Sheppard regarded himself in the mirror. He had never been a fan of wearing white from head to toe. There was too high of a probability that he would spill something on himself and ruin the outfit. It was one of the reasons that made him glad he had chosen the Air Force over the Navy. That and the whole months on end at sea thing. He would have gone mad. Instead, he would wind up going mad here.

Running a hand through his hair, Sheppard frowned at the reflection of the servant who had insisted on helping him get ready for the wedding. He really had to get out of this. There was no way he would spend the rest of his life having someone else dress him or be there when he bathed. It had taken a threat of physical violence to get the man out of the bathroom, actually.

Besides, he thought, he had been doing well enough on his own since he was three.

With a slight smile, he recalled the Batman cape he had worn every day for three months when he was five; and where his memory failed, there was plenty of photo evidence documenting the period. Batman at the zoo, Batman at the park, Batman during ski school… The servant cleared his throat.

"I believe we are nearly finished here, sir," he said. Sheppard sneered at him in the mirror and tugged at the voluminous tie around his neck. Hopefully he wouldn't have to spend the rest of his life wearing clothing any Masterpiece Theatre character would have worn, either. If he couldn't manage to get out of this marriage in time, he would have to lay down some rules. And get his things from Atlantis.

"Would you mind killing me?" Sheppard asked. The manservant, Tiers, looked surprised.

"Sir?"

"I mean, not really, because I kind of like being alive, but if you wouldn't mind going and telling them that I was murdered in the middle of the night or something…" Sheppard didn't know where he was going. He scratched the back of his head. "Or maybe that I managed to high-tail it out the window…"

"It's rather a long fall to the ground, sir," Tiers said. "And that kind of a mess wouldn't go unnoticed."

"You're a real help. Thanks."

"I try, sir."

Sheppard rolled his eyes heavenward and muttered something about servants. He hadn't been terribly fond of the staff his father had kept while he was growing up and his opinion certainly hadn't changed over the years. It was strange having people do the things he was perfectly capable of doing; even as a child, he hadn't liked other people pouring cereal for him or setting out his school uniform.

"We probably shouldn't keep the family waiting much longer, sir." Tiers said, cutting into his thoughts. He was holding up the jacket Sheppard was supposed to wear in addition to the one he already had on and shaking it slightly in his impatience. That would make layer number five, not counting the tie, which must have been wrapped around his neck at least four times. Tonight certainly would be interesting.

Sheppard shook the thought from his mind.

It wouldn't be interesting because there would be no tonight. At least not a wedding night tonight. If things went his way he would do nothing more interesting than try to read another couple of pages of War and Peace.

Tiers cleared his throat again and gestured with the jacket. Begrudgingly, Sheppard held up his arms to accept the final item of clothing.

"Is this all really necessary?" he asked, straightening the lapel. He would go down fighting, even if it made him sound like a child in the process. He no longer cared and was happy to make everyone around him just as miserable as he felt. They had forced his hand.

The manservant tilted his brow. "This is the traditional wedding garb of your new people, sir. Of course it's necessary."

"Isn't it a little warm outside?"

"The garden hall has been properly cooled. Don't worry, sir, you won't suffer heat exhaustion. And if you do pass out—"

"I don't faint."

"Of course not, sir."

Sheppard narrowed his eyes at the man as Tiers ran a soft brush over the outer jacket to remove any lint or stray hair. Up until now, the wedding hadn't seemed completely real somehow. He had convinced himself that he would be able to get out of it and figured that he and his team would be long gone by now. But as the hours had ticked away after dawn, Sheppard pacing the floor of his room, nothing had come to him. The guards at his door wouldn't let him pass without Nareen and even if he did manage to get past them, the guards outside the prison and all along the walls would present a terrible problem, not to mention the locked doors. All in all, there was no way he was sneaking out of the palace in the middle of the night. Or any other time.

So, when breakfast had arrived that morning with Tiers and his wedding clothes, Sheppard started to grow worried. It hadn't been a part of his repertoire before then. The bath had made it even more real and now, as he stood in front of the mirror, fully dressed and clean-shaven, Sheppard knew it was happening. Unless Atlantis figured out where they had been taken or he was struck by a stroke of brilliance some time in the next hour before he and Nareen were pronounced legally wed, he would find himself next in line for the throne of Vrschere with a new wife at his side.

