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John leaned against a balcony railing, sipping coffee and staring across the bay at San Francisco. Atlantis has been on earth for over a week, now, and it's starting to look like she isn't going anywhere anytime soon. John knows that General O'Neill is working on it, of course, but he's not quite sure what to do in the mean time.
He checks his tablet for any tasks that need doing — it may be his day off, but he doesn't know how he wants to spend it — and finds a message in his personal email folder.
It's from Dave.
They've kept up steady contact since the funeral over a year ago. Well, as steady as it can be, considering the infrequent dial-ins to earth. Dave did ask if he'd consider coming home for the holidays, and John had said that he probably wouldn't be able to but that he'd swing by for a visit next time he's stateside.
And, well. He's stateside.
He opens the message, skims it, and shoots out a reply, letting Dave know that he's in California and will be available for at least a few weeks. He doubts any decision on the status of the Atlantis expedition will be made quicker than that.
There's always work to be done, and even though the ZPMs were partially depleted during the cross-galaxy travel and subsequent space fight, not to mention the effort to land Atlantis, there's still plenty of juice. More than they've had to work with in a while. Which means McKay and Zelenka are busy fighting in a lab somewhere. John isn't in the mood to be a guinea pig for the scientists, but Ronon is still recuperating, and Teyla is busy with Torren, so he tracks down Lorne.
John couldn't have asked for a better XO — when he finds him, Lorne is already working on a requisition list. They spend several hours together building out a wants and a needs list, starting with a coffee supply large enough to last several years in case they get cut off from Earth again. They also make plans to consult various department heads. It's a task better suited to the expedition leader than the military commander, but John knows that Woolsey is busy. Besides, he and Lorne have plenty of fun coming up with ways to smuggle some of the less necessary items aboard the ship.
By lunch, John has a message back from Dave.
By dinner, he's requested time off and arranged a flight home the next day.
John insisted on renting a car. He didn't like the idea of being stuck at Dave's without an escape route, even though Dave insisted they had plenty of vehicles. Plus, he wanted the time to decompress after travel before stepping into the hardest role he ever plays: family member. In this case, younger brother. The sun is just starting to set by the time he pulls up the long driveway. Dave greets him on the front porch, wife in tow.
"John! So glad you could make it. How was the trip?"
"Slow, I forgot how long flights across the country take." He shakes Dave's hand, then pulls his sister-in-law, Beth, in for a brief hug.
"It's so nice to see you, John. Dave told me you boys were talking more."
"Yeah, well." John trails off, not too sure what else to say. He's always awkward around his family. "What's new with you guys?"
"Well, not much. Come on, we'll talk over dinner, we just finished cooking. Excellent timing, by the way."
John follows them in and they exchange pleasantries while passing food around and pouring drinks.
"Dave will spend all night working up the courage to tell you, John, so I'll get it out of the way. We're actually in the process of adopting."
"Adopting! Hey, that's great. I love kids, I can't wait to be Uncle John."
Dave smiles brightly at that. "You'll be a great uncle, you were always good with kids."
"We don't have many young ones on base, but my teammate, Teyla, has a son named Torren John. He's almost a year old. I love that little guy."
"He lives on your base?" Beth asks.
"Yeah, Teyla is a local civilian contractor, so she gets special privileges."
"Like Ronon? That guy you brought to the funeral." Dave had met Ronon, though Beth hadn't.
"Yeah, both of them are locals, though from different communities. But anyway, tell me more about the adoption. How far along are you?" The fewer questions he answers about the expedition, the better. John doesn't like the secrecy, but he's always understood its necessity.
"We started about six months ago. We've been trying to have kids for a few years, and it just… hasn't worked out." Beth cradles her stomach gently, and John has enough tact not to ask, but he assumes that means they've miscarried. His heart aches a bit at the thought. "We're hoping to get matched with an expectant mother, but we're open to any child. The experience has really opened our eyes to how predatory adoption can be, though, so we're trying to take our time and do it right. We'll also consider fostering, if adoption doesn't work out. There are plenty of ways to be parents."
"Mom would be proud of you, Dave." John means it. He has good memories of her. She was kind and sweet and welcoming in a way their dad never was — she would have accepted any child into their family, no matter how they got there.
Dave smiles fondly. "I miss her."
"You know, I didn't see dad's new wife at the funeral. What happened?"
Dave laughs, and Beth scoffs. "You were right, of course, when you said she was an evil bitch using dad for his money. They divorced in 2005. His lawyers were better than hers."
