” Rodney asked.
Sheppard shook his head in reply, “He’ll be surprised; he was pretty pissed at me the last time I saw him.”
“Colonel…John…you haven’t told us his name?” Beckett stumbled again over calling the colonel by his first name.
“Brad Appell; a big guy, he’s almost as tall as Ronon. He’s got pale blond hair, looks like a big surfer dude. He’s married, nice woman named Elaine, and last I heard, he has two kids, Dennis and Melissa….they should be teenagers by now.”
Beckett smiled, “Sounds like you two were good friends.”
Sheppard glanced in the rearview mirror, looking toward Beckett. “We were once, but that was before Iraq.”
They drove in silence once more, enjoying the beautiful valley covered in acre after acre of grape vines. The rolling hills, dotted with crystal clear small lakes and ponds, seemed to go on for miles.
“This looks like Italy. It is so beautiful,” Carson remarked.
Rodney, who seemed to have taken an interest in the brochure, replied, “According to this, most of the wines produced here are from Italian varietals.”
“Varietals, what’s that; I thought wine was made from grapes?” Ronon asked.
Before Rodney could say something snarky, Sheppard quickly answered, “That just means the type of grapes that grow in the country of Italy. They grow the same grapes here.”
“That’s where lasagna and spaghetti come from, right? I like that food.”
“Yep, that’s the same place.”
A road sign was coming up and brick structure with brass letters was sitting underneath it, Sheppard slowed down to read it, “There it is, Appell Lane and Appell Lane Vineyards.” He turned onto the narrower road tree-lined road, and after about a half-a-mile they arrived at a wide driveway. The entrance was flanked by two tall brick columns to which heavy wrought iron gates were attached. Above the gates was a graceful curved wrought iron banner with the vineyard name. They pulled into a brick-paved, and crowded, parking area. Sheppard found a spot to park near the sign pointing to the restaurant.
“Anybody hungry?” Sheppard asked as he opened the car door.
Ronon and Rodney answered in unison, “Yes.”
Smiling, Sheppard said, “Then, let’s go eat.”
They walked into the darkened restaurant where a young woman greeted them and escorted them to a table which sat next to a large multi-paned window overlooking a small, beautiful courtyard. As she was handing them menus, Sheppard asked about his friend.
“Is Brad Appell around, I’m an old friend; I like to say hi.”
“Mr. Appell is probably in the receiving house or at the residence. I can see if I can reach him. May I tell him your name?”
“Just tell him, “Shep.”
“I will, sir…uh, Shep.” She smiled coyly at Sheppard, then tossed a glance toward Ronon before she walked away.
Rodney groaned, “I knew this trip was going to be like this, Carson and I ignored while all the women fawn over Conon and the flyboy.” He buried his head in his menu.
“Rodney, stop; she was just being friendly. She thinks we’re friends of her boss. She’s just being nice to us.” Sheppard looked over at Ronon who was grinning; he grinned back.
Their server took their drink order and as he returned with the drinks, Sheppard heard a familiar voice behind him.
“You have got to be f’ing kidding me, Major John Sheppard.”
Sheppard turned, “Yep. It’s me.” He stood up and stuck out his hand. Brad Appell grabbed Sheppard’s arm and pulled him into a bear hug.
Looking considerably uncomfortable, Sheppard pulled away, “Good to see you too, Brad.”
“What the hell are you doing here, major?”
“Not major, and we’re on thirty-day’s leave; out seeing the sights. We were in the neighborhood; so thought I drop by and say hi.”
“Sit,” Brad said, as he pulled a chair over from an empty table. “Hey, guys, welcome to Appell Lane.” Sheppard made the introductions.
“So…on leave, but not a major anymore,” Brad’s voice lowered as he looked at Sheppard. His face was tense, his expression one of regret.
Sheppard glanced over at Rodney, who was staring at him with a pained look on his face. Rodney knew that some of Sheppard’s old teammates had written him off as a failure a long time ago.
Carson, who apparently felt the tension, blurted out, ‘No, John’s a colonel, now.”
Brad’s eyes widened, his surprise evident, “A colonel? You’re a colonel? Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard, wow, man, that’s great.”
Sheppard grinned, “I know, hard to believe isn’t it? It’s just colonel though, not lieutenant.” Sheppard waited, not realizing he was holding his breath for Brad’s reaction.
“Holy shit, Shep; man, a full-bird, that’s wicked. This calls for a bottle of our best sparkling wine.” He called the server over, order food for himself, and told him to bring a couple of bottles of 1220.
Rodney asked, “1220? What kind of name is that?”
“McKay.” Sheppard sighed.
“No, he’s right; it’s not the name…it’s the batch number. We haven’t released any sparkling wines yet. We’re about two years from beginning to market it, but we have high hopes. Our vintner wants to tweak it a bit, but it’s pretty close to the result we want.”
Ronon asked, “Vintner, what’s that.”
“He’s our wine maker. He’s Scottish actually.” He smiled at Beckett, “I imagine you will get along with him well, Carson; the accent is almost the same. His mother was from Italy. Her family made wine. He got interested in developing wines and studied both agronomy and chemistry in the UK before he came to America. My dad hired him about fifteen years ago, and he’s really made a difference in the quality of our wine. It was good to begin with, but it’s gotten really good in the last few years.”
The sommelier arrived with the wine, presenting the bottles to Brad, along with five chilled glasses. Brad popped the cork with an ever so sight pop, and poured. Once everyone had a glass, he gave a toast.
“Here is to surprise visits, and to good, old friends and good new friends, and special congratulations to Colonel Sheppard.”
They all took a sip, nodding in approval, and spent the rest of their lunch talking about the area and its history. After lunch, Brad took them on a tour of the winery and then out into the vineyards. It was nearly six in the evening when they returned, to the parking lot.
“So, it’s decided, then; you guys will have dinner with us tonight, and spend the night at my friend’s bed and breakfast. Lainey is looking forward to seeing you, John, and meeting everyone, so we’ll see you at the house around 7:30. Use the gate up the road that I showed you earlier: just press the button and we’ll buzz you in. Carmen and Lorenzo are waiting for you at the B&B. See you, later.”
Once back on the main road, they drove about two miles past Appell Lane to the Sonora Bed and Breakfast. The B& B was in a large, turn-of-the-century Victorian house surrounded by late summer flowers and huge trees.
“Oh, this is lovely.” Carson said as they walked up the steps to the wide veranda, suitcases in hand. Large white wicker chairs and couches with overstuffed flowery cushions adorned the porch, large ferns and pots of flowers sat in every nook.
“A little froufrou, don’t you think?” Rodney snarked.
“Rodney, it goes with the territory.” Sheppard snarked back, and opened the front door.
They were greeted by a warm smile from a small Hispanic woman, “Ah, you must be Brad’s friends.” Sheppard and Carson both said hello, and she continued, “Please, come in; welcome. I am Carmen; my husband and I use to work for Brad’s family. When Lorenzo retired, Brad helped us buy this place. We are honored to have friends of the Appell family stay with us. Come with me and I will show you to your rooms.”
They followed her upstairs, to the third floor, where she showed them to separate rooms. “You are fortunate; starting from next weekend, the Labor Day holiday, we are booked through New Years. This week we purposely took only a few reservations in order to do some renovations. So we have this entire floor available. Please let me know if you need anything.”