This situation, to say the least, was not a part of the Plan.

Damn it all.

Suddenly aware that Tiers was staring at him, Sheppard coughed and rubbed at his jaw with one gloved hand.

"There's no way you can stall for me, is there?"

"Not if I desire to keep my position, there isn't. Sorry, sir." The apology wasn't sincere. "Shall we go? The king would rather appreciate it if you weren't late for your own wedding."

"I'm sure," Sheppard replied. He frowned at his reflection for the last time before gesturing towards the door and brushing the concealed dagger with the palm of his hand. Hopefully he wouldn't find a need for it. "Lead the way."

"I'm not the executioner here, sir," Tiers said, holding the door for Sheppard. The colonel just snorted and told his manservant to take the lead.

The small group was silent as they walked through the halls and Tiers kept glancing backwards as if to ensure that Sheppard was still following him, never mind the two guards that took up the rear. Sheppard also suspected that the man wasn't used to being in front of his masters. In this case, however, it was necessary. Sheppard would have gotten very lost on the way to the chapel if he had been in the front. He might have even led them to the prisons and off the planet, though he doubted anyone would have allowed him to go so far.

He pressed his lips together in a frown as Tiers led him into the gardens, remembering what Nareen had said about never being alone. With a glance, he wondered how many were watching now. Probably more than usual, however many that was.

The morning was a pleasant enough temperature that threatened to give way to a rather hot afternoon and Sheppard wondered again how he was going to survive if he was expected to stay in the same outfit all day. Maybe they would let him remove the outer jackets once the ceremony was over. He wasn't very optimistic about it, though.

Still, he continued to contemplate ways to get out of the various layers—going so far as to consider setting the jacket on fire by reaching over a candle at some point during the banquet that would follow the ceremony. It was something to keep his mind off the wedding itself. And, for now, denial was his best friend.

But when his eyes fell on Nareen, who suddenly appeared out of the trees dressed in her wedding white, all thoughts about setting himself on fire vanished. He was surprised to see her, her outfit just one more reminder of how serious his situation was becoming. It always had been serious; Sheppard just didn't want to face it, sure he would find a way out.

"Good morning, John," Nareen said. She was standing alone under one of the fruit trees, a little pink flower held gently between her thumb and forefinger. With a smile, she held it to her nose and looked away, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.

"Isn't it bad luck for me to see you all dressed up before the wedding?" He didn't notice as his guards and Tiers retreated into the orchard, disappearing behind the trees.

"What gives you that idea?"

Sheppard shrugged and put his hands in his pockets. "Nothing, really. Just some superstition from my planet. People seem to take it pretty seriously, though."

She narrowed her eyes slightly. "I suppose that makes sense. Not the part about the bad luck, though. These outfits are just clothing."

"Fancy clothing that we only wear once."

"But clothing nonetheless." She lifted her shoulders in a slight shrug and began plucking the petals from the stem. She pulled them off one at a time and watched as they floated to the ground, her head tilted to one side, her hair falling over the same shoulder.

"We used to play this game as girls, my sisters and I," she said as she slowly pulled another petal from the flower. Sheppard watched her fingers. "We would think of a boy we liked and pluck at the petals of a flower hoping to gain his favor. The last time I played was for Darrl."

She pulled the final petal from the stem with a sad smile. "He loved me."

Sheppard didn't know what to say so remained silent and watched her as she regarded the long pistil. He really did feel sorry for her for having experienced so many terrible things in her young life and though she had never told him her age, he couldn't imagine that she was much more than fifteen years his junior, if even that. She was young—practically a baby—and he suddenly felt guilty for causing her even more undue pain. Sheppard couldn't help it; it was the hero in him.

He opened and closed his fists a couple of times, looking for the right words, but Nareen beat him to it. "Today is a happy day, John. You're gaining a new family who will love you and protect you. You're gaining wealth and power and beautiful lands that stretch as far as the eye can see." She pointed out over the rolling landscape, dropping her other hand to her side, still holding the empty stem. "Everything will be yours. Ours."

