Trust Once Broken | SGA John Sheppard

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Six weeks later

John ground his teeth as he supported the other man's weight across his shoulders as they stepped across the event horizon. The young soldier felt heavier than he should have given his size, or maybe it was just John's frustration that made it seem that way.

"Keep your damn weight off your foot and you'll be fine," John rumbled as he helped the other man down the ramp into Stargate command.

"Tell me you didn't engage the Ori colonel," General Landry said stepping up to meet Sheppard's team as the rest materialized through the puddle behind John.

John scowled but probably shouldn't have been surprised. He had requested a med team as soon as the wormhole was established. Any good leader would have wanted to know what had happened. General Landry however seemed to be keeping a closer eye than normal on him, as though he expected John to cause trouble. John tried not to take that personally, although with his track record he supposed he couldn't blame the general. John wasn't the one who had to answer to the president.

Things had been so much easier when they were on Atlantis and only had to make a call every other day to check in when they had a ZPM. John had gotten used to not having such immediate oversight. Given his personality, John did better when he didn't feel like his every decision was being monitored and questioned. It seemed as though General Landry was taking the time to ensure John understood that things operated differently now that they were back in the Milky Way.

"We didn't engage the Ori, sir," John added the sir as an afterthought, the respect the title normally would convey lost in his tight, sarcastic tone. "Babbis here was inspecting some curious fauna when he discovered the ground underneath him wasn't stable. He fell twenty feet into a babbling brook," John couldn't quite keep the bitterness out of his voice as he gestured to the soaking wet scientist standing over his shoulder. "Wallace there was trying to help him get back up when he lost his footing and broke his ankle." This incident had been the most action his team had experienced in their six weeks together and they hadn't even handled it well.

"I see," Landry said looking a little calmer.

"I never thought I would miss Rodney McKay being a member of my team," John snarked.

Landry chose to ignore Sheppard's sarcasm. He had years of practice with O'Neill. "Well chemistry doesn't happen overnight," he allowed, although he glanced back at the incompetent soldiers who had been thwarted by a babbling brook a little ruefully. "We'll debrief as soon as Wallace is out of the infirmary."

"Yes sir," John grumbled and turned to head to the locker room.

"Off world activation," Harriman's voice called over the loudspeaker.

Landry looked up and nodded his understanding before turning back to John. "Hold on Colonel, you may get a kick out of this," Landry said, gesturing for Sheppard to follow him up to the control room. "This should be General O'Neill's scheduled check- in from Atlantis."

"He went back, sir?" John asked. He hadn't heard they were sending anyone back to the Pegasus or he would have been one of the first to volunteer.

"Ah, Woolsey needed a little back up, apparently the Ancients find him a bit trying. Imagine that," Landry chuckled.

John made a non-commital noise as he followed the General into the control room. They stood beside the primary monitor as it flickered to life.

"General," O'Neill greeted.