They were to meet in the lobby at 7:15, and everyone, save Rodney, was punctual. After a couple of minutes, Sheppard fumed, “I shouldn’t have given him that damn pad back.” He headed up the stairs.
Knocking on Rodney’s door, he heard a distracted ‘come in’. He opened the door slowly. “Rodney you better be ready. Come on, let’s go.” Peeking in, he saw Rodney sitting on the bed in his skivvies working on his pad. “Damn it, McKay, get dressed, we’ve got to leave.”
“Just a minute, I just want to…” he stopped as Sheppard grabbed the pad from him, and then picked Rodney’s slacks up off the chair. “Put these on and get down stairs; you can have the pad back in the car.” Sheppard turned to leave, with Rodney muttering behind him.
“Sheppard, I am not a child, give me back my pad.”
As he descended the stairs, he called back, “Then don’t act like one.” What Rodney couldn’t see was the wide grin on Sheppard’s face.
When Rodney arrived a few minutes later, he found that the others were in the SUV waiting for him. He got in the car, and Sheppard handed him the pad.
“Tell me we won’t need to make a pit stop before we get to Brad’s.” Sheppard quipped as he pulled away.
“Bite me,” he sneered, then when he heard the snickering from the back seat, he added, “all of you.”
Beckett laughed, “Come on, Rodney; lighten up. We’re on vacation, we are in a beautiful place, meeting nice people, and about to have a wonderful meal. You need to chill out.”
“I would be ‘chilled out’ if you would all leave me alone.”
By the time they arrived at Brad’s house, Rodney had settled down, even joining in the conversation about staying the night in the area. After being buzzed through the gate, they drove down a landscaped driveway to a large two-story brick house. A tall young man around fifteen or so, was waiting and waved them around the house to a parking area on the side of the house. As they got out of the car, the youth approached the car.
“Colonel Sheppard, I’m Denny, welcome.” He shook hands with Sheppard and then with the others. “My mom and dad are on the deck out back, follow me please.”
Elaine Appell spotted them first, “John Sheppard. I never thought I would see you again.” She met them at the top of the stairs and gave John a hug,” Congrats, Shep, Brad told me about your promotion. That’s great.” She turned to greet the others, John making the introductions.
“Come on, let’s get some wine for you, Brad brought some of the good stuff home.” The attractive brunette led them to the bar. As everyone was beginning to relax, she walked over to Sheppard.
“Well, you’re as handsome as ever, John.” He blushed, and she continued, “And still embarrassed when someone pays you a compliment.”
“Some things never changed, Lainey.”
“And some things do, Brad heard a few years ago that you and Nancy divorced; I’m sorry, John. She was nice, I hate that it didn’t work out for you. Some of my fondest memories are from that first year we all spent at Hurlburt.”
“She wasn’t like you, Lainey; she never understood what Brad and I did. You accepted that he couldn’t tell you anything about his work, Nancy couldn’t, or wouldn’t.”
“Don’t think because I’m still here that I was always understanding, John. I wasn’t; especially after Denny was born. Every time that damn phone would ring, and Brad would leave, I called the Air Force every vile name I could think of. But I figured out how to deal with the frustration; some people can’t. Then once Lissa came along, I had too much to do to worry about it. We were just the lucky ones, John.”
He smiled at her, “Yeah, you are. Speaking of Lissa, where is she? She’s what, thirteen now?”
“Fourteen and Denny’s sixteen, where does the time go? Lissa is on a school trip; her civics class has gone to Sacramento to intern with the legislature this week. I’m sorry that she wasn’t here to see you.”
The vintner for the winery, Douglas Scott, arrived. Immediately, Carson and Rodney were engrossed in conversation with the Scottish native. Ronon had struck up a conversation with Denny. From what Sheppard could hear, they were talking about karate, which Ronon was learning from one of the Marines. They sat around the table as Brad slaved over the grill, and Lainey brought out food from the house.
It wasn’t long before Brad brought a platter of t-bone steaks to the table, he put a steak on everyone’s plate, but when he got to Ronon, as he gave him two steaks. “Hey, I remember my appetite when I was your age; you get two.” Everyone laughed and they spent the next hour eating as Brad and Sheppard exchanged stories from their days at the Air Force academy and their first tours of duty. As the sun set, the air became cooler and even the large fire-pit wasn’t enough to keep them warm.
“Come on inside, guys, there’s dessert.” Lainey started clearing dishes with Denny and Carson’s help. Carson had insisted, saying his “wee mother’ would be upset if he didn’t help.
The interior of the Appell home was warm and cozy, filled with family pictures. A photo on a shelf in a large bookcase caught Sheppard’s eye. He walked over to get a closer look. Picking up the frame, he smiled; the photo was of Brad and him in Afghanistan. They were both SO pilots at the time, and had just returned from a mission. Sheppard chuckled to himself; they were young and carefree back then, thought they were invincible. Now he knew they were just lucky.
“Those were the days, weren’t they Shep.”
He turned to see Brad behind him, “Yeah. I sometimes wonder what happened to that John Sheppard.”
“I was wondering that myself. You’re different now; a good different, I think. You were always the best pilot, later the best covert operative around, but you pushed back hard against everyone. I suppose maturity has something to do with it; it certainly helped me.
“You saying I’m getting old?
Brad laughed, “Well, considering I am the same age as you, if you’re getting old, I am, too. But you, I think it’s more than maturity, something tells me you have seen a lot these last few years.”
Sheppard didn’t say anything. Brad watched him for a second, “Whatever it is that you do that has gotten you promoted to colonel, and allows you to have such an eclectic group of ‘teammates,’ I figure it must be pretty important.”
“Eclectic, huh…I’ve heard them called a lot of things, but eclectic…that’s a new one.”
“Can’t tell me, can you?”
“No; just another day in the Air Force.” Sheppard looked back down at the picture.
“John.”
Sheppard turned his head quickly toward Brad, he rarely called him anything but Shep. Hearing his friend use ‘John’ surprised him.
“Look, I know you are well aware that a lot of us were mad at you. But we weren’t mad at what you did, but that you allowed yourself to be put in a position that jeopardized your career. That damn CO only wanted to cover his ass. He didn’t care about those men or about you, just himself. Any other CO would have looked the other way, but then any other CO would have most likely ordered a rescue mission. It was a bad situation.”
“Yeah, I know, but just so you know, I’d do all over again.”
Brad shook his head, “That I don’t doubt.”
Lainey’s head popped around the corner, “Guys, dessert’s ready; come on.”
Sheppard placed the picture back on the shelf and started to move toward the kitchen when Brad grabbed his arm. “You never knew that one of the reasons we were angry is that you didn’t ask for help. If even one of us had gone with you, much less more of us, that bastard would have had to look the other way.”
“I didn’t want to risk ruining anyone else’s career. Besides, I didn’t think anyone would come with me.”
“Shep, you never asked.”
Staring at his friend, Sheppard felt his heart leap into his throat. “I…I’d still do it the same way, Brad. But I have learned a valuable lesson in the last few years. I have learned to trust people; I didn’t before, even when I knew I could.”