"I can't deny that it all sounds nice, Nareen, but I've done the cushy life and it drives me insane. I'll be the first to admit it. I got out just as fast as I could the last time and managed to burn a hell of a lot of bridges on the way. I really…I can't." He sighed at his inability to express himself in situations like this. "Isn't there anything I can do to get out of this? There has to be something."

Nareen looked at him, tears still shimmering in her eyes. He didn't know if it was because of him or because of her memories of Darrl and though he found that he was beginning to care about her, he didn't want to comfort her, not until he got an answer.

She worked her jaw for a length and when she finally found the words to speak, her voice was quiet. "The main reason behind marriage is to ensure that the royal line continues beyond our death. If it is determined that children cannot be produced from the partnership, then it is entirely within my power to terminate a betrothal." A tear trickled down her cheek, bringing with it a line of mascara. "It has only ever happened once in the history of my family, but no one will tell me how such a thing was determined, so I can't help you there, but if you must end the betrothal, then you have a little less than an hour to figure something out."

Nareen wiped at the tear and only managed to smear mascara across her cheek. She stared at the stained lace of her glove before removing it in order to rub the rest off, only creating a larger mess of things. Sheppard chuckled and went to her. Removing the pocket square from his outer jacket, he tilted her chin and rubbed at the affected area until it was clean, his other hand holding her shoulder. Her skin was soft under his fingers.

"I don't understand why women insist on wearing make-up to weddings when they know it's only going to run. You're pretty enough without it."

She glanced away, then, relaxed in his grip, and it surprised him to see how at peace Nareen seemed with the whole ordeal of her marriage and its possible end, despite her tears, a slight smile on her face for the compliment. With her hand came the throne and she had seen five men die for the chance to rule over Vrschere. How incredible, then, that the man who would apparently end up with it was the only one who didn't want it.

He had to find a way out. And she had just given him one; now he just had to think of a way to use it to his advantage.

But as she turned to look at him once again, the sun shining in her eyes, he couldn't help but wonder if it would be so bad.

And before he could stop himself, Sheppard brushed her lips with a kiss. The sensible part of his brain was screaming for him to stop. This wasn't what he wanted. Yes, it said, yes it would be so bad. But his body wouldn't listen and he only deepened the kiss, Nareen responding to his touch. Her hair was wonderfully heavy in his grip, her lips soft. How long had it been?

Nareen made a small sound in the back of her throat and touched his arm, her fingers hesitating before tightening around his bicep. He didn't blame her considering the mixed signals he was sending. Hopefully, this wouldn't come off as consent. It was just a way to tell her that she wasn't the reason behind his refusal. That she was beautiful and intelligent and that he was lousy with words. He had always been lousy with words.

It wasn't a very convincing argument, though, even in his head.

He didn't know how long he stood there kissing her. The sun seemed to rise higher in the sky, the air growing thick with humidity, and he only stopped when an errant giggle escaped her lips. Clapping a hand over her mouth, she turned away, blushing.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I shouldn't be laughing considering we were talking about how to end things."

Sheppard regarded the back of her head and almost said something about what else they shouldn't have been doing, all things considered. Instead, he went on to say, "But if you really think about it, there wasn't much to begin with."

She lifted her shoulders in a shrug, turning back to him. "I was getting used to the idea of having a life with you, but I suppose you're right. I'll be fine, just as I said I would be. My inheritance of the throne has nothing to do with my marital status. I am the eldest and it is my right to take my father's place. You would have been good for us, I won't deny it, but I'm not one to force people into situations they so obviously don't want to be in, even if it means giving up my family's legitimacy to help you."

"Thank you." He smiled. "I don't know what else to say."

"You needn't say anything, John. Now we should go before anyone suspects foul play. And if you do choose to interrupt things, please make sure my name isn't a part of it. I don't know what my punishment might be."

"I wouldn't dream of getting you in trouble." He followed her as she started to walk towards the garden hall, mostly because he had no idea where he was going. After a moment, he said, "Are my friends going to be there?"