That had been one of the last big fights he'd had with his dad, telling the man he was tarnishing the memory of their late mom by marrying that bimbo half his age. She was closer to John and Dave's age than to their dad's, for goodness' sake.
"Well, good luck with the adoption. Please let me know if I can help in any way."
"Well, having a Lt. Colonel's support will probably look good on our applications. How many medals do you have again?"
John blushes, and changes the subject. He doesn't like bragging about things like that. But eventually, they circle back to his career, despite his best efforts.
"So, how's work, John? Nancy wouldn't say much, but she backed you up for the disappearance act at dad's funeral."
"She really didn't have any information, Dave, don't harass her. You know I can't talk about classified stuff."
Beth, sensing the tension spike between the brothers, intervenes. "Well there must be something you can talk about. What brought you back stateside?"
"Just…" John sighs. "It's classified."
Dave rolls his eyes. "It always is."
"Look, I'd tell you if I could." He isn't sure if he really means that. How could he rip open Dave's understanding of the universe just to earn a little respect from his big brother? That's not something he needs, no matter how nice it might be sometimes to have it. He's used to people being disappointed in him — even in his command structure. Even in his family. Reconnecting with his brother isn't going to change that.
"You always act like your work is changing the world, John, so why does it always stay classified?"
"Maybe because the world can't handle knowing everything, Dave." John knows he shouldn't have said that. Classified means you don't talk about it at all. He sighs. "Look, it just, it doesn't matter, okay? Work is work. It keeps be me busy. You'd hate my team, except Teyla, but I love them."
"Can you tell us about them?" Beth seizes the opportunity to calm the situation, focusing on the people.
"Sure. Dave met Ronon. He's as intimidating as he looks, and smarter than he wants you to think, but real quiet most of the time. He's a good guy. Had a hard life. Teyla did too, actually. She's tiny, smaller than you, Beth, but she and Ronon go toe to toe all the time in training, and I run all my troops through training sessions with both of them. Then there's our scientist, Rodney. Dr. McKay. He's insufferable. Smartest man alive, almost certainly, and he knows it too. But he's loyal and a good friend and always manages to pull off the impossible."
"You sound fond. How many men at your base report to you?"
"Oh, all of them. I'm the base commander."
Dave chokes on the liquid he was in the middle of swallowing. "Uh, that feels like the sort of thing you tell your family about, John. Congratulations. Since when?"
"Uh, five years now, actually. It's no big deal. I was just the best person for the job when the spot opened unexpectedly."
"They could have had their pick of anyone in the military and they chose you. That's a big deal!" Beth, of course, doesn't know that John was simply the highest ranking person available when the expedition was cut off.
"Uh, well. Not exactly. It's a highly classified mission, and I was the ranking officer when our CO died in combat. I had to step in. That's how I got my promotion, actually. They wanted to bring in a superior officer after a year, but my higher ups didn't want to disrupt the balance we had, so… Lt. Colonel John Sheppard, at your service."
"Mmm. Died in combat, huh? That's awful," Beth says.
Of course, Dave wants to know about his career path. "Think another promotion is in your future?"
Actually, John thinks there is a damn good chance. He hadn't been included in one particular meeting between Woolsey and O'Neill, and he'd gotten a rare salute from the man afterward. That, and Carter had suggested that he might be invited to the White House soon after his stunt with the nuke and the hive ship.
"Mmm maybe. I'll let you know if it happens."
"Great. If there's a ceremony, please let us know!"
"So, how would you feel about touring the office tomorrow? You can see everything that's changed over the years."
John really had no interest in doing that, but he knew it would be rude to say so. "Sure."
They spend the rest of the evening catching up, and the conversation is generally light and easy. John turns in for the night feeling a bit out of place but glad to be here anyway.
John tags along like an annoying little brother, touching things he shouldn't and asking stupid questions and charming all the ladies in the office. Dave rolls his eyes at least seven times before their first hour in the office. "Glad you're having fun. I can't imagine why dad was so determined to keep you in the business, given how annoying you are."
"It's because I charmed everyone so easily — he saw the potential." John has that sparkle in his eye that Dave missed seeing. He smiles at his baby brother, realizing how glad he is to have him back in his life.
A knock on his door interrupts, and his secretary, Sarah, steps in.
"Hello, Dave, I didn't realize you had a meeting this morning. I just wanted to confirm your lunch meeting with Lorenzo?"
