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HAUNTED - Epilogue

John sighed in contentment as the jumper began its descent to the mainland. It felt good to be flying again and to be completely released from Carson's care. He'd gone back on active duty one week ago, with no more check-ins pending. Even Kate seemed happy with his progress the last few weeks. Accepting her help had been the hardest pill to swallow, but he'd been surprised at how painless it was when you just relaxed and talked with her instead of fighting it and trying to hide everything. They had even had an off-world mission yesterday that had been unusually easy and pleasant. No one had gotten upset or tried to kill them this time and they had discovered a very tasty meat to trade for that was very similar to pork.

"Right over there, that little clearing. That's where we landed." Rodney was pointing to a small clearing just off to the right. They were now just above the trees and John headed for the indicated field, landing the ship smoothly a few minutes later.

"Why are we here again?" asked Rodney as they lowered the back hatch.

John smiled, Rodney's impatience making everything seem so normal. "I told you, I just want to have a look around. I don't remember much about what happened. Beckett says it's probably due to the concussion. I thought if I saw the place, it might jar something."

Rodney kept pace with John, walking silently for a few minutes. "You want to look for that wolf, don't you?"

"No, that's not it. I just want to see the place and maybe . . . well, I might keep an eye out for Shadow, er, the wolf. You sure none of you saw him?"

Rodney shook his head as the reached the area where the wagon overturned. "No, not a hair. Although, like I told you, Ronon did see some tracks that he thought belonged to a wolf."

John stopped and looked at the place where the cart had trapped Halling. For a second, he saw the Athosian lying on the ground and felt a tremor of fear at their situation, and then it was gone. He took a deep breath, remembering that they were rescued and that neither of them had been seriously injured. They had been lucky.

He suddenly looked up at a flash of movement in the trees, but saw nothing as he scanned the forest around them.

"You know, you're different now."

John looked around at Rodney, frowning slightly. "What do you mean, different?"

Rodney shrugged his shoulders and looked at the ground. "I don't know, different. You're . . . quieter, you know. You talk to Kate . . . you talk to Carson . . . heck, you even talk to me."

John studied Rodney for several minutes, the quiet becoming uncomfortable for both men. "Is this a problem?"

"No, no, nothing like that. I mean, you did tell us you had this epiphany and I guess in light of what you saw, I can understand the change. I just . . . it takes some getting used to, you know?"

John shoved his hands in his pockets. "You want me to ask Halling if you can do this seevala jouney thing?"

"Hell, no!" said Rodney forcefully. "I like me just the way I am, thank you very much. Besides, can you really see me sitting shirtless in a hot, dark cave hallucinating about wolves? I think not. Seems more like a barbaric warrior thing to do. Maybe you could take Ronon to your next journey."

John laughed. "Somehow I don't see him doing that either. Sometimes I have a hard time believing I did it. I guess that's just a testament to how desperate I was." John sobered as he looked back up at his friend. "Look, I still don't know how much was real and how much was in my mind, but I do think I learned from it."

Rodney looked away, glancing nervously around the area. "Well, I guess if this means you'll take better care of yourself and let us help you occasionally, you know, when you need it, then I'm glad you did it. It's just a little unsettling at first to have you so . . . cooperative. You're usually such a major pain in the butt."

John grimaced. "Thanks, Rodney. What a nice thing to say."

Rodney smiled smugly. "Hey, just call 'em like I see 'em." Rodney's radio beeped and he reached up to tap it. "McKay here."

John walked a few feet away as Rodney began explaining something over the radio. He sat down under the tree where he and Halling had waited, imagining he could see the scuff marks from their time here. Feeling like he was being watched, John looked up to see the wolf standing near his feet, staring at him. Blinking a few times to make sure he wasn't seeing things, he reached out his hand toward the animal.

"We're still friends, right?" The wolf watched for a few seconds before walking forward where John could stroke his fur. After a few moments, he lay down with his head in John's lap.

"Is that . . . is that a wolf?"

John twisted his head at the sound of Rodney's voice, softer than he ever remembered hearing it. "You can see him?"

"I'm not blind, colonel, so yes, I can see him. Is it . . . is it safe?"

"I think so."

Rodney slowly slid down the tree to sit beside John and then tentatively reached out to pet the wolf. The animal lifted his head abruptly, causing Rodney to pull his hand back like he'd been burned.

"Colonel?"

John rubbed under the canine's chin. "It's okay, Rodney, just give him a minute."

Rodney sat staring. "You're petting a wolf."

"Yeah. Cool, huh?"

Rodney shook his head. "No, you aren't listening, you're sitting here under a tree petting a wolf."

John nodded as he leaned his head back against the tree, moving his hand to scratch behind the wolf's ears as he once again rested his head in the colonel's lap. "Hey, do you think Elizabeth would let me keep him?" He looked hopefully at Rodney for a second before they both shook their head and said, "Nah."

Rodney looked at the animal for a second before tentatively reaching out his hand again. "I'm more of a cat person," he said as the wolf sniffed his hand. When the animal lowered his head back down, Rodney began to pet him, carefully at first, but then with more confidence. "Cool."

John grinned and nodded. "Yeah, I know. This is very cool."

THE END