"Yes," Nareen said, "I requested that they attend."

"Good," he said with a nod. "Good."

They went in silence for several more minutes until a group of girls suddenly appeared from behind the trees, as did Tiers and the two guards from Sheppard's door. Nareen touched his hand.

"It's time for us to part until the ceremony, John. I'll see you in the hall."

"Bye, highness."

--

The men walked in silence after the women left, birdsong filling the morning air. Every so often, a flash of color would dart through the air above them.

"Lovebirds," Tiers explained as one pair flittered around Sheppard's head for a brief moment.

"Appropriate," Sheppard muttered, watching the spot where they had disappeared before continuing on with their trek through the trees.

Before long, a wall of a white-pink stone replaced the pink petals of the fruit trees. Long dead vines grew up from a short outcropping of stone that served as the hall's foundation, great buttresses peaking out from behind the rows of trees that grew right up to its walls. Sheppard craned his neck and held up his hand against the sun as they walked along its edge but couldn't see where it ended for the foliage above him and the curve of the wall.

And though he tried to study the architecture, Sheppard didn't actually get a chance to see much before being swept into its depths, the antechamber a shock of darkness after the bright morning they had come from. Squinting, his eyes slowly growing used to the lack of light, Sheppard was led deeper into the building, the din of voices growing louder the further they went. Light washed a far wall.

"The ceremony is about to start, sir," Tiers said. "Quickly now. The priest will be informed of your presence just as soon as the princess joins you."

But Sheppard wasn't hearing him as Tiers led him to the end of the antechamber, putting his hand out to stop the colonel just as they approached what turned out to the entrance to the main part of the hall. Sheppard paused, looking at the man, before turning to take in the interior of the hall.

The structure turned out to be gothic in nature and the great pointed arches rose high above his head, light filtering in through the delicate rosette stone work that seemed too light to be real. The entire space glowed as if the white-pink stone was emitting the light rather than softly reflecting it back on the people and flowers below.

Sheppard swallowed at a lump in his throat as he turned his attention to the guests who had gathered to witness the wedding of their crown princess. None except his friends seemed to notice him, though, and how they had seen him from the very front of the hall was beyond him. Ignoring them, he once more turned his mind back to getting out of here; his brain switching to full panic mode as a soft music filled the air and someone took his arm.

Nareen.

"I…uh…" he said.

Nareen just smiled. She was wearing a voluminous veil of white and smiling lightly beneath it.

"I was told you work best under pressure," she said softly as the priest who would marry them followed a boy carrying incense down the central aisle. Sheppard watched the faint line of smoke rather than Nareen, his brow lifted. Tiers hadn't been lying.

"Whoever told you that must have been thinking of Rodney," he whispered, the king making his appearance. He was a tall man with graying hair and eyes that shone just as brightly as Nareen's. He was enthusiastic and kind and had shown real interest when speaking with Sheppard of flight and the people he ruled over. It was nice, Sheppard had thought, to meet a regent who truly cared for those he protected rather than taking his wealth for granted. And despite the trouble Sheppard and his friends had caused, King Trius was apparently ready to accept Sheppard as the next ruler of Vrschere. He wouldn't have allowed Nareen to marry him if he wasn't.

Sheppard leaned forward on his toes, then, thinking that there must be a chamber next to the one he and Nareen were occupying considering they were alone here in the darkness; Tiers and his guards had disappeared some time before.

"I tend to get snappy," Sheppard replied at length. "And make dumb mistakes that in all cases should have led to my death. I'm seriously surprised that I'm still alive."

He could feel Nareen's eyes on the side of his face. Her ladies were now walking down the aisle and Sheppard figured their turn would be coming up real soon.

Her response was quiet. "I'm…happy today, John. I didn't think I would be."

"Because of who you're not marrying?"

"Yes," she said. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me," he replied, looking at her. "I don't deserve your gratitude. I'm a bastard."