"Good morning, Sarah. This is my brother, John Sheppard. He's just dropping by for a visit. Do you think I could reschedule that meeting?"
"Oh, don't on my account. I can entertain myself."
"Actually, sir, I don't think you can. Lorenzo has been very anxious for this meeting, and I'd hate for us to lose the opportunity."
John's eyes narrow for a moment; he scrutinizes Sarah carefully, like he suspects something.
"Well, I'm not sure I'm all that interested in his proposal, anyway."
"Why don't I just tag along?"
"I'm not sure —"
"That's a great idea. You can see what you missed out on by not joining the family business."
John doesn't say anything, but he's got a real bad feeling about this. Something about Sarah sets his teeth on edge, and his years in the military — and in the Pegasus Galaxy — are telling him that something isn't right here. She concedes, though, and says she'll make arrangements, then exits the office.
"How long has she been your secretary?"
"Two years — she started with dad and I kept her on as mine when I took over. Why?"
"Just… something seems off about her. You trust her?"
"She's been a good, loyal employee. I really have no reason not to."
"What's up with this meeting?"
"Sarah's been pushing for it for a while. One of the software executives at a competitor, Lorenzo, apparently wants to pitch a joint venture. Dad was considering it, but I'm not too thrilled with the idea. I mean, there are fair compete laws for a reason, and I don't know anything about this guy or the pitch. He insists on giving it in person, and I honestly haven't had time for it. It took a lot to get everything shifted over when I took over, you know, dad's heart attack was unexpected. We weren't really prepared."
"I'm sorry I wasn't around to help out. Not that I would have been much help with that sort of thing, but, uh. You know. Anyway. I'll go with you and then you have a good excuse to duck out early if you don't like the pitch."
The morning passes by quickly. John flirts with one of the team leads for a while, but easily extricates himself from any talk about taking her on a date, saying he's only in town for a few days. Dave collects him from her desk and leads him out, laughing and telling him not to seduce his employees. John just grins and gets in the car.
"So, where's the meeting?"
"In a private room at the country club. It's pretty empty this time of year, I guess that's why he picked it and arranged everything."
John hums, still feeling a frisson of concern, but he brushes it aside. Probably just his battle-learned instincts pinging on a perfectly normal corporate meeting for no reason.
The tension doesn't ease when they arrive. He can't help but notice how incredibly empty the parking lot is, other than a luxury sedan and a black van without any company markings. The lights are on and the doors are unlocked, but no one greets them. Dave seems unconcerned, leading the way to a back room.
"It's okay, I know where it is. The host is probably on break or something." John follows, not commenting on how unusual it would be for the host to take a break while expecting a high-profile client for a business meeting.
His instincts prove correct when they enter the private room and are immediately rushed by several men dressed in black and carrying weapons. John takes out two quickly, channeling every fight he's ever had with Ronon and Teyla. He pulls out his gun and fires off a shot, not interested in hesitating when his brother's life is at stake. He hits one in the shoulder, but another man tackles him from the side, grabbing his wrist and slamming it into the ground. Before he can react, another one kicks him in the head, and the one on top of him slams his fist into John's side, the blow glancing across his ribs. He's forced into a surrender when his arms are brought behind his back, despite his fighting.
Sound rushes back in, and he realizes Dave is shouting. They're hauled out of the clubhouse and shoved into the van, John's head spinning the whole time. He forces himself to focus on Dave, who seems mostly okay.
"John, are you okay, answer me!"
"Fine, I'm fine. You?"
"I mean, I've been better. You reacted so fast, two men were down before I even realized what was happening! How'd you do that?"
"What exactly did you think classified missions meant, Dave?"
"Right…"
"Do you know what this is about?"
"Honestly, no. Ransom, maybe? From the company?"
"Will they pay?"
"I, uh, no. Dad made it a policy, I didn't change it."
"Great. I can't get my hands free, but I can take care of things if I do."
"I don't know, John, that was impressive, but you're pretty beat to hell."
"This is nothing." And honestly, he wasn't exaggerating. When you compare that scuffle to all the fights he's been in, he's largely okay. But he's actually thinking of the communicator still in his pocket, and the Hammond in orbit. They might have taken their phones, based on the emptiness in John's front pocket, but the communicator is small and sleek and tucked into a pocket within a pocket. They wouldn't find it.