“That’s the best lesson of all,” he said quietly as he squeezed Sheppard’s shoulder. “Now, let’s go get dessert, Lainey made a couple of apple pies today. I think it’s gonna work out to be one pie for Ronon and one for the rest of us to share.”
After dessert, Carson and Rodney went to Douglas Scott’s lab; Rodney anxious to see the chemistry behind wine making. Denny had gone upstairs early to study. Around 11:00 PM, Sheppard and Ronon left Brad and Lainey with a promise to return, and headed to pick up Carson and Rodney.
When they arrived at the main vineyard building, Ronon jumped out to round up the other two. He came to the door a couple of minutes later, motioning for Sheppard to come with him.
Sheppard caught up with him, “Why are you laughing?
“I think they have enjoyed themselves too much.” He opened the door to the tasting room and Sheppard moaned.
“Oh no…” At one of the round tables near the bar, Carson, Rodney, and Douglas had all passed out; several empty bottles of wine sitting on the table. “Rodney sober is tough enough, but Rodney with a hangover, I don’t even want to think about it. Come on, let’s see if we can roust them.”
It took some doing, but they managed to get them all awake. Douglas lived in an apartment above the wine tasting room, so Ronon made certain he got up the stairs and inside. He returned to help Sheppard get their teammates to the car.
As Ronon returned to the tasting room, Rodney was giggling. “Your hair is funny. Isn’t his hair funny?” He turned his entire body toward Carson, who was sitting stiffly on the chair that Sheppard had sat him on three times.
“Ronon, get Rodney to the car; I’ll get Carson.”
It was a struggle, because Rodney wanted to help Sheppard with Carson and kept trying to get away from Ronon. Finally, they got their two inebriated teammates into the back seat of the SUV and strapped in.
When the SUV started moving, Carson became more alert, “Where am I?”
“In the car, Carson, we’re headed for the B&B.”
“Can ya keep the car straight, laddie. This weaving is making me sick.”
“The road’s straight Carson, you’re the one weaving.” Sheppard chuckled.
Ronon grinned, “This trip is going to be more fun than I thought.”
“Not for those two.”
They had just turned onto the main road when Carson groaned, “Colonel, stop; I’m gonna be sick.”
Sheppard quickly pulled off the road, unlocked Carson’s door and jumped out, yelling at Ronon to keep an eye on Rodney. As Sheppard rounded the back of the SUV, Carson had gotten the door open and was hanging out of the car, puking. Grabbing the doctor to steady him, he looked at Ronon, who had opened his door, “No, no fun at all.”
~~ooOoo~~
Golden sunlight spilled through the sheer drapes into Sheppard’s room as he slowly came awake. He stretched, taking a few minutes to enjoy the comfort of a big bed. Glancing at his watch, he realized it was 6:30 AM, much later than he usually slept. He decided it was the relaxing day, fresh air, and good food that allowed him to sleep. As he raised his head, and realized it was throbbing, he decided his long nap was probably due to the wine. Remembering the shape Carson and Rodney were in when they got back to the B&B, he decided he should get up and check on them.
Sheppard swung his long legs off the bed and forced himself to get up. As he headed for the bathroom, he thought about last night when they finally arrived and struggled to get Carson and Rodney to their rooms. He had taken care of Carson, while Ronon practically carried Rodney up the two flights of stairs. They had tried to be quiet, but Rodney was in a jovial mood. Rodney’s chatter had awakened Lorenzo, who was kind enough to help Sheppard with Carson. Carmen had shown up with ginger ale and apple juice, telling Sheppard they took care of a lot of guests who overindulged in wine tasting.
He splashed water on his face, deciding what he needed was a long run and a long hot shower, and he would feel much better. He grabbed his running clothes, dressed, then searched the floor for the shoes he had kicked off last night. Grabbing a water bottle from the mini-refrigerator, he headed out, after peeking into Rodney and Carson’s rooms. Both men were sleeping soundly.
Walking out onto the veranda, Sheppard smiled. Nothing like a morning in California, the hills were golden in the morning sun. Groves of green trees scattered across the hills, looked like emeralds against the gold. He started down the steps when he was startled by a voice behind him.
“I was about to give up on you, thought you were going to sleep all morning.”
He turned to see Ronon sprawled across one of the wicker settees. He grinned, “You running or not?” Sheppard bolted down the remaining steps and took off. Within a couple of seconds, Ronon ran past him.
They ran down the lane away from the house, through what seemed to be endless miles of grapevines. Sheppard sprinted ahead once or twice, but Ronon with his longer legs always overtook him. They ran for a long time, and it was nearly 8:00 AM when they returned to the house.
As they stepped on the porch, Carmen brought out a tray with a carafe of coffee, cups, and a plate of pastries. “I saw you boys coming back down the lane from the vineyards, thought you might like some coffee.” She sat the tray down on a small table between two chairs.
“Thank you, coffee and something in my stomach sounds really good right now.”
“I thought it would. Don’t worry about your friends, I checked on them, and took juice and rolls to them. The best I can say for them right now is that they are breathing, but they’ll recover.” She left them alone to enjoy breakfast.
Sheppard poured coffee and held up the pot toward Ronon, “Want some?”
Ronon smiled, holding up a Mountain Dew. “Carmen keeps a supply of these here; her son loves Dew. I will have a couple of those,” he said as he grabbed a couple of pastries.
Chuckling, Sheppard said, “Yeah, like I wasn’t expecting that.”
They ate in silence, just enjoying the morning. Ronon was chewing on his fourth cinnamon roll, when he finally spoke, “Sheppard, this doesn’t seem right.”
“What doesn’t seem right?”
“You know.”
Sheppard rubbed his eyes, “Yeah, I know, we seem to be a team member short. Ronon; Teyla wanted to go home. She didn’t want Kanaan wondering if she and Torren were dead or alive. Besides, her people are stranded on New Lantia without a stargate. They’re going to need supplies. You can’t blame her.”
“I don’t. I just wish we had all gone back at the same time.”
“Look, we didn’t think anyone was going to be able to go back. I pretty sure Sam put pressure on O’Neill to make this happen, so that Teyla could go home. O’Neill put pressure on the IOA to request the mission. Daedalus was ordered to go back to Pegasus to assess status of the Wraith after we left. Landry just made certain there were lots of supplies on board.”
“We should have gone with her.”
“Ronon, you could have; I told you that.” Sheppard was beginning to feel uncomfortable, this was not a subject he wanted to rehash.
“But since none of the rest of you could go; I wasn’t going either.”
“Yeah, big guy, I know that. We’re all glad you stayed.”
“But you are certain we are going home. I mean I know it’s not your home, but…”
“Atlantis and Pegasus are home to me, to Rodney, to nearly everyone assigned to Atlantis.”
“But your planet is so beautiful, why don’t you want to stay?”
Sheppard didn’t say anything for a bit and Ronon waited him out. Sheppard poured more coffee, took a sip, and replied, “This is a beautiful place, but I don’t feel like I belong anymore. Maybe it’s the gene and the connection I have with Atlantis, but I…I’d just rather be there.”
“And we are returning.”
“Yes, we will return.”
“That’s good enough for me. I’m going to take a shower.”