"But you're not," Nareen said. "You're really not. You not only saved your friend, but you saved me. Imagine what Terren might have done to the woman who was legally bound to him if he could do that to a perfect stranger. You have to believe that you did the right thing." She put her other hand on his arm and stroked her lace-gloved thumb over the fabric of his sleeve. "I like to believe that I've come to know you over the days, John. I like to believe that I've had the chance to see what kind of man you really are even though I haven't seen much of you. I've seen how you care and I've seen how you're willing to sacrifice yourself for the sake of your friends and your people. I've even seen how much you're willing to sacrifice for people you don't know but who need your help against the Wraith. Anyone else would have risked their fate against the guards by now, but you remained behind. You didn't use the dagger I gave you to escape or the keys I left in the scabbard to free your friends—"

"Keys?" Sheppard whispered as the music changed.

Nareen laughed lightly as she took the first step out of the antechamber.

"Yes, keys." She glanced away from him, suddenly shy under the eyes of so many. "You could have gone all the way to the Gate with the things I gave you, yet you're here, marrying me. Perhaps it's only because you didn't notice the things I gave you, but thank you for saving me from a cruel man, even if you plan on making a scene in front of all these people. I am strong enough to protect them on my own. I didn't know that last week."

Sheppard ground his teeth together, unable to answer. He simply led Nareen down the aisle, ignoring the brightly clothed men and women on either side of him, flitting in and out of his view like the lovebirds outside, his mind turning somersaults.

He could have been gone, he kept thinking; he could have been back home and away from all this. He could have been back on Atlantis.

His eyes closed for only a moment—the length of two steps—but in that time he saw the life he could lead here. He saw the children he might have and the sense of stability that would come from having earth—real dirt—beneath his feet rather than thin layers of metal and an endless ocean. He heard the cries of a newborn child and the sounds of lovemaking; he experienced the life he had given up by signing one too many times on a dotted line.

The smell of incense reached his nose and he opened his eyes just in time to take the steps up the lower of two daises. He glanced at Nareen who pulled him with her to his knees and bowed his head mimicking her, suddenly forgetting everything he had been told concerning the ceremony.

The priest started to speak, though Sheppard didn't recognize the words. Maybe something like Latin, but his lessons from childhood were so far out of his mind right now that he wouldn't have been able to distinguish Latin from French from Japanese. He was thinking, still, of the life he was about to enter and the one he was about to leave behind. Could he do it? Could he sacrifice his duty to Atlantis and Earth to protect Nareen and her people?

Sheppard squeezed his eyes closed once more, the priest's words droning through the back of his mind. Could he truly allow himself the chance at a happiness he never thought he would have again? Though Atlantis continued to help heal the self-inflicted wound he had opened up some years ago, there was a chance that staying here with Nareen could fill the void left beneath the mending skin. It wasn't a sure thing, but it was the only real opportunity he had been given in the empty years that had followed Afghanistan and the divorce.

No, he thought.

"No," he said out loud, looking up, interrupting the priest. "I can't do this."

There was a murmur from the gathered guests. The king frowned and glanced between his daughter and Sheppard before saying. "I don't believe you have much of a choice, Colonel. My daughter has already told you what your fate would have been had the marriage not been arranged."

The smile in the king's eye was gone, now.

"I know, but…" Sheppard still didn't know what he was going to say and was willing his brain to work fast. He could escape the Wraith easily enough, so why was this presenting such a predicament? But he had to get out. His love affair with Atlantis hadn't yet come to an end. "There might be a problem."

"What kind of a problem?" the king sat forward and lifted his brow. "Certainly nothing that can't be resolved after the ceremony. I don't want to put you in my prisons and deprive the people of this galaxy of you. From what I have gathered in the last couple of days, you're quite an asset to the war against the Wraith. You're marriage to my daughter is not only for my people but for all who are oppressed by them."

Sheppard swallowed and just hoped he knew what he was doing. Getting himself killed wasn't a part of the Plan either.

But before he could go much further, Rodney decided to take things into his own hands.

"He has a wife!" the other man yelled from where he stood. Sheppard turned a look on him just as Nareen narrowed her eyes. Both were still kneeling in front of the priest; Sheppard didn't notice the ache in his joints.