Of course, it would likely mean disclosure, but the subcutaneous transmitter in his arm is trackable from anywhere on earth. He just has to get a distress call out, he doesn't have to ask for a beam up. Full disclosure won't be required for that.
"Just, don't panic, Dave, okay? I've been in worse binds than this. I don't know what the hell kind of zip ties these are, but I can't break them on my own. Can you help?"
Before Dave can answer, the van takes a sharp turn, making them both lose their balance and tumble around. Dave's face smashes into the wheel well, and he comes up with a bloody nose.
"Ouch."
"I don't think that's broken, don't worry."
"How would you know?"
"Believe it or not, Dave, but I've seen my fair share of broken noses!"
Dave sighs. "Okay, I can't get out of this. What do we do?"
"Play along and hope they untie us when we get to wherever we're going."
"Right."
The van takes a few more sharp turns before getting onto a highway; they're on that for at least thirty minutes before they get off, then they're on bumpy, unpaved roads for another twenty minutes.
"We're somewhere rural, maybe 40 minutes south of the city. They took a few turns to try to confuse us, but I'm not that easy to fool."
"Does that help us?"
"It might. Remember what I said, play along. Stall if you can, but don't try to be a hero, I'll get us out of this."
The van doors open, and John is dragged out and thrown on the ground.
"Hey, that's not necessary!" Dave shouts.
"He shot my friend, Sheppard, he's getting off easy."
John shoots Dave a glare, trying to tell him to shut up and let him handle it. "Your buddy had it coming, asshole. What do you want with us, anyway?"
"With you, nothing. Boss said to bring you too when the secretary said you were Sheppard's little brother, but if I had it my way, I'd have tossed you out of the van in front of a semi."
John grimaces at that. Both at the idea of being roadkill and at the implication that he's going to be used to persuade Dave to play along. They're dragged into a long-abandoned mechanic shop and shoved down. One of the guys takes a broken seatbelt and ties Dave's hands — still zip tied behind his back — to a support beam in the middle of the shop. Another one drug John over to the in-ground lift — fully jacked up into its extended position — and uses several old engine belts to tie John to it. As restraints go, old engine belts really aren't the best. They're a bit cracked, but ultimately, they do the job: John is stuck, arms pinned behind him, torso exposed.
A man in a suit walks in, then.
"Lorenzo, I take it?" John asks.
"Quiet, fly boy. You aren't here to talk. You're here to convince your brother to cooperate."
"What do you want?" Dave asks.
Lorenzo answers by punching Dave in the face. The guy clearly hasn't taken any fighting lessons, but Dave's head still snaps to the side, a bruise blooming on his jaw.
"Hey! I thought I was supposed to be the punching bag, leave him alone."
"Just setting the tone, boys. Sheppard Industries is a multi-billion dollar business. I want a piece of it. You're going to wire twenty million to an offshore account, David Sheppard, and then I'll let you go."
John knows they won't be released that easily. They'll be killed. He catches Dave's eye and shakes his head.
"Listen, I can't do that." One of the armed men punches John hard in the stomach. He chokes on a gasp of air. "Stop! I mean I literally cannot. There are safeguards in place, I cannot do it, I would if I could!"
"You'll figure out a way, or you'll watch your baby brother die."
John catches another punch to the gut, and then one to the temple. Everything whites out for a moment, and when it blinks back in, Dave is yelling for them to stop. He gets hit a few more times, but none to his head, at least.
"Are you ready to try, now, David?"
Dave looks angrier than John has ever seen him.
"No? Okay, why don't I let you both stew here for a little while." He turns to one of the men, "Watch them for me, okay?" The rest of the guys follow Lorenzo out.
"John, are you okay?"
He spits out some blood from where he'd bit his tongue. "Fine. Don't give him what he wants."
"I would give it to him if I could, John, but there really is no way for me to do it. I couldn't even do it from my personal accounts. What are we going to do?"
John cocks his head, listening as two vehicles pull out. Lorenzo and his goons must think they're stranded here, even if the did manage to get free.
John knows better. He tenses his arms experimentally against the belts, feels the old rubber crack. He knows he can break them — but he can't get out of the zip ties as easily. There's no way to know how long they'll be alone, though, so as soon as the rumble of the cars disappears, he snaps his elbows apart and the old rubber gives. He steps away from the jack and swings a kick out, aiming for the guard's head. He misses his goal, but connects hard enough to knock the guy down. He straddles him and headbutts him, banging the guy's head into the concrete and successfully knocking him out cold.