Grabbing another roll, Ronon went inside, leaving Sheppard alone on the porch. He drank more coffee and leaned back in the chair. Only one thought in his head, “We are going home; I promise.”
Sheppard headed upstairs about fifteen minutes later, showered and packed up his stuff. Ronon was already downstairs when he came down, as were a groggy Rodney and Carson. They were sitting at a table in the dining area; heads hung down over coffee mugs, two empty water bottles sitting on the table.
Sheppard grinned, “Well, look who’s up. How’s the hangover?” He sat down, waiting for an answer.
“Bite me,” surprisingly came from Carson and not Rodney.
“That bad, huh?”
“Sheppard…go away…leave us to our misery,” that from Rodney.
“Sorry, can’t do that; it’s nearly 10 am and I want to be on the road soon. You guys need to get a move on. Ronon and I are going back to the vineyard to pick up some wine.” At the word wine, both men shuddered and Sheppard repressed a laugh. “I think Woolsey will enjoy Appell Lane’s wine. So, be ready to leave when we get back.” He got up and as he walked past Rodney, gave him a slap on the back. All he heard from Rodney was a deep groan.
He and Ronon stopped by the winery, gassed up the Rover, and then returned for their buddies. After thanking Carmen and Lorenzo and insisting that the couple accepted payment for their stay, the four men piled into the Range Rover.
“So, where the hell are we going today,” the shaky voice belonged to Rodney.
“We are headed over to Sacramento, then down Highway 99 through the Central Valley farm country. We’re stopping in Bakersfield tonight, and tomorrow on to Las Vegas.”
Rodney groaned.
Next leg of the trip...Bakersfield Bound
Author: stella_pegasi
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Rating: PG-13
Character/Pairing: John Sheppard, Rodney McKay, Ronon Dex, Carson Beckett
Spoilers:Post-Season Five
Genre(s): Slice of Life, Action/Adventure, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Humor, and I promise, WHUMP!
Warnings: Language
Het/Slash/Gen: Gen
Word count: Total: 14,810 (Two parts, Wine Country and Bakersfield Bound)
Disclaimer: I do not own them, I would have treated them better.
Summary:The boys take thiry days leave and set out on the road. What could possibly go wrong on vacation?
Written for the Let's Blow Something Up (BigBang) Challenge on stargateland.
My deepest thanks to the wonderful and lovely sherry57 for her very quick beta. I have attempted to make corrections, but was in a hurry to get this posted for the challenge...any errors left standing are all mine.
ROAD TRIP
by stella_pegasi
“Carson, what are you wearing that for?”
“Rodney, we’re going on vacation. I plan on fishing; besides, I feel like I’m on vacation when I wear my fishing vest.”
“Well, you look silly.”
“Oh, and you don’t, in that shirt from the seventies. Right,” Beckett retorted as he stuffed his suitcase in the back of the SUV, next to Rodney’s, then gently placed his rod and reel and tackle box inside.
Rodney and Carson were still bickering as John Sheppard walked out of the warehouse, Ronon in tow. The warehouse was used as the beam point to and from the Apollo, which was in stationary orbit above Atlantis, as she sat cloaked on the surface of the Pacific Ocean. The workers standing nearby, dressed in maintenance uniforms, were actually Air Force SO’s.
“Sheppard, I don’t understand why I can’t bring my blaster.”
“Chewie, I have told you three times now; we are on vacation. We're going to be driving through a lot of small towns. I don’t want to have to explain your blaster to a bunch of backwater sheriffs, in case we run into any trouble. And knowing our luck, we’ll run into trouble. You can carry a 9-mil; just like the rest of us. You have all the proper documentation, and because we're all attached to the Air Force, we have permits to carry concealed weapons.”
“You don’t carry a 9-mil; your gun’s is more powerful.”
Sheppard dropped his head, sighing, “No; I don’t. If you’re nice, I’ll let you carry my P-14…maybe.” He tossed his bag in the back, slipped on his sunglasses, and walked toward the front of the SUV.
“I don’t like this.” Ronon walked up to the vehicle, and threw his duffle bag in the back, not noticing Carson’s cringe when the bag missed his fishing rod by a couple of inches.
Sheppard got in the drivers seat of the rental Range Rover, which had been delivered that morning. He adjusted the seat, then began to adjust the mirrors, as Rodney hopped in the passenger seat beside him.
“What’s eating Ronon; he doesn’t look happy?”
Scoffing, Sheppard glanced back at Carson, who was still fiddling with the placement of his fishing rod. “Ronon is having separation anxiety…I’ve separated him from his blaster for this trip.”
Rodney rolled his eyes, “Well, that can’t be good; he’s going to be in a foul mood the entire trip.”
“So, you’re not going to be in a foul mood then? All that gripping about not wanting to take a vacation because you didn’t want to leave Atlantis to the geeks from Area 51, is over?”
“Bite me, Sheppard; those idiots are heavy-handed, and don’t have the first idea about how delicate the instruments are on Atlantis. No, I don’t like them being there.”
Sheppard started to reply, but he heard the back hatch slam closed. He winced as the hatch glass rattled…Ronon no doubt. Carson piled in the seat behind him, and Ronon on the other side behind Rodney.
“Buckle up, everyone. Then we’ll start our adventure.” Sheppard was grinning, a tad artificially.
Rodney and Carson quickly buckled their seatbelts, but Ronon just sat there. Sheppard was watching him through the rearview mirror, “Ronon…now.”
“Why? We don’t have seatbelts on the jumpers…I don’t see the need.”
“We have inertia dampeners on the jumpers; here we don’t. I would prefer not to have shredded dreadlocks everywhere if we have a wreck.”
“Then don’t wreck.”
“Now, Chewie; it’s the law, and it is an order.” Sheppard glanced around at him, a determined look on his face. Ronon stared at him for a second and then fastened his belt.
As Sheppard turned the ignition, he muttered, “Who thought this trip was a good idea?”
McKay chuckled, “You did.”
Sheppard sighed and with a final look behind him, he drove through the warehouse gate, and onto Doyle Avenue, better known as US 101. The warehouse was located in the Presidio, which was once a military installation. Now run by the National Parks Service, the former Army base still held a few secrets. Some buildings were still under American military control, although the pubic perceived them as storage areas for park maintenance. They passed through the toll area, and began to cross the Golden Gate Bridge.
Sheppard opened the large sun-roof and lowered the windows a bit. The warm late morning air and the salty ocean smell wafted through the SUV.
“Sheppard, that wind is nasty, roll the windows up.” Rodney whined.
“Wimp,” he raised Rodney’s window, then asked, “Anyone else?” With two no’s from the back seat, Sheppard glanced at Rodney, grinning, “Wimp.” McKay ignored him.
They rode in silence across the bridge, taking in the beauty of the bay and the ocean and the peninsula in front of them. As they came off the bridge, even Ronon seemed mesmerized by the view.
“That’s a lot of boats down there.”
“Yeah, that’s Horseshoe Bay and the marina.”
“That’s nice.”
“That it is.”
“So where are we going, colonel?” Beckett asked.
“First, we’re on vacation, call me John. We’re heading first to Sonoma, in the California wine country. An old academy buddy of mine, retired about three years ago, and took over his family’s winery. Thought we would look him up and take a tour; have a taste of good wine.”