"You're married?" Nareen looked at him. "Why haven't you mentioned her?"

"Because we're not exactly together anymore," he said slowly, glaring at Rodney. The scientist sat down and looked away.

"But you've been married before." It wasn't a question.

"Will saying yes get me out of this marriage?"

"No." She shook her head once, standing and throwing back the folds of her veil. Sheppard got to his feet, too.

"Will it get me killed?"

She looked at her father. "I don't see why it would."

Sheppard scratched the back of his head. "Then I guess I have nothing to hide. She'd pity you, really. It didn't end on good terms."

That didn't seem to matter to either Nareen or her father. They just exchanged glances before the king said, "Did you produce any children in your previous marriage, Colonel?"

"No."

A slight frown crossed Nareen's face as if she hadn't believed he would be able to come up with a good enough excuse in time. And, in all honestly, he hadn't. Sheppard was still shooting the dark and hoping to hit something. He had warned her that he'd go down fighting.

"Good," her father said. "That makes things simpler."

"Damn it," Sheppard muttered.

Everyone was silent for a moment after that and as he turned to look at his team, Sheppard finally figured out how he was going to get out of this. After all, he thought as he turned back to the king and Nareen, he and Rodney had already laid out the ground work even if neither had known it.

"The thing is, Nareen, your majesty, is that I am actually in love with someone else. Not my wife." He glanced briefly at his team.

Nareen's eyes narrowed again in confusion and before her father could answer, she did, "Love has nothing to do with this, John."

"Sure it does," he said with a gesture. "Marriage can't only be about procreation." The look on the king's face, however, told otherwise. Sheppard went on. "I mean, there are all sorts of marriages that have nothing to do with making babies."

Father and daughter lifted their brows and exchanged another set of glances. Sheppard felt like a fool.

"Do you love her more than you could me?" She asked at length, pointing at Teyla. "Is that why you killed Lord Terren? It's all starting to make sense, now."

Sheppard bit the inside of his lip. "No."

"Then why say that you do? I do not appreciate it when people lie to me."

"No, I mean, it's not her."

"Then who?" Her voice was cold. Sheppard couldn't tell if she was playing along or was seriously upset.

"Does it really matter? I mean, are you actually going to let me leave even if I tell you? I somehow doubt it."

"Colonel Sheppard," the king said. "Please indulge us."

Sheppard just pointed at Rodney. The scientist's eyes widened impossibly and he shot to his feet. Ronon's hand stopped him from going anywhere.

"What?" Rodney looked ready to kill something, preferably the colonel.

Sheppard ignored him.

"I didn't know it at first, but, well, we've spent a lot of time together over the last five years…" Sheppard went on, hardly able to believe his eloquence. "I've never felt about anyone the way I do about Rodney. I never thought I could love another man."

Nareen did a good job at looking absolutely disgusted—though he wouldn't have blamed her if the expression was indeed real—and Sheppard suppressed the smile that threatened to split his face. Maybe he would get out of this after all.

"Doctor McKay?" she asked. "I can maybe understand being attracted to Ronon, but him? He's so… I don't even have words for it."

"Hey!" Rodney said.

"Yeah, hey!" Sheppard said as he closed the distance between himself and Rodney. "Don't say that about the…man I love!"

He could feel every single eye on him. Nareen smirked.

"I don't believe you."

Sheppard matched her expression. "Believe this."

Looking at his friend, he grimaced, grabbed the scientist by the back of his head and pressed his lips to Rodney's.

Silence.

And when he stepped back, Rodney looked ready to murder him.

"Okay," Nareen said after several more seconds of stunned silence. "I…believe you." She didn't actually sound convinced. "If you want him to remain here after we send the others away then I won't argue with you; there is nothing wrong with loving another man. You won't even have to share my bed if you don't wish it once I have birthed an heir."

Sheppard could barely speak. He was sure the kiss would have sealed the deal. Now he just felt dirty. "I'm not sure how well that will work, highness."

The king cut in. "Do you find daughter attractive?"

"I mean, she's pretty…" he shrugged.

"But you aren't attracted to women."

"No," he said instinctively. "I mean, yes. Just men for me."