He looks up and finds Dave staring slack-jawed at him. At that moment, though, he realizes that there was another goon stashed away in a back office. John rolls off the first guy, sitting on his but and bringing his hands under his legs, then snapping his arms down and breaking through the zip tie. The guy is rushing Dave, brandishing a knife. John pounces, tackling him. The knife plunges deep into his shoulder — how many times have I been injured there, he wonders idly — ripping it out of his arm then punching the guy across the temple, knocking him out too.
He lets out the grunt he'd been holding in and looks up, finding Dave staring slack jawed at him.
He can hear a speeding car returning, louder than it should be for all the pot holes in the old road. The first guy must have called Lorenzo before intervening.
"Shit, company incoming."
He reaches into his pocket and pulls out the communicator, slipping it into his ear as he moves toward Dave, cutting the zip tie on his brother with the bloody knife he'd pulled out of his shoulder. He grabs Dave's arm and starts pulling him out of the facility.
"John, where are we going? We need to call for help!"
"What do you think I'm doing?! We've got company incoming." He keys his communicator. "This is Lt. Colonel John Sheppard —" he barks out his identification code "— requesting immediate evacuation for myself and an injured civilian. Get General O'Neill on the line to approve if you need to, and tell him earth owes me this. Tell him it's my brother."
"John, what the hell?"
"Come on, we have to keep moving, we can't be in sight when O'Neill gives his approval for this. And Dave, you're about to get read in to the biggest secrets in the universe. You can't tell anyone, not even Beth."
"What the —"
There's a bright flash of white light —
"fuck do you mean? Um…"
"Colonel Sheppard, good to see you. Would be better if you looked a little less beat up — we can't leave you unsupervised for one day, can we?" Colonel Carter calls for a medic to the bridge.
"Colonel Carter, that was faster than I expected."
"I agreed that earth owes you, given last week at least, if not everything else. I made the call. He'll back it."
"Great, Colonel Carter, this is my brother, Dave. Dave. this is Colonel Carter." John pushes against the wound in his shoulder, trying to staunch the bleeding. Adrenaline is still thick in his veins, so he barely feels it or any of the bruises he's surely accumulated.
"A pleasure, Mr. Sheppard."
Dave is staring slack-jawed out of the bridge view screen at earth, expanding below them like a gleaming green, blue, and white marble.
"Um, uh… is, uh, is this why you take so long to email me back?"
John laughs, but doesn't answer. Dave isn't read in yet, they might not agree to fill him in on Pegasus.
Carter, though, answers for him.
"Your brother has been stationed in the Pegasus Galaxy for the last five years. His expedition is back on earth because they were needed to help us out of a pinch last week."
"That, uh, that fire ball?"
"Yeah, that was us. Someone decided to let a medical doctor bring her in for a landing instead of me."
"Well, John, in their defense, you were a bit busy. Pretty sure you'll be getting a Medal of Honor from the president, as soon as the IOA can get their heads out of their asses and arrange the meeting."
"Great, just what I need, more time in a monkey suit."
"Sorry — what, um, sorry?
Before anyone answers, a medic rushes in to check John's wound. "It needs stitches, sir."
"Figured. What are the chances you can beam us back down to Atlantis, Sam?"
"Are you sure you're ready to deal with McKay?"
"Honestly, he'll freak out less if I let Beckett or Keller handle it. Besides, someone else can have the responsibility of explaining everything to Dave. You know the science isn't my favorite part."
"Of course not, John," Sam says with a smile. She looks to her communications technician, who nods when the connection is established. "Hammond to Atlantis. We've picked up a stray of yours. Permission to beam down?"
With the shield down so the cloak can be up, they can beam in and out without a problem.
Chuck's voice is projected into the room. "Who have you got for us, Colonel?"
"Sheppard. And his brother, actually. They need to go straight to medical."
"Sheppard?! We can't let you out of our sight for five minutes?!"
John turns to Dave and whispers, "That's McKay."
"Permission granted, Colonel."
Sam turns to John. "The paperwork will follow as soon as I get ahold of Jack. Make sure he understands how secret this program is."
"I think he gets the gravity, Sam."
She smiles brightly, and another white flash of light sends them away, straight into medical.
"You guys couldn't have at least given Dave here a good view to start us off?"
"Nice try, Sheppard. You can show him around yourself once we patch you up. What is it this time?"