“Oh, that sound’s exciting.” Rodney deadpanned. He wasn’t sightseeing. He was pouring over data on his pad.
“I thought you were navigating, not working, McKay.”
“You lost already, Sheppard?” He snarked, “ I mean I know you are directionally challenged, but really, this is a main highway and you’re lost. Why don’t you turn on the GPS, or is our resident flyboy too proud to ask for help?”
“I use nav systems all the time, and you know it. I just haven’t needed the GPS, and no, I am not lost. Now stop working,”
Rodney ignored him. Sheppard glanced over at him, and laughed out loud when Ronon’s arm snaked over the seat. The Satedan snatched the pad out of McKay’s hands.
“What the fuck…give that back,” Rodney whined.
“When Sheppard says you can have it, I’ll give it back.”
“Damn it,” McKay twisted to reach behind him, but the seat belt kept him from turning enough.
Sheppard grinned, “See, Ronon, I told you seat belts were important.”
Ronon was grinning broadly, for the first time since they left, “Yeah, I get it now.”
Rodney turned around. He was frowning; his lips tightly pressed together. “I need that pad.”
“You need to relax. You’ll get the pad back, later.” A harrumph from Rodney was his only reply.
Sheppard turned on the satellite radio, finding an oldies station playing songs from the seventies, eighties, and nineties. They drove on for about fifteen minutes enjoying the tunes, until Rodney spoke.
“I need to stop.”
Sheppard turned down the radio, “What do you mean you need to stop?”
“I need to stop at a service station.”
“Rodney, we will be in Sonoma in about thirty minutes, if you’re hungry, we’ll get lunch there.”
“I’m not hungry; I need to stop.”
Sheppard looked at Rodney, beginning to comprehend, “You need to go, is that what you’re saying?” Rodney nodded and Sheppard snickered.
“Really, you didn’t go before you left Atlantis, like a good boy?”
“Bite me; I was busy making certain I had secured everything so those morons couldn’t destroy anything. I forgot.”
“OK, guys; pit stop, Rodney has to go.” Rodney glared at him.
Sheppard pulled into a food mart, and Rodney vaulted out of the Rover. When he realized the others were following him, the scientist spun around.
“You don’t need to come in with me.”
“Shut up, Rodney; we’re getting something to drink, want to fill ‘er up again?” Sheppard taunted, Beckett slapping him on the back, laughing. Rodney turned around and marched into the store.
They picked out snacks and drinks and were waiting at the counter when Rodney returned. Sheppard tapped his foot, “Come on, Rodney; we haven’t got all day…oh yeah, maybe we do. Get what you want and let’s go. I’m buying.”
About ten minutes later they were back on the road, drinks and snacks in hand. Ronon had become obsessed with Mountain Dew since Atlantis had returned to Earth. The Marines had laid in a supply, and Ronon was hooked. He had a 2-liter bottle of Dew and three packages of chocolate cupcakes. Sheppard tore into his Zingers and water; Beckett had Twinkies and a diet coke. Rodney drank from his diet coke before he began to devour his chocolate cupcakes.
Ronon muttered, his mouth full, chocolate staining his teeth, “Your planet has some great food.”
“First, try to refrain from saying ‘your planet’, might raise some eyebrows. As for the food, well, I don’t think what we are eating is really food.”
“The col…John…is correct; as a physician I can tell you, this is not nutritious,” Beckett sputtered, as he shoved half of a Twinkie into his mouth. Mumbling through the sponge cake, he said, “It is, however, tasty.”
Sheppard turned the radio volume up, and they spent the next fifteen chatting about nothing in particular. Ronon became engrossed in the billboards that lined the highway. He kept them occupied answering his questions about the products or places they were advertising. As they approached Sonoma, Sheppard turned off the main highway and headed through town. Spotting the Valley of the Moon welcome center, he pulled into a parking place.
Beckett asked, “What is the Valley of the Moon?”
“It refers to the valley where a lot of the vineyards in Sonoma are located. Rodney, hop out, go in and get a map of the wineries.”
“What the hell, Sheppard…why do I have to go in there?”
“Because you are closest, Rodney, now go get the map.”
“Let Ronon go.”
“Rodney, you could have been inside and back in the car by now. Go.”
Rodney was muttering as he got out of the car. Beckett laughed softly, remarking, “John; you’re not gonna get him to relax while Atlantis is in the hands of Area 51. He’s most unhappy about them being there.”
“I know, but the IOA forced General Landry to allow the geeks from 51 to inspect Atlantis. I spoke to General O’Neill, and Woolsey; they agreed with me that it would be a good idea to get Rodney away from them. Ronon’s old buddy, James Coolidge, the IOA liaison to the SGC, was going to be there for three weeks, overseeing the inspection or whatever, they are calling it. I doubt we would have had a pleasant experience.”
Ronon looked Sheppard in the eye, “Sheppard, we going home someday?”
“Yeah, big guy, we are. I promise.”
Rodney came out of the visitors’ center and hopped back in the car.” Your map,” he snarked as he handed Sheppard a brochure.
Sheppard opened the brochure to the map and after a second said, “There it is, Appell Lane Vineyard; looks like they serve lunch there as well.” He started the SUV and waited for traffic to clear before he pulled out of the parking place.
“Your friend know we’re coming?” Rodney asked.
“No; I haven’t seen him since right before O’Neill showed up in Antarctica. He was nearing retirement then, always said he would stay in twenty-five years and then come back to the vineyard. He flew a group of VIP’s down to McMurdo for a base inspection, and we spent a few days together.”
“So he doesn’t know about you being a colonel and all now?” Rodney asked.
Sheppard shook his head in reply, “He’ll be surprised; he was pretty pissed at me the last time I saw him.”
“Colonel…John…you haven’t told us his name?” Beckett stumbled again over calling the colonel by his first name.
“Brad Appell; a big guy, he’s almost as tall as Ronon. He’s got pale blond hair, looks like a big surfer dude. He’s married, nice woman named Elaine, and last I heard, he has two kids, Dennis and Melissa….they should be teenagers by now.”
Beckett smiled, “Sounds like you two were good friends.”
Sheppard glanced in the rearview mirror, looking toward Beckett. “We were once, but that was before Iraq.”
They drove in silence once more, enjoying the beautiful valley covered in acre after acre of grape vines. The rolling hills, dotted with crystal clear small lakes and ponds, seemed to go on for miles.
“This looks like Italy. It is so beautiful,” Carson remarked.
Rodney, who seemed to have taken an interest in the brochure, replied, “According to this, most of the wines produced here are from Italian varietals.”
“Varietals, what’s that; I thought wine was made from grapes?” Ronon asked.
Before Rodney could say something snarky, Sheppard quickly answered, “That just means the type of grapes that grow in the country of Italy. They grow the same grapes here.”
“That’s where lasagna and spaghetti come from, right? I like that food.”
“Yep, that’s the same place.”
A road sign was coming up and brick structure with brass letters was sitting underneath it, Sheppard slowed down to read it, “There it is, Appell Lane and Appell Lane Vineyards.” He turned onto the narrower road tree-lined road, and after about a half-a-mile they arrived at a wide driveway. The entrance was flanked by two tall brick columns to which heavy wrought iron gates were attached. Above the gates was a graceful curved wrought iron banner with the vineyard name. They pulled into a brick-paved, and crowded, parking area. Sheppard found a spot to park near the sign pointing to the restaurant.
