Building the Foundation

by Raisintorte

Three months before John put in his request for retirement, he sat down with Carson, Rodney, Elizabeth, and Radek to tell them what he was considering. They were his family and this wasn't a decision he wanted to make alone.

He wasn't sure how they would all take the news. In the past they had talked in abstracts about what they wanted to do when they retired, and leaving Atlantis had come up a few times, but no one had taken any definite positions.

John was ready to go home. He loved Atlantis, she was his city, but he had been there so long he was starting to forget what Earth was like. He had been back for visits, but one or two visits a year weren't enough to build or maintain his memories.

When John told them of his plan to retire and build a house on the beach, Elizabeth, Carson, and Radek looked almost relieved, and Rodney harrumphed and told him he would need to make sure his house had enough guest rooms for all of them.

Based on their reactions to his news, John realized that they had all been waiting for him to make the first move. He had the closest ties to Atlantis, and they had wanted to wait for him to decide what he wanted to do first.

None of them were quite ready to leave yet, but it was nice to know that when John decided to go, his family would follow.