John groans as he unbuttons his shirt to give Keller access to his shoulder. Dave gasps as he takes in the numerous scars visible under the bruises he collected today.
"What the fuck, John? What is, what, what are all those from?"
Keller laughs. "Take your pick, Mr. Sheppard. This one is from when he saved me, this one is from when he saved Teyla and her baby, that one —"
"Doc, aren't you violating HIPPA or something right now?"
"Pshh, good luck reporting me, Sheppard."
He rolls his eyes. "Don't worry about it, Dave. Will you check his nose, Keller? He took a few good hits too."
"Hardly!"
At that moment, McKay bursts into the room.
"Sheppard! What the hell, what happened to just visiting your brother?"
"To be fair, McKay, last time he visited his brother we had that whole replicator thing happen." Ronon's deep voice reverberates through the room as he enters. "Dave."
"Uh, Ronon, good to see you again."
Teyla walks in next, holding Torren on her hip. "John, really?"
"Listen, it's hardly my fault. Apparently thee was a well-established plan to kidnap my brother and I just happened to interrupt it! By the way, Dave, your secretary is definitely involved. You should fire her."
"Fire?! I'm hoping she gets arrested. I should probably call Beth."
"It should be no trouble to get you in touch with your loved ones, as soon as you are done here," Teyla says.
"I still say you're a trouble magnet, Sheppard."
"Yeah, yeah, McKay. Listen, great to see you all, but I'm sensing a brotherly meltdown that y'all probably don't need to be present for. Give us a few?"
"Certainly, John. We will see you on the balcony outside of the gate room." And, yeah, that's the best place to show Dave first. He nods.
"You're both good to go," Keller says, having finished cleaning and stiching the knife wound and checking over the rest of John while her tech checked over Dave.
"Great, come on, Dave."
He leads him to a teleporter and clicks the spot closest to his room, then leads Dave there and plops down in a chair.
"So. Aliens are real. Teyla and Ronon — they're human, but they aren't from earth. I've been living in another galaxy for five years, but last week we came back to save earth. Questions?"
"Questions?! Um, yeah, a few!"
"Okay. What are they?"
"I… don't know, actually."
"Well, I'll give you a minute. Let me know when you think of them."
"How did no one notice last week?"
"Honestly, beats me. But it's hardly the first time. Earth has nearly been wiped out by alien threats more times than I can count in the past decade. A dozen, at least. Conservatively. But we've got the best minds in the most powerful nations on earth — including all of the permanent members of the UN Security Council — working on keeping it covered up. I guess the general consensus is the public just isn't ready for the truth."
Dave plops down on his bed.
"So when you said you became military commander because it was top secret?"
"Well, that, but we were also cut off from earth for the first year. We knew going in that we probably would be, but we didn't expect the CO to die the first day there."
"And you went anyway, without telling us bye?"
John grimaces awkwardly at that. "Dave, I mean… we weren't… Dad made it clear that I wasn't part of his family, okay? I'm sorry, I should have reached out."
"I'm sorry I made you feel like you couldn't tell me, at least. Or, maybe not tell me, but…. you know."
"Yeah. Anyway, I had to take over. And then, the next year when we re-established contact, there were enough people who wanted me in charge."
"What did you do last week?"
John grinned. "I flew a nuke into an enemy ship in space. It was sick." His grin faded. "Thought it was a kamikaze run. I got lucky."
Dave looks horror struck. "I can't believe the Air Force asked that of you!"
"They didn't, Dave. In fact, they tried to tell me to stand down. But it was get that nuke into the mouth of the ship, or lose earth and everyone on her. It worked. I got out. Let's just be glad that it all worked out, okay?"
Dave is quiet, studying John for a long minute. "You've done stuff like that a lot, haven't you?"
John looks out his window into the bay. "Yeah, that's the job. Any other questions?"
"About a million, but I can't think of them right now. I'm proud of you. My baby brother, you really grew up, huh?"
"Come on, let's go meet the others. They'll get a phone for you to call Beth, and we can figure out how to get back and report the crime. I'll have to coordinate with my superiors anyway, we'll need their cover to explain how our injuries already got treated."
John leaves Dave out of the room, but pauses when Dave pulls him in for a hug. "Thanks, John. For today, and last week, and every thing else. Can you show me which constellation is yours?"
John awkwardly claps Dave on the shoulder, then keeps walking. "You can't see it from here, actually. Rodney can explain it."