“Anybody hungry?” Sheppard asked as he opened the car door.
Ronon and Rodney answered in unison, “Yes.”
Smiling, Sheppard said, “Then, let’s go eat.”
They walked into the darkened restaurant where a young woman greeted them and escorted them to a table which sat next to a large multi-paned window overlooking a small, beautiful courtyard. As she was handing them menus, Sheppard asked about his friend.
“Is Brad Appell around, I’m an old friend; I like to say hi.”
“Mr. Appell is probably in the receiving house or at the residence. I can see if I can reach him. May I tell him your name?”
“Just tell him, “Shep.”
“I will, sir…uh, Shep.” She smiled coyly at Sheppard, then tossed a glance toward Ronon before she walked away.
Rodney groaned, “I knew this trip was going to be like this, Carson and I ignored while all the women fawn over Conon and the flyboy.” He buried his head in his menu.
“Rodney, stop; she was just being friendly. She thinks we’re friends of her boss. She’s just being nice to us.” Sheppard looked over at Ronon who was grinning; he grinned back.
Their server took their drink order and as he returned with the drinks, Sheppard heard a familiar voice behind him.
“You have got to be f’ing kidding me, Major John Sheppard.”
Sheppard turned, “Yep. It’s me.” He stood up and stuck out his hand. Brad Appell grabbed Sheppard’s arm and pulled him into a bear hug.
Looking considerably uncomfortable, Sheppard pulled away, “Good to see you too, Brad.”
“What the hell are you doing here, major?”
“Not major, and we’re on thirty-day’s leave; out seeing the sights. We were in the neighborhood; so thought I drop by and say hi.”
“Sit,” Brad said, as he pulled a chair over from an empty table. “Hey, guys, welcome to Appell Lane.” Sheppard made the introductions.
“So…on leave, but not a major anymore,” Brad’s voice lowered as he looked at Sheppard. His face was tense, his expression one of regret.
Sheppard glanced over at Rodney, who was staring at him with a pained look on his face. Rodney knew that some of Sheppard’s old teammates had written him off as a failure a long time ago.
Carson, who apparently felt the tension, blurted out, ‘No, John’s a colonel, now.”
Brad’s eyes widened, his surprise evident, “A colonel? You’re a colonel? Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard, wow, man, that’s great.”
Sheppard grinned, “I know, hard to believe isn’t it? It’s just colonel though, not lieutenant.” Sheppard waited, not realizing he was holding his breath for Brad’s reaction.
“Holy shit, Shep; man, a full-bird, that’s wicked. This calls for a bottle of our best sparkling wine.” He called the server over, order food for himself, and told him to bring a couple of bottles of 1220.
Rodney asked, “1220? What kind of name is that?”
“McKay.” Sheppard sighed.
“No, he’s right; it’s not the name…it’s the batch number. We haven’t released any sparkling wines yet. We’re about two years from beginning to market it, but we have high hopes. Our vintner wants to tweak it a bit, but it’s pretty close to the result we want.”
Ronon asked, “Vintner, what’s that.”
“He’s our wine maker. He’s Scottish actually.” He smiled at Beckett, “I imagine you will get along with him well, Carson; the accent is almost the same. His mother was from Italy. Her family made wine. He got interested in developing wines and studied both agronomy and chemistry in the UK before he came to America. My dad hired him about fifteen years ago, and he’s really made a difference in the quality of our wine. It was good to begin with, but it’s gotten really good in the last few years.”
The sommelier arrived with the wine, presenting the bottles to Brad, along with five chilled glasses. Brad popped the cork with an ever so sight pop, and poured. Once everyone had a glass, he gave a toast.
“Here is to surprise visits, and to good, old friends and good new friends, and special congratulations to Colonel Sheppard.”
They all took a sip, nodding in approval, and spent the rest of their lunch talking about the area and its history. After lunch, Brad took them on a tour of the winery and then out into the vineyards. It was nearly six in the evening when they returned, to the parking lot.
“So, it’s decided, then; you guys will have dinner with us tonight, and spend the night at my friend’s bed and breakfast. Lainey is looking forward to seeing you, John, and meeting everyone, so we’ll see you at the house around 7:30. Use the gate up the road that I showed you earlier: just press the button and we’ll buzz you in. Carmen and Lorenzo are waiting for you at the B&B. See you, later.”
Once back on the main road, they drove about two miles past Appell Lane to the Sonora Bed and Breakfast. The B& B was in a large, turn-of-the-century Victorian house surrounded by late summer flowers and huge trees.
“Oh, this is lovely.” Carson said as they walked up the steps to the wide veranda, suitcases in hand. Large white wicker chairs and couches with overstuffed flowery cushions adorned the porch, large ferns and pots of flowers sat in every nook.
“A little froufrou, don’t you think?” Rodney snarked.
“Rodney, it goes with the territory.” Sheppard snarked back, and opened the front door.
They were greeted by a warm smile from a small Hispanic woman, “Ah, you must be Brad’s friends.” Sheppard and Carson both said hello, and she continued, “Please, come in; welcome. I am Carmen; my husband and I use to work for Brad’s family. When Lorenzo retired, Brad helped us buy this place. We are honored to have friends of the Appell family stay with us. Come with me and I will show you to your rooms.”
They followed her upstairs, to the third floor, where she showed them to separate rooms. “You are fortunate; starting from next weekend, the Labor Day holiday, we are booked through New Years. This week we purposely took only a few reservations in order to do some renovations. So we have this entire floor available. Please let me know if you need anything.”
They were to meet in the lobby at 7:15, and everyone, save Rodney, was punctual. After a couple of minutes, Sheppard fumed, “I shouldn’t have given him that damn pad back.” He headed up the stairs.
Knocking on Rodney’s door, he heard a distracted ‘come in’. He opened the door slowly. “Rodney you better be ready. Come on, let’s go.” Peeking in, he saw Rodney sitting on the bed in his skivvies working on his pad. “Damn it, McKay, get dressed, we’ve got to leave.”
“Just a minute, I just want to…” he stopped as Sheppard grabbed the pad from him, and then picked Rodney’s slacks up off the chair. “Put these on and get down stairs; you can have the pad back in the car.” Sheppard turned to leave, with Rodney muttering behind him.
“Sheppard, I am not a child, give me back my pad.”
As he descended the stairs, he called back, “Then don’t act like one.” What Rodney couldn’t see was the wide grin on Sheppard’s face.
When Rodney arrived a few minutes later, he found that the others were in the SUV waiting for him. He got in the car, and Sheppard handed him the pad.
“Tell me we won’t need to make a pit stop before we get to Brad’s.” Sheppard quipped as he pulled away.
“Bite me,” he sneered, then when he heard the snickering from the back seat, he added, “all of you.”
Beckett laughed, “Come on, Rodney; lighten up. We’re on vacation, we are in a beautiful place, meeting nice people, and about to have a wonderful meal. You need to chill out.”
“I would be ‘chilled out’ if you would all leave me alone.”