He didn't see how anyone could believe him, especially with Rodney struggling against Ronon and Teyla in order to strangle him.

The king contemplated him for a long moment. "Would you care to explain, then, why you were seen kissing my daughter?"

"Ah…" Sheppard said. He gestured with a hand and worked his jaw, trying to think of something to say. It wasn't coming. "Well… It's a way we have on my planet of showing…appreciation…?" He tried to sound as confident as possible. "Your daughter saved my life and I wanted her to know how grateful I am about it, I just can't marry her. Uh… Sorry."

Nobody spoke for several very long minutes and Sheppard was sure they had seen through his rather weak ruse. When Nareen spoke next, however, having consulted her father with several significant looks, her voice was quiet, resigned, "You may go, John. I have no use for you if you can't perform your function as a man."

"Thank God," Sheppard muttered.

"Pardon?"

"Uh… Thank you." He grabbed Rodney's hand. "We'll never forget this."

"Yes, we will," Rodney said under his breath. Sheppard just grinned wider.

--

It took about an hour for them to reach the Gate, having left immediately after being dismissed from the garden hall. The two guards that had spent the last several days outside of Sheppard's door had been charged with leading them to it, another two to meet them there with their confiscated equipment. Neither Sheppard nor Rodney spoke as they waited.

It was the white of Nareen's dress that indicated the arrival of the other party and Sheppard left his friends to meet her halfway across the flowering field. She was smiling, though obviously sad.

"I must admit," she said, "that I never would have guessed that you would take that path out. I hadn't even considered it a possibility."

"Honestly, neither had I." He shook his head. "The only reason I thought of it was because of something that happened a couple of years back on Atlantis."

"Which," came Rodney's voice from across the short distance, "is something we agreed to never speak of again."

Sheppard shrugged. "I don't know what he's talking about."

Nareen laughed lightly and took his hands in hers. "My father plans on descending from his position in the next year and when he does, I will contact your people about a trade agreement. I'm not sure I can persuade him to open anything before then, all things considered."

He smiled. "Good luck with that."

"Thank you."

They stood there for a moment, the world silent except for the sound of birdsong. Before long, however, his friends began making noise, Rodney dialing Atlantis and speaking with the technician on the other end. Nareen glanced that way before lifting herself on to her toes and pressing a gentle kiss to Sheppard's cheek. "Be well, John," she muttered against his skin. "Don't forget us."

"Honestly," he said without breaking the proximity, "I have a feeling I won't be forgetting this for a long time." He took her by the shoulders and pushed her back away from him before kissing the line of her hair in farewell and taking a step back. "Goodbye, Nareen."

She smiled and folded her hands in front of her, remaining where she stood as he retreated towards the open Gate. Taking up his gear from one of the guards and slinging a small satchel of clothing over one shoulder, he waited for the rest of his team to step into the event horizon before turning a glance over his shoulder to look at her, squinting against the sun.

Nareen lifted her arm, a smile of her face, a handful of petals falling from her open palm and floating away on the slight breeze that blew around her. Sheppard smiled and received a slight wave in farewell.

It was the last thing he saw before returning home.

Fin

--

A/N – Thanks everyone who read and reviewed this! Especially thanks to those of you who enjoyed this enough to favorite it. I honestly couldn't ask for more, especially since posting this surrounded a pretty tough couple of weeks (I don't think you can truly appreciate how much getting laid off because of the economy sucks until it happens to you, even with the kindest of regards from your manager…). So thank you, thank you, thank you. I had a lot of fun writing this little story and it really made me remember how much I enjoy constructing short stories, which are a lot harder to write than people think they are.

I have to admit, though, that the entire story basically grew out of the scene during which Sheppard kisses Rodney. I'm not a fan of slash but I got this crazy notion in my head about Shep having to kiss our favorite egomaniac in order to get himself out of some kind of trouble and, bam, The Betrothal of John Sheppard was born. Thanks again to everyone. Now back to the SW trilogy hole I've written myself into… Perhaps I'll emerge back into the SG:A universe once more some day soon. I quite like it on this side of the fence…