Epilogue

"Has anyone ever mentioned that Atlantis was so not made for wheelchairs?" Lorne griped.

"You might have mentioned it once or twice," Sheppard said, stepping along happily beside the Major as they finally managed to get to the lower section of the gate room after a long, roundabout path. "Quit whining. You'll be back on Earth in a few minutes."

"Whining, sir?"

"Yes, I said 'whining'. Besides, you could have just gotten up on those shaky kitten legs of yours and—"

"Kitten legs?!" Lorne said, practically screeching his wheelchair to a halt to turn and face his CO. "Just wait until I get back, sir. We'll meet up in Sparring Room Six and I'll plant a boot up your—"

"Now is that any way to talk to your CO?"

"You started it!"

"I did not!"

"Oh yes you did! You said—"

"Boys! Boys!" Weir called, interrupting their banter with a grin. "Play nice."

Looking at each other, the two men laughed heartily at the realization of exactly how childish they had both just sounded. But God it felt good. Sheppard put Lorne's bag in his lap carefully, eyeing it to make sure it wouldn't fall off.

"Better watch out, Doctor Weir, I won't be around to keep him in line for a couple of months. You sure you don't want me to send someone in my place for a while?" he asked, smiling up at her.

Weir returned the smile, remembering that not that long ago she thought she'd never see those dimples again. "No, thank you Major. Tempting as that may be, I don't believe anyone else could accomplish it."

"Good, cause I'm not in the mood to break in another XO. I just got this one trained properly," Sheppard added.

Lorne just grunted, shaking his head in amusement.

"Colonel Caldwell radioed ahead on his return trip to confirm, Major. The SGC has made arrangements for your transportation back to San Francisco and your sister will be waiting for you at the airport."

"Thanks, I…"

Lorne trailed off as he caught sight of the three men coming up behind Weir. Throwing a dirty look at Sheppard, he sighed in resignation. Sheppard chuckled but threw his hands up in a gesture of innocence.

"You didn't really think we were going to let you just sneak off, did you, sir?" Lieutenant Keane asked, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Especially since you wouldn't let us put racing stripes on your hot rod, there," Lieutenant Shingleton added.

"I wouldn't exactly call this 'sneaking'. And you know the stripes would have just baited the Colonel over there into another race."

"That's kinda the point, sir," Lieutenant Cayton pointed out from directly behind Lorne.

Feeling Cayton doing something to his wheelchair, Lorne tried to turn around. "What are you doing? Knock that off!"

"Nothing, sir," Cayton said, coming around to join the others.

Lorne's glare at the three members of his team screamed bullshit, especially when Sheppard tried to cover a chuckle. Leaning back and craning his neck, he caught sight of the black and white checkered racing flag now sticking up from the back of his chair.

"Really, guys?"

"Hey, it suits you," Sheppard commented. "And you earned it."

"Besides, sir, it's only right to give fair warning to others," Shingleton added, failing miserably at trying to be serious.

Major Lorne just shook his head in bemusement. Yes, he was definitely going to miss these guys. He might be spending a couple of months in rehab while staying with his family on Earth, but these guys were the other half of his family. And Atlantis was, without a doubt, his real home now. While Weir signaled for the dial, Lorne shook their hands one more time. They watched as he rolled off through the gate with one last wave over his shoulder.

Sheppard couldn't help but think with a sense of horror what Atlantis would be like without his XO. Well, for the next few months he'd just have to deal. In the meantime, he would come up with new and inventive ways to ensure the Major Lorne didn't wind up wandering off or something. Then again, the man was likely overdue for his promotion…