By the time they arrived at Brad’s house, Rodney had settled down, even joining in the conversation about staying the night in the area. After being buzzed through the gate, they drove down a landscaped driveway to a large two-story brick house. A tall young man around fifteen or so, was waiting and waved them around the house to a parking area on the side of the house. As they got out of the car, the youth approached the car.
“Colonel Sheppard, I’m Denny, welcome.” He shook hands with Sheppard and then with the others. “My mom and dad are on the deck out back, follow me please.”
Elaine Appell spotted them first, “John Sheppard. I never thought I would see you again.” She met them at the top of the stairs and gave John a hug,” Congrats, Shep, Brad told me about your promotion. That’s great.” She turned to greet the others, John making the introductions.
“Come on, let’s get some wine for you, Brad brought some of the good stuff home.” The attractive brunette led them to the bar. As everyone was beginning to relax, she walked over to Sheppard.
“Well, you’re as handsome as ever, John.” He blushed, and she continued, “And still embarrassed when someone pays you a compliment.”
“Some things never changed, Lainey.”
“And some things do, Brad heard a few years ago that you and Nancy divorced; I’m sorry, John. She was nice, I hate that it didn’t work out for you. Some of my fondest memories are from that first year we all spent at Hurlburt.”
“She wasn’t like you, Lainey; she never understood what Brad and I did. You accepted that he couldn’t tell you anything about his work, Nancy couldn’t, or wouldn’t.”
“Don’t think because I’m still here that I was always understanding, John. I wasn’t; especially after Denny was born. Every time that damn phone would ring, and Brad would leave, I called the Air Force every vile name I could think of. But I figured out how to deal with the frustration; some people can’t. Then once Lissa came along, I had too much to do to worry about it. We were just the lucky ones, John.”
He smiled at her, “Yeah, you are. Speaking of Lissa, where is she? She’s what, thirteen now?”
“Fourteen and Denny’s sixteen, where does the time go? Lissa is on a school trip; her civics class has gone to Sacramento to intern with the legislature this week. I’m sorry that she wasn’t here to see you.”
The vintner for the winery, Douglas Scott, arrived. Immediately, Carson and Rodney were engrossed in conversation with the Scottish native. Ronon had struck up a conversation with Denny. From what Sheppard could hear, they were talking about karate, which Ronon was learning from one of the Marines. They sat around the table as Brad slaved over the grill, and Lainey brought out food from the house.
It wasn’t long before Brad brought a platter of t-bone steaks to the table, he put a steak on everyone’s plate, but when he got to Ronon, as he gave him two steaks. “Hey, I remember my appetite when I was your age; you get two.” Everyone laughed and they spent the next hour eating as Brad and Sheppard exchanged stories from their days at the Air Force academy and their first tours of duty. As the sun set, the air became cooler and even the large fire-pit wasn’t enough to keep them warm.
“Come on inside, guys, there’s dessert.” Lainey started clearing dishes with Denny and Carson’s help. Carson had insisted, saying his “wee mother’ would be upset if he didn’t help.
The interior of the Appell home was warm and cozy, filled with family pictures. A photo on a shelf in a large bookcase caught Sheppard’s eye. He walked over to get a closer look. Picking up the frame, he smiled; the photo was of Brad and him in Afghanistan. They were both SO pilots at the time, and had just returned from a mission. Sheppard chuckled to himself; they were young and carefree back then, thought they were invincible. Now he knew they were just lucky.
“Those were the days, weren’t they Shep.”
He turned to see Brad behind him, “Yeah. I sometimes wonder what happened to that John Sheppard.”
“I was wondering that myself. You’re different now; a good different, I think. You were always the best pilot, later the best covert operative around, but you pushed back hard against everyone. I suppose maturity has something to do with it; it certainly helped me.
“You saying I’m getting old?
Brad laughed, “Well, considering I am the same age as you, if you’re getting old, I am, too. But you, I think it’s more than maturity, something tells me you have seen a lot these last few years.”
Sheppard didn’t say anything. Brad watched him for a second, “Whatever it is that you do that has gotten you promoted to colonel, and allows you to have such an eclectic group of ‘teammates,’ I figure it must be pretty important.”
“Eclectic, huh…I’ve heard them called a lot of things, but eclectic…that’s a new one.”
“Can’t tell me, can you?”
“No; just another day in the Air Force.” Sheppard looked back down at the picture.
“John.”
Sheppard turned his head quickly toward Brad, he rarely called him anything but Shep. Hearing his friend use ‘John’ surprised him.
“Look, I know you are well aware that a lot of us were mad at you. But we weren’t mad at what you did, but that you allowed yourself to be put in a position that jeopardized your career. That damn CO only wanted to cover his ass. He didn’t care about those men or about you, just himself. Any other CO would have looked the other way, but then any other CO would have most likely ordered a rescue mission. It was a bad situation.”
“Yeah, I know, but just so you know, I’d do all over again.”
Brad shook his head, “That I don’t doubt.”
Lainey’s head popped around the corner, “Guys, dessert’s ready; come on.”
Sheppard placed the picture back on the shelf and started to move toward the kitchen when Brad grabbed his arm. “You never knew that one of the reasons we were angry is that you didn’t ask for help. If even one of us had gone with you, much less more of us, that bastard would have had to look the other way.”
“I didn’t want to risk ruining anyone else’s career. Besides, I didn’t think anyone would come with me.”
“Shep, you never asked.”
Staring at his friend, Sheppard felt his heart leap into his throat. “I…I’d still do it the same way, Brad. But I have learned a valuable lesson in the last few years. I have learned to trust people; I didn’t before, even when I knew I could.”
“That’s the best lesson of all,” he said quietly as he squeezed Sheppard’s shoulder. “Now, let’s go get dessert, Lainey made a couple of apple pies today. I think it’s gonna work out to be one pie for Ronon and one for the rest of us to share.”
After dessert, Carson and Rodney went to Douglas Scott’s lab; Rodney anxious to see the chemistry behind wine making. Denny had gone upstairs early to study. Around 11:00 PM, Sheppard and Ronon left Brad and Lainey with a promise to return, and headed to pick up Carson and Rodney.
When they arrived at the main vineyard building, Ronon jumped out to round up the other two. He came to the door a couple of minutes later, motioning for Sheppard to come with him.
Sheppard caught up with him, “Why are you laughing?
“I think they have enjoyed themselves too much.” He opened the door to the tasting room and Sheppard moaned.
“Oh no…” At one of the round tables near the bar, Carson, Rodney, and Douglas had all passed out; several empty bottles of wine sitting on the table. “Rodney sober is tough enough, but Rodney with a hangover, I don’t even want to think about it. Come on, let’s see if we can roust them.”
It took some doing, but they managed to get them all awake. Douglas lived in an apartment above the wine tasting room, so Ronon made certain he got up the stairs and inside. He returned to help Sheppard get their teammates to the car.
As Ronon returned to the tasting room, Rodney was giggling. “Your hair is funny. Isn’t his hair funny?” He turned his entire body toward Carson, who was sitting stiffly on the chair that Sheppard had sat him on three times.
“Ronon, get Rodney to the car; I’ll get Carson.”
