Jennifer shook her head when Pat told them who had been talking about John. "Of course," she said before snorting a little. "She does like to talk."
"That she does. Anyway, I'm going to let the two of you be on your way. I'm off to Littlitha to help with some repairs to their huts. Bad storm hit the other night," Pat said as he shook his head. "I'll see the two of you later."
Jennifer watched her uncle morph back into a cougar and run off before she turned and looked at John. "We can put our bags in the back compartment," she said as she walked over to the vehicle and opened the back up. Once their bags were in, Jennifer got on the vehicle, and John was settled, she took off.
Normally, the ride from the Gate to Riverwa was only ten minutes, but Jennifer took her time and pointed out the different things they passed along the way. She also told John the story of how Neo was founded, and about the two founding towns of Riverwa and Winiset. And soon they were rolling into town.
Riverwa looked like a typical American town, with paved roads and some traffic lights. "The engineers studied American style towns when they redid the city twenty years ago," she explained to John as they went through downtown. Soon, they were on the other end and Jennifer was pulling up in front of a small two-story house.
"Come on," Jennifer said as she took John's hand and took him inside. The smell of coffee was coming from the kitchen so Jennifer followed it. Sitting at the table, surrounded by stacks of books, was a blonde-haired man, pouring over one of them. "Dad." When he didn't answer, Jennifer sighed. "Dad!"
The man jumped and looked up, his cheeks flushing. "Janika!" he said as he quickly stood. He hurried around the table and hugged her. "Pat said you were coming for a visit but your mother and me thought he was pulling our leg. Your mother actually smacked him good for it."
Jennifer returned his hug and laughed. "Uncle Pat deserves a good smack sometimes," she said as she pulled away. "Dad, I want you to meet John Sheppard. And John, this is my dad."
"Oh! It's nice to meet you, John," Nikko said as he eagerly shook his hand. "Janika has told us so much about you!"