It was a struggle, because Rodney wanted to help Sheppard with Carson and kept trying to get away from Ronon. Finally, they got their two inebriated teammates into the back seat of the SUV and strapped in.
When the SUV started moving, Carson became more alert, “Where am I?”
“In the car, Carson, we’re headed for the B&B.”
“Can ya keep the car straight, laddie. This weaving is making me sick.”
“The road’s straight Carson, you’re the one weaving.” Sheppard chuckled.
Ronon grinned, “This trip is going to be more fun than I thought.”
“Not for those two.”
They had just turned onto the main road when Carson groaned, “Colonel, stop; I’m gonna be sick.”
Sheppard quickly pulled off the road, unlocked Carson’s door and jumped out, yelling at Ronon to keep an eye on Rodney. As Sheppard rounded the back of the SUV, Carson had gotten the door open and was hanging out of the car, puking. Grabbing the doctor to steady him, he looked at Ronon, who had opened his door, “No, no fun at all.”
~~ooOoo~~
Golden sunlight spilled through the sheer drapes into Sheppard’s room as he slowly came awake. He stretched, taking a few minutes to enjoy the comfort of a big bed. Glancing at his watch, he realized it was 6:30 AM, much later than he usually slept. He decided it was the relaxing day, fresh air, and good food that allowed him to sleep. As he raised his head, and realized it was throbbing, he decided his long nap was probably due to the wine. Remembering the shape Carson and Rodney were in when they got back to the B&B, he decided he should get up and check on them.
Sheppard swung his long legs off the bed and forced himself to get up. As he headed for the bathroom, he thought about last night when they finally arrived and struggled to get Carson and Rodney to their rooms. He had taken care of Carson, while Ronon practically carried Rodney up the two flights of stairs. They had tried to be quiet, but Rodney was in a jovial mood. Rodney’s chatter had awakened Lorenzo, who was kind enough to help Sheppard with Carson. Carmen had shown up with ginger ale and apple juice, telling Sheppard they took care of a lot of guests who overindulged in wine tasting.
He splashed water on his face, deciding what he needed was a long run and a long hot shower, and he would feel much better. He grabbed his running clothes, dressed, then searched the floor for the shoes he had kicked off last night. Grabbing a water bottle from the mini-refrigerator, he headed out, after peeking into Rodney and Carson’s rooms. Both men were sleeping soundly.
Walking out onto the veranda, Sheppard smiled. Nothing like a morning in California, the hills were golden in the morning sun. Groves of green trees scattered across the hills, looked like emeralds against the gold. He started down the steps when he was startled by a voice behind him.
“I was about to give up on you, thought you were going to sleep all morning.”
He turned to see Ronon sprawled across one of the wicker settees. He grinned, “You running or not?” Sheppard bolted down the remaining steps and took off. Within a couple of seconds, Ronon ran past him.
They ran down the lane away from the house, through what seemed to be endless miles of grapevines. Sheppard sprinted ahead once or twice, but Ronon with his longer legs always overtook him. They ran for a long time, and it was nearly 8:00 AM when they returned to the house.
As they stepped on the porch, Carmen brought out a tray with a carafe of coffee, cups, and a plate of pastries. “I saw you boys coming back down the lane from the vineyards, thought you might like some coffee.” She sat the tray down on a small table between two chairs.
“Thank you, coffee and something in my stomach sounds really good right now.”
“I thought it would. Don’t worry about your friends, I checked on them, and took juice and rolls to them. The best I can say for them right now is that they are breathing, but they’ll recover.” She left them alone to enjoy breakfast.
Sheppard poured coffee and held up the pot toward Ronon, “Want some?”
Ronon smiled, holding up a Mountain Dew. “Carmen keeps a supply of these here; her son loves Dew. I will have a couple of those,” he said as he grabbed a couple of pastries.
Chuckling, Sheppard said, “Yeah, like I wasn’t expecting that.”
They ate in silence, just enjoying the morning. Ronon was chewing on his fourth cinnamon roll, when he finally spoke, “Sheppard, this doesn’t seem right.”
“What doesn’t seem right?”
“You know.”
Sheppard rubbed his eyes, “Yeah, I know, we seem to be a team member short. Ronon; Teyla wanted to go home. She didn’t want Kanaan wondering if she and Torren were dead or alive. Besides, her people are stranded on New Lantia without a stargate. They’re going to need supplies. You can’t blame her.”
“I don’t. I just wish we had all gone back at the same time.”
“Look, we didn’t think anyone was going to be able to go back. I pretty sure Sam put pressure on O’Neill to make this happen, so that Teyla could go home. O’Neill put pressure on the IOA to request the mission. Daedalus was ordered to go back to Pegasus to assess status of the Wraith after we left. Landry just made certain there were lots of supplies on board.”
“We should have gone with her.”
“Ronon, you could have; I told you that.” Sheppard was beginning to feel uncomfortable, this was not a subject he wanted to rehash.
“But since none of the rest of you could go; I wasn’t going either.”
“Yeah, big guy, I know that. We’re all glad you stayed.”
“But you are certain we are going home. I mean I know it’s not your home, but…”
“Atlantis and Pegasus are home to me, to Rodney, to nearly everyone assigned to Atlantis.”
“But your planet is so beautiful, why don’t you want to stay?”
Sheppard didn’t say anything for a bit and Ronon waited him out. Sheppard poured more coffee, took a sip, and replied, “This is a beautiful place, but I don’t feel like I belong anymore. Maybe it’s the gene and the connection I have with Atlantis, but I…I’d just rather be there.”
“And we are returning.”
“Yes, we will return.”
“That’s good enough for me. I’m going to take a shower.”
Grabbing another roll, Ronon went inside, leaving Sheppard alone on the porch. He drank more coffee and leaned back in the chair. Only one thought in his head, “We are going home; I promise.”
Sheppard headed upstairs about fifteen minutes later, showered and packed up his stuff. Ronon was already downstairs when he came down, as were a groggy Rodney and Carson. They were sitting at a table in the dining area; heads hung down over coffee mugs, two empty water bottles sitting on the table.
Sheppard grinned, “Well, look who’s up. How’s the hangover?” He sat down, waiting for an answer.
“Bite me,” surprisingly came from Carson and not Rodney.
“That bad, huh?”
“Sheppard…go away…leave us to our misery,” that from Rodney.
“Sorry, can’t do that; it’s nearly 10 am and I want to be on the road soon. You guys need to get a move on. Ronon and I are going back to the vineyard to pick up some wine.” At the word wine, both men shuddered and Sheppard repressed a laugh. “I think Woolsey will enjoy Appell Lane’s wine. So, be ready to leave when we get back.” He got up and as he walked past Rodney, gave him a slap on the back. All he heard from Rodney was a deep groan.
He and Ronon stopped by the winery, gassed up the Rover, and then returned for their buddies. After thanking Carmen and Lorenzo and insisting that the couple accepted payment for their stay, the four men piled into the Range Rover.
“So, where the hell are we going today,” the shaky voice belonged to Rodney.
“We are headed over to Sacramento, then down Highway 99 through the Central Valley farm country. We’re stopping in Bakersfield tonight, and tomorrow on to Las Vegas.”
Rodney groaned.
Next leg of the trip...Bakersfield Bound